I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley. In exchange, I was asked to write an honest review and post it. My thanks to them both.


This book is really well written and I have already recommended it to my friends, but it took me a really long time to get through it. Some of the stories were difficult and I had to take long breaks between readings. And it definitely needs some “Trigger Warnings”.  But I am now a big fan of Roxanne Gay! And while some of the stories were hard to read, the title of the book is Difficult Woman, and as these stories show being a woman can be difficult. But also that these things we face as woman unite us, break us and make us the beautiful complex beings we are.

I think this falls under "not for me". I had a hard time reading the stories about abusive relationships, so I ended up not finishing it.

Roxane Gay is really a delight to read, and this book gives a feeling of her thought process as well as an insight into how she is so prolific - so many ideas, not all fleshed out, but they could be. I really enjoyed reading this as a tool to keep me thinking as much as to enjoy the literature itself. Some of the stories are so short as to almost be vignettes, but it gives the reader a feeling for the breadth of range that Gay can do.

Roxane Gay describes the striking contradictions and stark realities of being female in the world today. These stories are all very different, but they all illustrate the irony of the title of this collection, as each woman describes the difficulties of being a woman. I’m not usually a fan of short stories, but these are worth the read both in terms of subject matter and the precise, evocative prose that they contain. I have Gay’s An Untamed State waiting unread on my shelf, and I now cannot wait to read it. 

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first story in this collection, I Will Follow You, hits you with a wallop. It Lets you know this is not a collection of happy, go lucky stories to provide you an escape. However, this is a collection of truth, everyone one of these stories digs deep into real life and the complexities we find there. These are real women and men, warts and all. Some of these stories have a fantastical element, but Gay is able to still have them relay the true life essence underneath. Be warned this is not a collection to read if you have any kind of triggers, but if you are like me and like to read stories that connect you to the characters and feel, I highly recommend this book. (I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.)

This collection of short stories is raw and unfiltered, at times beautifully poignant and at other times oddly bizarre. All stories about or told by women, Dangerous Women unflinchingly describes themes of love, hat, guilt, violence, sexuality, race, and motherhood in the voices of distinctly different women. They are brutally honest and serve as sharp insights into everything that makes women dangerous, challenging stereotypes and assumptions. Some were emotional to read, others so painful I could barely breathe. 

The collection is a masterful accomplishment that provides insight into some of the most violent and sexual aspects of humanity as well as some of the brightest. It lauds women, even as they are broken or being broken and down on their luck. Some stories are set in a recognizable setting and others take place in futuristic worlds. 

I would highly recommend this for mature audiences, although please be aware there are topics of non consensual sex and violence that are described. The stories are very well-written and beautifully engineered. 

Thanks to the publishers for an ARC in exchange for a fair review!

around 5 stories in I decided to put this down and while the stories themselves are okay and roxane gay's writing is wonderful it wasn't enough to keep me reading.

Gay's collection of short stories covers several themes, especially about relationships between men and women, relationships between sisters, and the effects of the cold and the dark on relationships. There is occasionally a bit of repetition between the stories, but for the most part they are effective and moving.

I Will Follow You - 3.5 stars.
Water, All Its Weight - 3.5 stars.
The Mark of Cain - 4.5 stars.
Difficult Woman - 4 stars.
Florida - 3.5 stars.
La Negra Blanca - 4.5 stars.
Baby Arm - 2.5 stars.
North Country - 5 stars.
How - 4.25 stars.
Requiem for a Glass Heart - DNFed.
In the Event of My Father's Death - 2 stars.
Break All the Way Down - DNFed.
Bad Priest - 3.5 stars.
Open Marriage - 4 stars.
Pat - 2.5 stars.
Best Features - 2 stars.
Bone Density - 3.5 stars.
I Am a Knife - 1.5 stars.
The Sacrifice of Darkness - DNFed.
Noble Things - 2 stars.
Strange Gods - 4.25 stars.

A gutsy, bare-all short story collection, that it could have been titled "It's Hard to Be A Woman".

As it's the case with most short story collections, I enjoyed some stories more than others, but overall, this is a well-worth your time.

After reading this, I"m really keen to read other books by Gay.

Recommended.

From the Sacramento News & Review:

The feminine complex
Difficult Women

By Kel Munger 
kelm@newsreview.com

This article was published on 01.26.17.

Roxane Gay (An Untamed State: A Novel and Bad Feminist: Essays) knows a thing or two about difficult women, which makes her new collection of short stories very aptly titled. In Difficult Women (Grove Press, $25), we get the scoop from the perspective of women who may not be easygoing—and they’re certainly not “ladies” in any sense of the word. Instead, we have a professor of materials engineering who finds herself not only the sole woman on faculty, but the sole African-American; she finds an unapologetic place for herself on her own terms. Then, there’s the opening tale of survival and love, “I Will Follow You,” in which two sisters, abducted and raped as children, find their way forward together. The dangers for these women are real, but they are about as far from cowering as it is possible to get.

Difficult Women is a treasure trove of stories varying in length and tone all peopled with women who are multi-layered. The scope of issues raised by Gay is staggering, but what was most surprising (to me at least) is the compassion and hopefulness with which they are addressed. For as many horrific experiences that these women have encountered, there is an equally stunning number of everyday miracles which make life blessedly bearable and even beautiful.

I had the privilege of hearing Roxane Gay speak at York College of Pennsylvania after the release of her book Bad Feminist. She was witty and empowering. I learned quite a bit that evening. When Netgalley offered her new book Difficult Women to review, I jumped on it. I am so glad I did.

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay was terrifying, wonderful, confusing, eye opening, lyrical, compelling, and damn good story telling. Difficult Women is a collection of twenty-one stories. 

I Will Follow You - heartbreaking but hopeful in the incredible strength of twin girls together. It left me wondering could they survived if they were separated totally? I felt as though there was a message here that women are stronger when they have each other’s backs regardless of the difference in their circumstances.

Water, All Its Weight - contained beautiful prose but had an abrupt end which left me unsure of the meaning.

The Mark of Cain - was really creepy in a stephen king kind of way. You have to read it for yourself.

Difficult Women - contains the following sections: Loose Women, Frigid Women, Crazy Women, Mothers, Dead Girls. Each section helps view the women in a non-judgemental way. It gave me a lot to think about.

Florida - Looks at a gated community from all levels, the rich residents, the service personnel, and the maids. One of the residents is newly moved in and is set apart because she is a first wife and also not a size 4. Seeing the community from all the different perspectives is eye opening and interesting.

La Negra Blanca - this story infuriated and educated me. 

North Country - is set at the Michigan Institute of Technology where Ms. Gay did do her graduate work. she talks about how being one of the few black faculty she is asked, “Are you from Detroit”. Her answer is a damning comment on the college’s culture.

The other stories are:
Baby Arm
How
Requiem for a Glass Heart
In the Event of my Father’s Death
Break All the Way Down
Bad Priest
Open Marriage
A Pat
Best Features
Bone Density
I am a Knife
The Sacrifice of Darkness
Noble Things
Strange Gods

Difficult Women is a book I will read over and over. I would like to read it with someone and be able to discuss it. I feel as though I have more to learn from it. I recommend Difficult Women to anyone who wants excellent stories as well as stories that touch your soul.

I'm glad I took my time with this because most of these stories were really gut-wrenching, but such worthy reads. Roxane Gay captures the complexity of women perfectly, which surprises no one because her writing is always so honest and real. 

10/10 would recommend! (Prepare to feel very uncomfortable and sad and happy and at peace...)

Difficult Women falls into a weird category for me. Short stories, all about difficult women. Women who have difficulties. Women who are difficult or deal with difficult men? Well, every story has a woman in it. That's not the weird part. The weird part is this: I am, overall, really liking this collection. However. Who on earth would I recommend it to? That list is fairly limited. There is a lot of mean sex, a lot of ugly stuff. I wouldn't EVER recommend this to someone whose reading preferences I did not know. I'd lump it with Tampa (a novel I loved but had trouble finding the right person to sell it to - a female teacher with a penchant for younger boys (think students)). Here are some of the stories I have totally loved: A woman struggling to find her place in a predominantly male work environment meets and falls in love with a swoonworthy guy who really just loves her. Because of some tragedy in her past, she struggles with accepting his love (North Country). In Requiem for a Glass Heart, a man falls in love with and marries a glass woman. The title story, Difficult Women, was also great - a segmented story defining a crazy woman, a loose woman, a frigid one. The Mark of Cain, another I really loved, about a woman married to an identical twin. Even the stories that made me feel like I needed a shower, that unnerved or embarrassed me, were really well written. A PhD student who works as a stripper at night deals with an appalling and completely horrible client. A female version of fight club. Two sisters who are abducted. Made my skin crawl, some of them, but that was the point. 4.5 stars.

I couldn't stop reading this collection of short stories. Some stories resonated with me more than others but every story was important. I would definitely recommend reading this if you haven't already.

Difficult Women is a short story collection by Roxane Gay, a feminist writer known for her essay collection Bad Feminist. This is a new release in 2017 and I should have finished reading it in 2016 but I couldn’t. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. It’s just because this is a short story collection, so it’s easy to read one story, put it down, then read another one when I feel like it. 
Difficult Women consists of 21 various short stories. Some of them only have two to three pages like Open Marriage and A Pat, and some of them are not. Most of the stories in this collection revolve around women and their struggles. Some have women of color as the main character. Based on what I read, it seems like the stories in this collection have the recurring themes of sexual abuse, racial issue, and child loss. Some of the stories have graphic sexual and violent content though, so this collection, in my opinion, is more suitable for mature readers. Also, trigger warning for sexual abuse.
The story which becomes the title of this collection is one of my favorites. Basically, the story is written like an article, in which Gay describes certain types of women that often perceived by society as ‘difficult women’. For example, she wrote about crazy women. Then she gave narratives on several traits that crazy women have. What I love about Difficult Women is how instead of showing how difficult a woman can be; it shows that it is difficult being a woman. It is common in society to give labels to women that have certain behavior. A woman could be a perfectionist and people would label her as demanding or high maintenance. Maybe, she’s a perfectionist because she’s expected to be a perfectionist. That’s just one example and I’m not sure if it’s a good one. My point is, this is one short story that I recommend to read.
Another interesting short story that’s in this collection is Noble Things. I personally think that this is the most interesting one after Difficult Women because it touches on the most recent issue. Noble Things sets after the United States presidential election. In this short story, Gay imagined what would happen after the President-elect finally becomes the President and people don't respond well to it. She wrote that there would be chaos and war and the country would be split. Some states would form new countries, some would join another country. But what makes this story touching is because it focuses on one particular family and how the situation impacts this family.
I must say I’m impressed by this collection. Sometimes in a short story collection, there are some stories that I enjoy and some that I don’t care and easily forget. With Difficult Women, I enjoy reading every single short story. True, I like some more than others. But still, I didn’t skip any of the stories. Moreover, Gay doesn’t shy away in her writing. She uses vulgar words when it’s necessary, sometimes poetic in the right proportions, I like it. The main characters in her stories are not perfect. They’re flawed, but they aren’t flawed without a cause. It’s a bit tough to read, since they seem like punishing themselves in the stories. But it’s touching when they finally overcome their issues. Difficult Women is a solid five out of five. I highly recommend this short story collection.

I'm such a fan of Roxane Gay. She writes like no one else. This short story collection is searing, beautiful, terrifying and frankly brilliant. You should know up front that this is a very difficult collection to read - the need for trigger warnings abounds. Almost every story explores a woman's life in searing detail and unflinching honesty. The women in this collection are shown in raw and real ways that you will feel in ways that make you uncomfortable and break your heart at all the same time. 

Although not an easy read emotionally, it's worth every single moment of reading time. It's a tough read and not for everyone. I think my favorite story is the first which centers around two children who were abducted and held captive during which they were sexually abused. It tells the story of how that experience affects them for the years to come. Heartbreaking and haunting. I'd say that probably does a good job of describing much of this collection. 

This collection isn't for everyone ... it's one that will not work for a lot of readers. So beware if you have delicate sensibilities. This may not be for you. However, if you can tolerate the content ... it's such a worthwhile read. It's beautifully written and so complex. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ebook copy of Difficult Women By: Roxane Gay in exchange for an honest review. 

This is the first book by Roxane Gay that I have read and for the most part it's a pretty good set of stories. I enjoyed how the stories featured all kinds of women from different walks of life. Some of the stories are pretty emotional, which is something that I really enjoy. 
#IsItWeirdThatIEnjoyThat?

However, I will say that some of the stories are a bit dull or just not to my taste.  Part of that may be that I did get a little tired of how much sex there is. I could have done with a little less of that honestly. I don't think sex has to be used in everything to make an impact. 
#SexSexSex

Overall Difficult Women is a pretty good set of stories. Since this is the first I've read from this author I didn't know what to expect, but I really love her writing style. I'm glad that I read this one because some of the stories are really fantastic. I would read more by Roxane Gay in the future just for the writing alone to be honest. 
#BeautifulWriting

I recommend Difficult Women for anyone interested in stories about women with beautiful writing. 
#DidIMentionBeautifulWriting?

I don't generally read feminist writing and I've never read anything by Roxane Gay before. However, I once heard her take part in a TV panel discussion and she was such an erudite, smart and interesting speaker that I was drawn to read this book of her short stories. 
The women in her stories are not so much 'difficult' but real and tough and sometimes tender and loving. Many of them have difficult lives or difficult starts to life and have had to endure or overcome poverty, abuse and even abduction. Some of them use physical pain or rough sex to numb emotional pain and those stories can be hard to read. What they share is that they are all strong and passionate and empowered to overcome their setbacks in life. This is a powerful collection of stories. Gay's language is lean and direct but somehow conveys depth and emotion as she takes us to some dark places. This is not to say the stories are all doom and gloom; there is much humour and hope to be found and even a little speculative fiction.