After reading the first story, I had to take a long break. It was hard to read. I am glad that I was able to come back to the other stories. They are at times difficult to read, but oh so honest.

Some of these stories were previously published, and there's certainly recurring themes, but for the most part the stories knit together very well. A few of the shorter pieces felt a little out-of-place but the overall impact is strong.

Many women are described as "difficult" the moment they are deemed too loud, too opininated, too cold, too troubled, too much. Gay cherishs these women and gives them stories which reflect their complexity. Gay's characters struggle in a racist patriarchel world and get hurt, but they also explore different coping mechanisms (sometimes things which put them straight to the category "difficult"), solidarity and love. Even though many of these stories are quite bleak there is always a glimmer of hopefulness and the end of many stories left me with a smile (if only a faint one). .

Gay has a beautiful, distinct voice, which also links the stories, which are sometimes realistic, sometimes carry elements of magical realism and are sometimes outright speculative fiction. I am sure I will keep on thinking about some of the protagonists for a long time: there are for examples the two sisters, who were abducted as children, the Black engineer starting a new job in the North and the women who married the man whose father made the sun go away. .

I really did like the collection, but unfortunatly did not love it as much as I wanted to. I read the whole collection in one day and there were themes and even phrases which were repeated too often (there is a lot of writing about (mostly hetero) sex and in these scenes my problem was most apparent). Each story might have worked in itself, but as a whole collection it felt a bit lacking. Still I'd recommend to read the collection - but may be take it slow.

I've read a number of Roxane Gay's books, I especially loved Hunger & Bad Feminist. Difficult Women picks up where she left off with her previous book of essays, Bad Feminist, and gives you more detailed short stories that address every woman. A good woman, a bad woman... every woman.

That is WHAT Ms. Gay does, she doesn't just give you her point of view but rather gives you various points of view that cause you to take a step back and really think about that person based on that situation rather than throwing yourself in said person's situation. This is what makes Ms. Gay a writer that everyone flocks to and will continue to.

I can not recommend this book enough. Thank you for another kickass book.

I've wanted to read something written by Roxanne Gay for a while, and when I was presented with the opportunity to review this book I took it. Unfortunately, most of the stories were unnecessary crude to me, some aspects even seeming overly exaggerated to cause a harsher impact on the reader. 
I am sorry to say that this book was not for me. However, those few stories I DID like kept my interest on Gay's work because I enjoyed the writing style and tone, so I'll probably give her another chance.

This is a collection of rather strange stories - - actually more snippets of life than stories.  The writing is good and the author has a theme going to make all of the selections tie in together.  The subject matter is dark and pretty depressing, but thought-provoking.

I didn't hate the stories - but didn't love them either.  It was just an okay read for me.

At some point in time in her life, every woman will be called difficult. As we all know, this is a euphemism for being emotional, opinionated, pushy, bitchy, and sometimes just for being alive. In Roxane Gay's latest collection of short stories, she highlights the many reasons why we may indeed be difficult. These reasons are every bit as emotional, disturbing, and honest as you would think.

Each story is powerful in its own right and demands careful reflection upon finishing it. Some are so upsetting that you cannot move forward with digesting what you just read. However, the collection is so compelling that you find yourself reading the stories one after the other. There is merit in either approach to the book. Both approaches will ultimately lead you to the same conclusions about women's place in society.

In each short story Ms. Gay provides an unflinching look at just a few of the issues women deal with on a daily basis. Even more impressively, she creates characters that are more than just caricatures. You know these women. They are your girlfriends, your sisters, mothers, daughters; they are you. This fact, along with her sensitive, almost poetic, approach to very difficult topics, makes this collection a must-read for feminists. 

Ms. Gay reminds all readers that if someone insists on calling us difficult, we are so because of the challenges we face in a male-dominated society. Our unique roles as mothers and caregivers brings its own challenges that men will never understand. Ms. Gay does understand and it shows in every word in each of her short stories. Coming off of the craptastic 2016 and the disturbing revelations the presidential election revealed about society, Difficult Women is an essential read for 2017.

The first short story was chosen very well. It sets the atmosphere as somewhat dark and twisted, sad and difficult. Because of this interesting first story I was unable to put the book down at this point. Gay's writing is highly enjoyable and somewhat different from most authors I read. At least this is the feeling it conveys. The wording is simple, but also effective and strong.

Difficult Women, the short story that gave Gay's book its name, is in contrast to the stories leading to it written differently and has a different vibe to it. In its prominent state, it connected to the other stories very well. All of the stories were unique and written distinctly. The diversity in these short stories was refreshing and gave this book a more profound vibe.

Two or three of the short stories were not interesting to me at all. I wanted to skip these, but didn't.  Awaiting a turn in events, which did happen at some point, saved them somehow.

Short stories about many different women, whom I would have liked to read more about. Nearly all of them kept my undivided attention, with most of them leaving me heartbroken at least in some way. I would recommend to anyone not being bothered with subtly being called out for sexist and racist behavior and explicit sex scenes.

A tough and uncompromising collection of stories from an author I have come to admire greatly. As with all short story collections some will have greater appeal than others, but this collection is diverse enough to provide something for everyone. As the title suggests it's about difficult women, often strong, tough women, in all their guises, wife, friend, lover, sibling, parent. My particular favourites were I will follow you and The Sacrifice of darkness, but each of the stories was well written and packed a punch.