Author: Roxane Gay
Title: Difficult Women
Genre: Women’s Lives and Relationships, Short Stories
Publication Date: January 3rd 2017
Number of Pages: 272
Geographical Setting: United States, Various. Florida, Michigan, California
Time Period: Present Day
Plot Summary: This is a collection of short stories that have been featured in various publications. They each have a sense of heartbreak that comes from loving someone. While most of the stories focus on relationships between man and woman, there are also stories that focus on relationships between family members, coworkers, and friends. These stories feature women in a variety of settings, all dealing with their own struggles and how they overcome or deal with the complexities of being a woman, and often a black woman, in the world.
Subject Headings:FICTION / Short Stories (single author)
FICTION / Literary.
FICTION / Literary.
Appeal: This book appeals to anyone who has experienced struggle. This book makes you experience complex feelings about the characters and completely absorbs you into these worlds that are created. The reader can feel and imagine themselves in every situation, so these stories stick with you for a long time.
Genre:Literary fiction; Short stories
Tone:Offbeat; Thought-provoking
Writing Style:Stylistically complex
Three terms that best describe this book: Intense, moving, powerful
Similar Authors: Joan Didion, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates, Hilton Als, Rebecca Solnit, Zadie Smith, bell hooks
Hi Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the title of this book I created my own idea of what the book is about. Maybe it is my male point of view or that I am fighting off a cold and not thinking straight, but I was thinking that it had to do with women being difficult to other people. Then after reading your review the plot goes against my initial thoughts and explains that it is about women in difficult relationships.
We have heard the old saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover”. This also goes for book titles. Many years ago I was on a kick about not giving my art work a title, because I thought that it gave the audience a preconceived idea what the art was about. Since that time my views have relaxed and I title my art work usually something simple or a fun title.
Here is a list from Goodreads about called Misleading Book Titles. Some of these like Red Dragon by Thomas Harris at first glance could be a YA novel series about dragons. However, after looking beyond the title it is Hannibal Lector story with an intriguing title.
Other stories like Cat House could possibly be about cats or a slang word for a brothel. The summary of this story according to Goodreads is that it is about cats who are prostitutes that have to fight evil coyote demons. So, the title has a double meaning. I am a dog person, but this cat tale sounds weird and interesting.
Here is the URL for more books from the GoodReads list: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6239075-cat-house
Thanks for posting.
Rob
I also wondered about the title, and I also assumed that it meant women who are particularly stubborn or fierce or "difficult to other people" as Rob said. I think it's actually a combination of both of these; on Amazon, Publisher's Weekly describes the women as "troubled, headstrong, and unconventional". They also appear to face serious and weighty issues as many reviewers mention sexual assault, loss, deep poverty, and so on. The book's tone is described as dark, modern, and dissonant (Washington Post). Short stories are often seen as "less than" full length novels, but this book shows just how powerful they can really be.
DeleteI like the book is a collection of short stories because that would provide a fair amount of variety for the patrons that read the novel. I feel like these would be relatable to any patrons that may be going through similar situations and may even provide a good amount of perspective. I like that you provided similar authors, but I think that it would be more effective supply similar titles so that you would be able to suggest a specific book that could be checked out.
ReplyDeleteApril brings up a good point about short stories. There are times that I am in the mood to read a book about a certain genre. However, I want to read something that I can read in an afternoon or during my hour long lunch break (I am not a fast reader). Short story compilations are a great way for me to enjoy a story without investing a lot of time in it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with April's comment about short stories providing a fair amount of variety. At times a short story collection may have an author whose story I enjoyed and that encourages me to seek out more material written by this author. Short Story collections are like a buffet; I know to stay away from the nasty tasting peas, but I may find a new dish I enjoy that I had not tried before.
I'm glad for this annotation of such a recently published book--and one which I want to read but haven't gotten my hands on yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think about how to recommend a book like this--which is "stylistically complex" and "offbeat" to readers who may not gravitate toward more "literary" literature. I'd like to find a good way to do this even so, because I think a lot of readers would find themselves engrossed in the stories that Gay tells, from what you say about them, but might be thrown off by some of the other appeal terms. I think focusing on the "women's lives and relationships" quality of this book is a really smart way to do that.
Wonderful annotation! Great job with the summary and appeals. Full points!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I like that you used a book of short stories. It is easy to read a story and then come back to it later and read another. We all have struggles and look to find people that we can relate to. Using characters in stories is one of the best ways. We can see how these characters work out their struggles and learn from them, both good and bad.
ReplyDeleteGreat annotation, you made me want to read the book. I am reading a book by one of your read-alike authors for the African-American genre.
ReplyDeleteI could very well identify with this book. This book is a great reminder that we are not alone in our struggles and there is always hope to lead us to the happiness we deserve. Thanks for sharing.
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