2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Roxane Gay's book, An Untamed State.


***Please remember to mark spoilers.***


Participants: Cassandra, Lynn, LIndsay

Suggested break down of reading so that you can check in and let us know how you're doing. The following breakdown is purely a suggestion and is therefore not set in stone.

Rather than putting dates for each section I've done it so that it takes into account that not everybody will necessarily have the book at the same time.

Week 1: 92
Week 2: 92
Week 3: 92
Week 4: 92

I finished at 3am. I liked the writing style straight away and read the first quarter interspersed with other things. Then I just kept reading until I was done. Let me know how you're getting on!

I started it at bedtime last night and read 5 chapters. I couldn't stop thinking about Mireille.....she really grabbed me. I've never read Roxane Gay before but I'll have to try her essays after this.

Sounds like you are off to a good start with this book! I look forward to your discussions!

I haven't started yet - lots of books committed to for January! I'll probably get to it in about a week, hopefully a bit sooner, and I'm super excited to discuss with you. :)

Ive made it to Part 2......about halfway. (view spoiler)[I'm really disturbed by the mingling of Mireille's best/happiest memories and most terrible moments in captivity. Seems she's trading her identity and sense of self so she can survive the kidnapping. I think she may be too shattered to survive freedom now. (hide spoiler)]

I cannot believe we are half way through January already!

For those of you who have not finished the book, please feel free to comment on what you have read so far. For those who have finished, please remember to keep your comments general or mark spoilers. You can mark spoilers by placing [spoiler] before the text and [/spoiler] after the text using <> instead of {}.

I have not read this book but from the reviews and discussions I have seen, it sounds more horrific than any King novel. Does this book shock you?

Mary Pat wrote: "I have not read this book but from the reviews and discussions I have seen, it sounds more horrific than any King novel. Does this book shock you?"

I finished the book last night and thought it was written in such an intimate way that the reader lives the story with the protagonist. The writing is very intense, immediate and internal......I think it could be very difficult to endure reading for some people. As a vicarious experience it was much more genuine than a horror novel, but torture is scarier than monsters to me.

Hiya! I'm starting this book now. =)

I haven't gotten here yet, but I will as soon as I get through Outlander, so probably another two days or so.

EDIT: For some reason, I guess I didn't have this one checked out from the library, so I had to put a hold on it. So I'm probably about a week out from starting. :(

I finished this agonising read about 30 minutes ago, and I just don't know what to do with myself. It's one of the most devastating stories I've ever read; I feel … undone.

My problem with this is that it's a work of fiction. Don't get me wrong: it's not that I wish for this to have been a factual account; but the truth is that it probably is some unfortunate soul's truth. It reads like a memoir and had it been a memoir, I would have felt like I was bearing witness, like I had an obligation to respectfully listen to every horrific detail.

But it's fiction! Gay made up this story! And for the life of me, with so much real horror in the world, I can't understand why.

"To what degree does even the most reproving representation of sexual abuse participate in the visceral thrill and habituate us to such treatment?"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...

I read a few interviews to try to understand why someone would choose to write something like this. Gay says that she saw another side to the Haitian paradise she knew and wanted to explore that.
http://archive.jsonline.com/entertain...

I just … I don't even know. I'm beside myself. I think probably I shouldn't have read this book. Holy moley.

Nik wrote: "I finished this agonising read about 30 minutes ago, and I just don't know what to do with myself. It's one of the most devastating stories I've ever read; I feel … undone.

My problem with this is..."

You know, I can understand your objections to reading something fictional that's so dark. I personally believe this book has to be fiction, because no survivor of such a horrible experience could write it up as a memoir and be believed. Who would want to share such personal degradation with the world? It needs to fiction to even be discussed. To me, it's very significant that there was nothing sexy about Mirielle's capture and torture. The book conveyed the humiliation and dehumanization of Mirielle at the hands of her kidnappers without eroticizing it......perfect writing by Roxane Gay I think.

I gave this book 5 stars too. Definitely not everyone, but what is?

P.S. Thanks for the links :-)

Lynn wrote: "I personally believe this book has to be fiction, because no survivor of such a horrible experience could write it up as a memoir and be believed. Who would want to share such personal degradation with the world? It needs to fiction to even be discussed. "

That's a really good point, Lynn. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! And you're welcome, glad you found the links useful.

Great conversations here! One more week to add any thoughts and comments!

It is the last day of January! I hope everyone enjoyed the book and your discussions!

I will wait a week or so before archiving this thread for any additional comments folks would like to make. Once archived, you will still be able to read the thread but you will not be able to add new comments.

Thanks for participating!

I meant to comment yesterday - I finished this book in two big sittings. It's so suspenseful that it was hard to put down.

On the other hand, it's so intense that it's hard to read. I agree that the mingling of the memories of the before, which are happy, and the scenes during her captivity is really jarring. It helps you sympathize with Mirielle.

One of my favorite things about this book is that neither Mirielle nor Michael are perfect - their relationship is flawed even before the kidnapping. And I agree with Lynn that the kidnapping and torture is portrayed in all of its ugliness. All of that is important to portray a story that feels truly real and raw.

While this is undoubtably similar to someone's real life story, I don't think I could have read it if it was a true story, and I don't know if someone could have written in such a gritty way if they actually went through it.

Roxane Gay was raped, I think, so she understands abuse, and I do agree that it's important to read and talk about.

Cassandra wrote: "I meant to comment yesterday - I finished this book in two big sittings. It's so suspenseful that it was hard to put down."

I'm glad you were able to read the book Cassandra. Thank you for bringing Roxane Gay forward in my to-read list. I love that she doesn't oversimplify the issues in Haiti to make her fiction accessible. I watched her TED talk right after I finished the book and decided I'd have to read Bad Feminist after all.

Nice! I definitely want to read Bad Feminist at some point this year, and I'll check out the TED talk too. :)

I think this book will stay with me for a long time. Although it was a difficult topic I'm glad I read it.