I’ve been reading Roxane Gay’s non-fiction for awhile now, but this is the first fiction book of hers I’ve read. The first idea I learned is how to bring realism to the character. From my knowledge of her non-fiction books I was able to pick up how she as an author can relate to the main character, Mireille. In the book Mireille gets kidnapped for 13 days, and quite quickly the characters self is lost. “I made myself forget everything...love, my husbands sleeping body, his smile…”. This shows what went through Mireille’s mind after getting abused by her kidnappers. The second idea I learned is how to have an active voice. Roxane’s writing is rich in active voice, which helps the reader be more impacted by the words she says. “...I tried to breathe, tried to free myself but there was nothing I could do.”. This specific sentence uses the word “tried” to push for more impact on the situation occurring. The third idea I learned is how to talk about the character’s past life. Throughout the story it switches from the present to the past. The past talks about her husband, son, and family to give the readers some backstory while she’s being kidnapped. It doesn’t interrupt the storyline because it’s separated, and it also relates to the past in some way. For example after she’s released from the kidnappers, it goes into a flashback “When I was a little girl, I thought my father had the biggest, strongest hands in the world”. Then when it goes to the present the character’s thoughts change: “On that fourteenth day, the dark empty of my salvation, I saw the hands of a weak, stubborn man.”
The first idea I learned is how to bring realism to the character. From my knowledge of her non-fiction books I was able to pick up how she as an author can relate to the main character, Mireille. In the book Mireille gets kidnapped for 13 days, and quite quickly the characters self is lost. “I made myself forget everything...love, my husbands sleeping body, his smile…”. This shows what went through Mireille’s mind after getting abused by her kidnappers.
The second idea I learned is how to have an active voice. Roxane’s writing is rich in active voice, which helps the reader be more impacted by the words she says. “...I tried to breathe, tried to free myself but there was nothing I could do.”. This specific sentence uses the word “tried” to push for more impact on the situation occurring.
The third idea I learned is how to talk about the character’s past life. Throughout the story it switches from the present to the past. The past talks about her husband, son, and family to give the readers some backstory while she’s being kidnapped. It doesn’t interrupt the storyline because it’s separated, and it also relates to the past in some way. For example after she’s released from the kidnappers, it goes into a flashback “When I was a little girl, I thought my father had the biggest, strongest hands in the world”. Then when it goes to the present the character’s thoughts change: “On that fourteenth day, the dark empty of my salvation, I saw the hands of a weak, stubborn man.”