Difficult Women
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- Create Date：2021-06-27 09:54:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Roxane Gay
- ISBN：1472152778
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Summary
The women in these stories live lives of privilege and of poverty， are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail。 A pair of sisters， grown now， have been inseparable ever since they were abducted together as children， and must negotiate the elder sister's marriage。 A woman married to a twin pretends not to realize when her husband and his brother impersonate each other。 A stripper putting herself through college fends off the advances of an overzealous customer。 A black engineer moves to Upper Michigan for a job and faces the malign curiosity of her colleagues and the difficulty of leaving her past behind。 From a girls' fight club to a wealthy subdivision in Florida where neighbors conform， compete， and spy on each other， Gay delivers a wry， beautiful， haunting vision of modern America。
Reviews
Alisa
，
I enjoy Roxane Gay's writing， and I think these stories are dark in the best possible way。 I did find the book to be about 30% too long， but that may be more of a reflection on my appetite for short stories than it is on the book itself。 3。5/5 I enjoy Roxane Gay's writing， and I think these stories are dark in the best possible way。 I did find the book to be about 30% too long， but that may be more of a reflection on my appetite for short stories than it is on the book itself。 3。5/5 。。。more
Jill
，
This is such a hard book to review。 I can't say I "liked" it because it isn't as simple as that。 This isn't a fun read， at times it isn't even an enjoyable read。 It is challenging， it is mind-opening， it is enraging， it is heart-breaking。。。it is。。。diffcult。I would love to have read this book in a class or with book club that likes challenging material。 This book is not for everyone， there is a lot of uncomfortable trauma here。 That trauma actually made it harder for me to engage with the materia This is such a hard book to review。 I can't say I "liked" it because it isn't as simple as that。 This isn't a fun read， at times it isn't even an enjoyable read。 It is challenging， it is mind-opening， it is enraging， it is heart-breaking。。。it is。。。diffcult。I would love to have read this book in a class or with book club that likes challenging material。 This book is not for everyone， there is a lot of uncomfortable trauma here。 That trauma actually made it harder for me to engage with the material。 I purposely kept myself farther apart from the text， it was too much at times。 Because of that barrier I put up I don't think I fully understood all that Ms。 Gay wanted to convey。 I think in a discussion people could add more insight for me and I would have gotten more out of it。 I settled on three stars for this because a part of me wanted to give it four for the unbridled genius of the work but another part of me wanted to give it only two stars for the unrelenting darkness/sadness that weaves through the pages。 。。。more
Doti
，
3，78Bardzo doceniam tę książkę i nie twierdzę， że jest słaba。 Wydaje mi się jednak， że po prostu nie jest dla mnie。 Jest dla mnie zbyt dziwna， też mnie bardzo zdołowała i przestraszyła。 Niektórych opowiadań chyba trochę nie zrozumiałam， no ale to raczej moja wina， nie autorki。
W。 D。 Herstun
，
4。5 - Roxane Gay got RANGE。 These stories are amazing and played with perspective， plotting， character development。 Everything。 Ambitious。 The first story， I Will Follow You， left me feeling haunted。 And the loss of children/childhood was a theme that kept coming back up throughout the book。 It’s LITERARY fiction fa sho。 But it was still kind of dark and twisted。 Like Maya Angelou and Octavia Butler had a baby that kind of looked like James Baldwin but not exactly。 Baby Arm was so good。 The endi 4。5 - Roxane Gay got RANGE。 These stories are amazing and played with perspective， plotting， character development。 Everything。 Ambitious。 The first story， I Will Follow You， left me feeling haunted。 And the loss of children/childhood was a theme that kept coming back up throughout the book。 It’s LITERARY fiction fa sho。 But it was still kind of dark and twisted。 Like Maya Angelou and Octavia Butler had a baby that kind of looked like James Baldwin but not exactly。 Baby Arm was so good。 The ending to In the Event of My Father’s Death was twisted lmao。 And Magnus in North Country is “what all the women want”。 Roxane Gay writes hetero like she’s hetero and that’s dope。Requiem for a Glass Heart & The Sacrifice of Darkness would be great Black Mirror episodes。 Overall I loved it。 I would probably have given it five stars if the twisted stories were all together。 And there were a few I could have lived without。 Open Marriage let me down lol。 I look forward to reading more。 Gay’s writing is so polished， pristine， and FINISHED。 I aspire to that feel with my work！！ 。。。more
Ruth Lemon
，
Powerful collection。 Highly recommend。 Gay’s writing is just ❤️ And follow her here。 Her reviews are great！
emma
，
my becoming-a-genius project， part 12。5！here is the accursed lowdown:i have decided to become a genius。to accomplish this， i'm going to work my way through the collected stories of various authors， reading + reviewing 1 story every day （in this case 2 a day - i'm allowed to break the rule because i made them） until i get bored / lose every single follower / am struck down by a vengeful deity。this is 12。5 （and not 13） because this project is allegedly one in which i read the COLLECTED STORIES of my becoming-a-genius project， part 12。5！here is the accursed lowdown:i have decided to become a genius。to accomplish this， i'm going to work my way through the collected stories of various authors， reading + reviewing 1 story every day （in this case 2 a day - i'm allowed to break the rule because i made them） until i get bored / lose every single follower / am struck down by a vengeful deity。this is 12。5 （and not 13） because this project is allegedly one in which i read the COLLECTED STORIES of authors， not one collection。 so i'm reading back to back roxane gay， baby。 completionist as hell。PROJECT 1: THE COMPLETE STORIES BY FLANNERY O'CONNORPROJECT 2: HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES BY CARMEN MARIA MACHADOPROJECT 3: 18 BEST STORIES BY EDGAR ALLAN POEPROJECT 4: THE LOTTERY AND OTHER STORIES BY SHIRLEY JACKSONPROJECT 5: HOW LONG 'TIL BLACK FUTURE MONTH？ BY N。K。 JEMISINPROJECT 6: THE SHORT STORIES OF OSCAR WILDE BY OSCAR WILDEPROJECT 7: THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK BY ANDREW LANGPROJECT 8: GRAND UNION: STORIES BY ZADIE SMITHPROJECT 9: THE BEST OF ROALD DAHL BY ROALD DAHLPROJECT 10: LOVE AND FREINDSHIP BY JANE AUSTENPROJECT 11: HOMESICK FOR ANOTHER WORLD BY OTTESSA MOSHFEGHPROJECT 12: BAD FEMINIST BY ROXANE GAYPROJECT 12。5: DIFFICULT WOMEN BY ROXANE GAYDAY 1， PART 1: I WILL FOLLOW YOUi am embarrassed to admit i didn't really look into this book （i go into almost everything blind - more fun that way） and did not realize that this was a collection of short stories， not a collection of essays。this is a pleasant surprise。this story is very horrible in a way that is not。。。believable？ this doesn't feel real， like real things that happened to real people。 the "after" feels true but not the "before" or the "during。"the writing， though。 wonderful。rating: 3。5DAY 1， PART 2: WATER， ALL ITS WEIGHTi mean。。。okay。rating: 3DAY 2， PART 1: THE MARK OF CAINguessing from the title alone this will be some fun， light reading。i， like。。。respect this story， i think？ but i wonder if i will ever find one where the characters and their lives feel real to me。maybe a bit doom and gloom - this is only the third one。rating: 3。5DAY 2， PART 2: DIFFICULT WOMENweird placement for the title story but OK！this one didn't have characters or a story really and i finally really liked it。rating: 4。5DAY 3， PART 1: FLORIDAhurray for another story without lasting characters or a narrative！rating: 3。75DAY 3， PART 2: LA NEGRA BLANCAthis was very horrible to read。 good but very horrible。rating: 4DAY 4， PART 1: BABY ARMall right。 i am deeply hungover （spent last night wine drunk doing the following: watching a years-old super bowl; tweeting to bands like they're my friends; adding people on linkedin with overly familiar messages; questioning my sexuality） and i'm ready to rumble。 also i might order domino's but that's up in the air。this was so weird but in a good way。 i'm surprised roxane gay didn't like ottessa moshfegh's short story collection more。rating: 4。5DAY 4， PART 2: NORTH COUNTRYdrinking a Strawberry Parfait Breakfast Smoothie i forgot i bought。 it's terrible。 and so we beat on， boats against the current。 sorry i'm treating this like a diary today。oh jesus this was way too nice。 what the hell。 why was this so nice。 damn it roxane i can't deal with yearning today！rating: 4。5DAY 5， PART 1: HOWultimately i did order domino's yesterday， for anyone who is invested。i admire how much roxane gay is interested in both michigan and toxically close sister relationships。anyway i like this one。rating: 4DAY 5， PART 2: REQUIEM FOR A GLASS HEARTthis was like。。。okay， this was like watching a critically acclaimed movie where you can sit there and be like "i understand that this is well done， even as it is not enjoyable for me to watch and is making me feel nothing。"rating: 3DAY 6， PART 1: IN THE EVENT OF MY FATHER'S DEATHi like this 50% more than i would have with a different title。 it's a good title。rating: 3。75DAY 6， PART 2: BREAK ALL THE WAY DOWNagain！ another one with no realness to it！ it's so frustrating to me because i don't even know how to explain it in a way that will make sense。rating: 2。75DAY 7， PART 1: BAD PRIESTreally hoping this is the Fleabag kind of bad priest and not the Spotlight kind。 although those are both in my top 10 favorite pieces of media。okay more the Fleabag kind thankfully but definitely not as hot。rating: 3DAY 7， PART 2: OPEN MARRIAGEthis is a one pager and a fun change of pace， especially considering my most common criticism of these stories。rating: 3。75DAY 8， PART 1: THE PATdoes anyone else remember that very short-lived TV show "The Slap"？ easy winner for most unhinged trailer。anyway this title reminds me of that。 obviously。i am obsessed with this story。 it's f*cking brilliant。 i don't even want to explain it， i just want everyone to read it。 i guess i'll say this proves masterfully how little our pity for others has to do with them， and it does it in like 2 pages。rating: 5DAY 8， PART 2: BEST FEATURESthis one reminds me of the recent response to people who say things like 'dating is unpaid sex work': you don't have to date people you don't like。i guess the point of this story is that the protagonist feels like she has to， but i don't know。 i just can't get into most of these characters。another good title though。rating: 2。75DAY 9， PART 1: BONE DENSITYi really often dislike marriage stories， as a 23 year old who is still able to believe she's immune to it。the ending of this was pretty hit-you-over-the-head， to steal an -ism of my senior year english teacher's。rating: 2。5DAY 9， PART 2: I AM A KNIFEsheesh。 no thank you。rating: 2。25DAY 10， PART 1: THE SACRIFICE OF DARKNESSlamer title than usual but okay。yeah i just didn't really like this one。 not sure why。rating: 2DAY 10， PART 2: NOBLE THINGSditto for this one。 maybe i'm just a grump。rating: 2 。。。more
Alexandra
，
2。5
Erin
，
I love Roxane Gay！ Her books are always well written and deeply meaningful。 They are also super dark。 You don't pick up a Roxane Gay book and expect a happy ending。 Her books are bleak and I LOVE bleakness。 Difficult Women has all the triggers: Sexual assault， child abduction， racism， child death， talk of suicide， incest， depression and a ton of other things that I'm forgetting。 My point is that Roxane Gay is not for the faint of heart。 Difficult Women is a fantastic collection of stories about I love Roxane Gay！ Her books are always well written and deeply meaningful。 They are also super dark。 You don't pick up a Roxane Gay book and expect a happy ending。 Her books are bleak and I LOVE bleakness。 Difficult Women has all the triggers: Sexual assault， child abduction， racism， child death， talk of suicide， incest， depression and a ton of other things that I'm forgetting。 My point is that Roxane Gay is not for the faint of heart。 Difficult Women is a fantastic collection of stories about women living real lives and dealing with some truly awful things that are true to life。 I couldn't relate to every story in this book but I still felt connected to the women and these women felt real to me。 If you've never read Queen Roxane， than I think Difficult Women is a great start。 My own personal favorite of Queen Roxane's works is Hunger but not everyone enjoys nonfiction。 I loved this book but I wont recommend it widely because this book is a dark read at times and it's trigger filled。 。。。more
Kiara
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I genuinely wanted to like this book and had very high expectations。 I was tempted to DNF multiple times but kept reading with the hope it would get better。。 spoiler alert it doesn’t。I could not connect with the stories or sympathize with characters in any way。
Hanna
，
I have mixed feelings about this book。 Some of the stories had very fat-phobic， misogynistic themes。 I understand these aren’t Gay’s views， but still hard to read at times。 On the other hand， some of the stories are beautiful and strange and sad and sweet and overall a treasure to read。
Ashley
，
Difficult to read， because of some of the trauma that these characters have experienced， but well worth it， in my opinion。 Roxanne Gay's writing style is excellent and I'm excited to read more from her。 Difficult to read， because of some of the trauma that these characters have experienced， but well worth it， in my opinion。 Roxanne Gay's writing style is excellent and I'm excited to read more from her。 。。。more
Holly
，
Honestly， Roxane Gay can do no wrong。 Everything she writes is so good I don’t even have the words to articulate how incredible the stories in this collection are。 Messy， raw and uncomfortable？ Definitely。 But often threaded with hope and love too。 It’s rare I love every story in a collection， but this one was flawless for me。
Joel
，
Harrowing stories， with such image-rich details in the plot and in the characters' psyches。 TW: Roxane Gay doesn't spare the reader from the sufferings of her characters， allowing them to express themselves with a truly rare authenticity。 Harrowing stories， with such image-rich details in the plot and in the characters' psyches。 TW: Roxane Gay doesn't spare the reader from the sufferings of her characters， allowing them to express themselves with a truly rare authenticity。 。。。more
Eli Snyder
，
I do not consider myself a short story reader。 Generally speaking， when I finish a collection of short stories， I feel unsated; it often seems like an author takes something worthwhile and attempts to cram it into a medium that is much too small， which leaves the plot thin， characters underdeveloped， and the story feeling generally unfinished。 That is not the case with Difficult Women。Throughout the length of Difficult Women， Roxane Gay chronicles the tumultuous lives of various women from compl I do not consider myself a short story reader。 Generally speaking， when I finish a collection of short stories， I feel unsated; it often seems like an author takes something worthwhile and attempts to cram it into a medium that is much too small， which leaves the plot thin， characters underdeveloped， and the story feeling generally unfinished。 That is not the case with Difficult Women。Throughout the length of Difficult Women， Roxane Gay chronicles the tumultuous lives of various women from completely disparate locations， socioeconomic statuses， and backgrounds。 Though all different， Gay expertly writes these vignette-style pieces in ways that say something larger about how trauma and hardship undergirds everyones' existence， both in Difficult Women and in the world at-large。In many ways， this collection normalizes the pain of simply existing， creating a complex web of stories articulating how life is difficult and confusing， yet also valuable and worth fighting for。 Like everything Gay writes， she restores the humanity in hardship。 。。。more
Celine Ko
，
This series of short stories was oddly gripping。 Sometimes， I felt seriously uncomfortable reading。 Other times， I felt like I didn't know where the story was going。 Either way， it was an experience to try to be someone else for a little while， and understand that I had it so good。 This series of short stories was oddly gripping。 Sometimes， I felt seriously uncomfortable reading。 Other times， I felt like I didn't know where the story was going。 Either way， it was an experience to try to be someone else for a little while， and understand that I had it so good。 。。。more
Kylie Brooks
，
This prose undid me in the best way。 Each story was a gorgeous use of language and I am floored by Gay's talent and mind。I didn't finish this book， because I felt like I had enough of the sexual content， but I will say that understand that sexual content in each piece to be a sort of a stand-in/representation of the wounds each of these women carry with them。 Very poignant as a theme， but reading it over and over became too much for me。 This prose undid me in the best way。 Each story was a gorgeous use of language and I am floored by Gay's talent and mind。I didn't finish this book， because I felt like I had enough of the sexual content， but I will say that understand that sexual content in each piece to be a sort of a stand-in/representation of the wounds each of these women carry with them。 Very poignant as a theme， but reading it over and over became too much for me。 。。。more
Sirena
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Firstly， all the trigger warnings。I wanted to like this book。 Roxane Gay is a good and interesting writer。 Even so， I can't stand this book and should have stopped reading it but I felt compelled to finish。 Her writing was fine but the stories were， uh， let's say disturbing， cringy， horrific， sad。。。 Part of the problem is that I made judgements on this book based on the author and my perception that it would be a feminist tome based on the title。 Nope。 One could possibly call it feminist in that Firstly， all the trigger warnings。I wanted to like this book。 Roxane Gay is a good and interesting writer。 Even so， I can't stand this book and should have stopped reading it but I felt compelled to finish。 Her writing was fine but the stories were， uh， let's say disturbing， cringy， horrific， sad。。。 Part of the problem is that I made judgements on this book based on the author and my perception that it would be a feminist tome based on the title。 Nope。 One could possibly call it feminist in that it is a book mostly focused on women and some of them live their own lives。 Really， though， this is a book about rape， incest， abuse， infidelity， and child death via accidents， still births， miscarriages and I feel like I'm missing one， not sure。This is not a book about difficult women; it is a book about sad， tired， and abused women but who are also extremely unlikeable。 Why 3 stars？ This book was likely much more a theraputic exercise for the author than anything else。 In that there is honor and empathy。 Her voice usually works。 There is nothing wrong with telling these stories。 For me， though， these are people I might know but cannot stand or people I hope to never meet。 If you like the author and are mentally prepared for these kinds of stories， go for it。 If you are not in a place where you want to read about rape， rape， incest rape， cheating， cheating， cheating， abuse， cheating， abuse cheating， and all manner of deceased babies and children， then maybe pick up a different book for now。 。。。more
Veronica Liew
，
A very powerful set of short stories， all with women who love， hate， and rage with so much raw emotionality， knowing that the world of men owed them so much and created in them so much darkness， and yet， beauty still manages to bloom in the darkest crevices。
Dianne J。
，
Gay is a wonderful writer but at times this was hard to read。 I am reading her memoir， Hunger next。 At the end Gay added 3 more short stories: Pilgrims， We Are All so Happy Now and Glass。 The first two were sad and believable。 Glass was exhausting to read and much like some of my dreams which develop 3 or more different endings along the way！ There is also an interview with Electric Literature at the end of the book which was interesting。 My favorite story in Difficult Women was North Country。 L Gay is a wonderful writer but at times this was hard to read。 I am reading her memoir， Hunger next。 At the end Gay added 3 more short stories: Pilgrims， We Are All so Happy Now and Glass。 The first two were sad and believable。 Glass was exhausting to read and much like some of my dreams which develop 3 or more different endings along the way！ There is also an interview with Electric Literature at the end of the book which was interesting。 My favorite story in Difficult Women was North Country。 Least favorite was probably Baby Arm。 I intend to check out Roxane Gay's podcast。 。。。more
Lauren Tepfer
，
3。5
Sara Espinosa
，
I was really excited to read a collection of short stories by Roxane Gay。 I really fell in love with her essays and I loved seeing her style in fiction。 From the first story I knew this book was going to be hard to read， hence the name， Difficult Women。 The reason why it took me so hard to finish is because sometimes I dreaded reading because I would always be left with a sinking feeling in my stomach right after。 I wonder if this was the original intent of the author。 To write about these diffi I was really excited to read a collection of short stories by Roxane Gay。 I really fell in love with her essays and I loved seeing her style in fiction。 From the first story I knew this book was going to be hard to read， hence the name， Difficult Women。 The reason why it took me so hard to finish is because sometimes I dreaded reading because I would always be left with a sinking feeling in my stomach right after。 I wonder if this was the original intent of the author。 To write about these difficult topics that depict the complexity of womanhood and how such trauma and abuse can shape how the story ends。 Some motifs I noticed throughout the book were duality （twins and sisters）， hunting， water （ice and liquid） and of course， strong women。 I especially liked the stories that read like poetry。 Although some of the longer stories had more of a prose feel going on， I really appreciated the short， magical realism that sometimes provided as a break in between the more intense stories。 I did notice that sometimes it was hard to remember which character was who because some stories were really similar。 I guess the challenge of reading short stories is to be prepared to completely flip the narrative at the end of each one。 Great writing style but not the light type of read before bed。 。。。more
Estela
，
mujeres difíciles。 mujeres que son difíciles。 mujeres que crecieron en situaciones difíciles。 mujeres que viven circunstancias difíciles。 mujeres que desarrollan momentos difíciles。mujeres que se tatuaron difíciles。mujeres aventadas a la dificultad。mujeres inmersas en mujeres difíciles。¿mujeres difíciles？ mujeres。una cruda y， sin embargo， real perspectiva a ser mujer。 que no tiene nada que ver con ser difícil y todo con ser mujer。 mujer en la adversidad。 mujer en la opresión。 mujer en la lucha。 mujeres difíciles。 mujeres que son difíciles。 mujeres que crecieron en situaciones difíciles。 mujeres que viven circunstancias difíciles。 mujeres que desarrollan momentos difíciles。mujeres que se tatuaron difíciles。mujeres aventadas a la dificultad。mujeres inmersas en mujeres difíciles。¿mujeres difíciles？ mujeres。una cruda y， sin embargo， real perspectiva a ser mujer。 que no tiene nada que ver con ser difícil y todo con ser mujer。 mujer en la adversidad。 mujer en la opresión。 mujer en la lucha。 mujer en el cambio。 mujer en la evolución。 mujer en la muerte。 mujer en el sexo。 mujer en la violencia。 mujer en el amor。 mujer en la esperanza。 mujer en el universo。 mujer en mujer。 simplemente mujer。 。。。more
Ashley Nash
，
4。5 stars。 I love that these characters are wildly imperfect。 My favorite stories were La Negra Blanca， North Country， and Break All The Way Down。
Lauren
，
Powerful， riveting stories that made me want more of each of them。 The tightly coiled dramatic threads of them made me remember why I used to cling to angsty poetry late at night in my teens--sometimes fear， anger， revulsion， sorrow， pain are a little less crushing secondhand， and all the more desirable for it。
Lauren
，
2。5/3 - DNF。。。 tapped out at 174 pages in。 Repetitive。 So repetitive。 So many kisses on women's shoulders after sex。 So many awful， pot-bellied men （the bizarre presence of body shaming from a generally progressive author is always disappointing）。 Love Roxane Gay。 Do not love her fiction。 2。5/3 - DNF。。。 tapped out at 174 pages in。 Repetitive。 So repetitive。 So many kisses on women's shoulders after sex。 So many awful， pot-bellied men （the bizarre presence of body shaming from a generally progressive author is always disappointing）。 Love Roxane Gay。 Do not love her fiction。 。。。more
Jessie （Zombie_likes_cake）
，
Very mixed to negative feelings。 I picked this up on a friend's recommendation， I always felt like Roxane Gay would be too much of the aggressive feminist side that I am not a huge fan of， and I think that is indeed the case。 But I also was really puzzled by the point of many of these stories， they read unfinished， as if it was only set up。 Seriously， I don't think I have ever given that many 1* in a single author collection。About 2/3s of this I really did not care for。 I struggled with the repe Very mixed to negative feelings。 I picked this up on a friend's recommendation， I always felt like Roxane Gay would be too much of the aggressive feminist side that I am not a huge fan of， and I think that is indeed the case。 But I also was really puzzled by the point of many of these stories， they read unfinished， as if it was only set up。 Seriously， I don't think I have ever given that many 1* in a single author collection。About 2/3s of this I really did not care for。 I struggled with the repetitive concept of following a woman who either suffered sexual trauma， was in an abusive or an unhappy relationship and then。。。 nothing happens。 Don't get me wrong， I am not asking for these women to rise above it and the stories giving me happy endings nonstop but I needed some sort of progression or change within these characters。 They just sat there and endured， I often even flipped the last page of a story completely dumbfounded by how it could end here with no point to it all having been made。 Real life might not always have a point but this is storytelling。 We could have seen women breaking and crumbling， or fighting back， or showing me a different side to themselves besides what is being done to them， besides just literally lying on their back and taking it。 Progression for worse would have been just as fine but I needed something here other than sex scenarios。 I often didn't believe these women as people， they often chose the situations they were in。 To me they were not difficult and trying to stand their ground （which I somehow expected from the title）， they were apathetic to a fault。 And how many of these stories had to depict women enjoying violent sex or degrading situations as some form of self-punishment？ Once or twice I am happy to see this as an interesting variation on the themes but not the high number of times Gay dwells on this scenario。 For me， her concepts often did not work。 I am fine with uncomfortable but I am not fine with uncomfortable to be provocative for its own sake。 I know， some people will argue the non-progression and provocation is the point here but it is just not how I like to read。 I usually like broken things but these were too many broken people doing nothing but being broken。 I wanted more escalation， even despair but this is tragedy porn with a side of passivity。 And why did the women always had to be drop dead gorgeous？？？ Point being？But there was another 1/3 to this collection that I actually liked。 I was happy to see some speculative and slightly surreal stories， a very small selection of these stories dealing with sexual violence or other female trauma worked for me because they made a point （sometimes a dark and devastating one but finally a point）， they had something to say to me as opposed to the rest。 The trauma wasn't just its own self-fulfillment but it held trajectory。 To say this wasn't for me is putting it lightly。 But I do feel a bit that some people take their admiration for Gay as person and judge this collection more with that in mind than really looking at these stories。 I am almost certain that if people would encounter some of these stories and would be told they were written by a man they would tear them apart yet now there is praise that I can't quite share。 The 4 stories I genuinely liked:4） Break All the Way Down3） North Country2） I Will Follow You1） The Sacrifice of Darkness4 more that I didn't love but found interesting enough:Open Marriage/ Noble Things/ Requiem for a Glass Heart/ HowThe ones I loathed:Pretty much all the rest。 。。。more
Justine Veras
，
I’m really frustrated by this book。 The short stories have potential but they don’t center women。 They mostly center women in relation to men: Sex with men， trauma done to them by men， men they love or hate， etc。 and many of the stories follow a similar narrative of women being traumatized by men then being “saved” by a different man。
Charlotte
，
Roxane gay’s books are always amazing and this one is no exception。 I liked all the stories but my favorites were: I will follow you， Water all its weight， Break all the way down， and The Sacrifice of Darkness。 Gay really has a way with words and each story was written with incredible imagery， description and deep metaphors。 I loved it！
Daisy
，
Hate is a strong word but I truly hated this collection of stories。 I say collection of stories but that is not quite accurate as that would suggest that there was some discernible difference between them when there really isn't。 It is a lazy piece of work - and I agree with another review that says the high rating is due to women feeling they cannot knock the sisterhood and maybe that's the explanation。 Gay just knew she could write any old crap and get away with it。My main issue is that every Hate is a strong word but I truly hated this collection of stories。 I say collection of stories but that is not quite accurate as that would suggest that there was some discernible difference between them when there really isn't。 It is a lazy piece of work - and I agree with another review that says the high rating is due to women feeling they cannot knock the sisterhood and maybe that's the explanation。 Gay just knew she could write any old crap and get away with it。My main issue is that every story is the same - these are not difficult women these are all women whose stories are defined by their relationships （in the main with men）。 Every story has the woman having some kind of vaguely abusive sex， in most the woman gets turned on by the roughness and violence of the sex， she loves the man more the more bruised and sore she is afterwards。 Every single one！ The men are all useless: lazy， spongers， violent， abusive， rapists， cheaters and yet the women only exist in relation to them。 Less difficult women than dependent women。In no story is the woman defined in any way outside the domestic， they have no interests no thoughts beyond their man and family。 Finally the language itself is lazy。 Every story has a character that is described as meaty。 Either they are meaty or a part of them is meaty and by the end even a character's knuckles are meaty。 Yep those knobbly little bones are described as meaty！ The sex is always described the same， there are sentences that are word for word repeated。I'm not sure what kind of feminist Gay is but as someone who is regularly called Germaine for my feminist leanings I can honestly say I could not relate to anything within these pages。 Reductionist， repetitive and boring。 Avoid and spend your time reading something worthwhile instead。 。。。more
Taylor Crenshaw
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I loved this。 The stories displayed such a complex range of situations and emotions。 I found it very reminiscent of Lisa Taddeo's "Three Women，" though of course this is ficition。 I must say， I'm a bigger fan of Gay's fiction than I am of her non-fiction。 These stories had me laughing and crying。 Everyone should read this to gain a better perspective of the different types of lives that women lead。 I loved this。 The stories displayed such a complex range of situations and emotions。 I found it very reminiscent of Lisa Taddeo's "Three Women，" though of course this is ficition。 I must say， I'm a bigger fan of Gay's fiction than I am of her non-fiction。 These stories had me laughing and crying。 Everyone should read this to gain a better perspective of the different types of lives that women lead。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Difficult Women
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Difficult Women&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Difficult Women&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0