That is the real skill of Roxane Gay's writing - she doesn't hide you from life's darkness, or hide the darkness from you. Rather, she places you squarely in the face of that darkness to understand how others in our society live. The characters may commit despicable or violent acts, but when presented in the context of an entire life, you begin to decode the how's and why's of those acts. To speak plainly of the difficult aspects of this collection, there are plentiful depictions of rape, domestic abuse, abduction, physical/emotional/sexual violence. These behaviors appear regularly, so a reader may need time to decompress and process after a story, before moving on to the next. Maybe not, though, because the characters endure such acts routinely, and aren't able to allow themselves the luxury of decompression, soothing, or escape.
The POV characters in most of these stories are women, one exception being Father Michael Patrick Minty, the main character in the story "Bad Priest". He was essentially driven into the priesthood by his highly-religious mother, and lives up to the title because he has taken a vow of celibacy but is dating and having regular sex with a young woman in his community. While reading this story, I couldn't help but imagine his mother being a woman of similar ilk to Margaret White from Stephen King's novel Carrie. The girl with whom he's having the affair knows who he is, sees him in his hypocrisy, and wants him anyway.
The most affecting story, for me, was "Break All the Way Down". It portrays the deep abyss of grief in such a heartbreaking yet hopeful way that I was completely transfixed throughout my reading of it. I felt as though I was there inhabiting the same experiences as the main character - feeling so much guilt, anguish, and despair that she seeks penance through being beaten and mistreated by abusive men. When I learned why she invites this treatment, it truly and completely broke my heart.
The characters in Difficult Women may seem frustrating, perplexing, and difficult. However, once you engage with them and their history, and come to know them a little, you find that they are just human beings trying to live their lives in response to what has come before and exists for them now. They are complicated, beautiful and real, but not difficult.
Librorum annis
