Description: The story of Mireille Duval Jameson, a rich and self-assured Haitian woman kidnapped by a gang of heavily armed men who intend to hold her until her unwilling father pays up.
Review Quotes:
Praise for An Untamed State:
Longlisted for the 2014 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize
"[A] commanding déeacute;but . . . Mireille's struggle to maintain a sense of self while being denied her freedom produces the novel's most powerful chapters." -New Yorker
"Roxane Gay's riveting debut, An Untamed State, captivates from its opening sentence and doesn't let go. . . . Let this be the year of Roxane Gay: you'll tear through An Untamed State, but ponder it for long after." --Nolan Feeney, Time.com
"A fairy tale . . . its complex and fragile moral arrived at through great pain and high cost. . . . Perhaps Haiti, too, is a beautiful princess, well-versed in the vagaries of men, still searching for a happily ever after." --Holly Bass, The New York Times Book Review
"Poignant . . . haunting . . . When Mireille is finally freed, her rocky adjustment harkens to that of the mother in Emma Donoghue's Room. . . . Gay writes of her homeland beautifully, describing it in the conflicting, nuanced way that will ring familiar to Americans whose parents hail from troubled lands. . . . Gorgeous writing . . . A wonderful and affecting read." --Rasha Madkour, Associated Press
"Gay may be working in territory many American readers know through the lyrical stories of Edwidge Danticat, but her style is wholly her own: direct, bracing and propulsive. . . . [A] smart, searing novel." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"To say that An Untamed State 'tells the story' of Mireille Duval Jameson - an American lawyer, wife, and new mother, who, while visiting her Haitian parents in Port Au Prince, falls victim to the wave of kidnappings plaguing that city - would be inadequate. Rather, Gay compels her readers to breathe and bleed [it]. . . . Brutally and vividly rendered." --Abby Frucht, The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Bold . . . A terrific read. . . . The character development of Gay's protagonist, Mireille, is particularly well-crafted and nuanced; her portrayal of a woman who fights her strongest fight to resist being defeated by her captors is compelling and agonizingly felt by the reader. . . . This novel . . . will reward the reader." --Jim Carmin, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"I applaud Gay's courage: She writes candidly, vividly, and necessarily . . . You will find it difficult to resist her flawless pacing [and] sharp, clear prose." --Ariel Gonzalez, The Miami Herald
"Set in Haiti, Roxane Gay's first novel, An Untamed State, is a roundhouse kick to notions of privilege." --Elissa Schappell, Vanity Fair (Hot Type)
"Wrenching . . . Vividly written." --Jennifer Weiner, USA Today
"Clear your schedule now! Once you start this book, you will not be able to put it down. An Untamed State is a novel of hope intermingled with fear. . . . It is written at a pace that will match your racing heart." --Edwidge Danticat, author of Claire of the Sea Light
"A gripping psychological portrait of how trauma remakes the body to respond only to itself . . . Fans of Gay's work as an editor at The Rumpus and a columnist for Salon (among other places) will see a lush, sensual side to her writing here, turned to describe brutal facts of subjugation and punishment, the agony of waiting to be rescued and the protection of the brain." --Ellen Wernecke, The Onion AV Club
"Harrowing: truly, it harrows. With iron teeth it pulls up things that do no