In author/activist Roxane Gay’s new short story collection “Difficult Women,” she writes that “silence is the cruelest of cruelties.” With that in mind, Ms. Gay’s work in these stories aims to end that silence by giving voices to women who are experiencing various struggles of their own. “Difficult Women” explores not only why some women may be considered difficult, but also what makes simply being a woman difficult. Full of despair and deception, yet sprinkled with hope and strength, the author has created stories that, while not light-hearted, ultimately affirm to readers that whatever their personal experiences, they are not alone.
Grove Press ($25).
One of the major themes of this collection is how women manage to survive various forms of trauma; the specter of sexual assault, and the effects that its victims experience for the rest of their lives looms large over “Difficult Women.” The opening story, “I Will Follow You,” traces two adult sisters navigating their lives together after being abducted and repeatedly raped as children. In particular, this story vividly illustrates how the criminal justice system fails to erase the emotional impact of such traumatic events, even after so-called justice is served: When their captor writes to the sisters to plead for forgiveness so he can be granted parole, the sisters remember “[w]e had learned to stop begging. He would, too, or he wouldn’t. It did not matter.”
With their focus on the issues women face, it is no surprise that Ms. Gay’s stories also take unflinching looks at pregnancy, motherhood and the loss of children. In “Break All the Way Down,” the protagonist is paralyzed with grief after the sudden loss of her toddler. Her attempts to overcome that grief lead her into an abusive affair as her estranged husband struggles to connect with her; the guilt she carries over “allowing” the accident to happen leaves her looking for ways to punish herself, highlighting the increased expectation of responsibility for the safety of children that mothers may shoulder over fathers.
Similarly, “North Country” follows a woman who has recently left a relationship that fell apart after she gave birth to a stillborn baby and her partner failed to understand her grief: “He told me I had no reason to mourn a child that never lived.” His ignorance of her experience of pregnancy, as well as his subsequent infidelity undermines her value, which means that she finds herself wary and willing to destroy a new relationship in order to avoid trusting someone again.
Although many of the 21 stories in “Difficult Women” are downbeat, there are still notes of optimism that imbue the collection with a sense of hope and recovery. “The Sacrifice of Darkness” is the story of a couple living in a world where the sun has literally been blocked out of the sky. While the world despairs, the couple manages to find happiness after having a child, the narrator explaining that “… the sky lightened the day my perfect child was born and that with time, the world would be bright again.” Another story, “How,” illustrates the redemptive and life-changing possibility of love, as the unhappily married narrator finds the strength to leave abusive family members behind in her love for her best friend and her sister.
Ms. Gay’s prose is undeniably sharp and to the point. No words are wasted, and every story is nimbly brought to life with deft observations and a willingness to speak the truth about the pain and happiness that women experience. The bleak nature of many of the stories can become overwhelming; it is emotionally exhausting to be subjected to the various types of trauma that the heroines of “Difficult Women” face, so it may behoove the reader to take the stories a few at a time. Yet, even with the melancholy bent of this collection, Ms. Gay has crafted unforgettable characters and stories that make the journey worthwhile.
Roxane Gay will read selections from “Difficult Women” at 7:30 p.m. March 6 as part of the Arts & Lecture series at Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Tickets are sold out, but partial view seats are available by phone at 412-622-8866.
Wendy Wright is a writer and editor living in Pittsburgh.
First Published: February 5, 2017, 5:00 a.m.