She is open and frank about it in Hunger. As her father’s standoff with the kidnappers stretches out into days, Mireille must endure the torments of a man who despises everything she represents.Īn Untamed State is a “breathless, artful, disturbing and original” story of a willful woman attempting to find her way back to the person she once was, and of how redemption is found in the most unexpected of places (Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings). Eventually, Roxane Gay publicly discussed on her own gang rape when she was a young teen. Held captive by a man who calls himself The Commander, Mireille waits for her father to pay her ransom. But the fairy tale ends when Mireille is kidnapped in broad daylight by a gang of heavily armed men, just outside the estate walls. The strong-willed youngest daughter of one of Haiti’s richest sons, she lives in the United States with her adoring husband and infant son, returning every summer to stay on her father’s Port-au-Prince estate.
Even while the kidnappers are committing these brutal acts, were never quite allowed to forget their humanity. Its a-pardon the pun-richer story for it.
Mireille Duval Jameson is living a fairy tale. Roxane Gay, daughter of Haitian immigrants herself, clearly struggles with the reality of such luxury existing next door to this kind of poverty. He means well, but can’t understand that her ordeal isn’t over and they’re unable to relate with each other. Her relationship with her husband is in tatters. She can’t be touched, not even by the doctors. Last week, Roxane Gay announced that her debut novel, An Untamed State, is headed for the big screen. But An Untamed State continues, as Mireille tries to pick up the shattered pieces of her life. Now, with An Untamed State, she delivers a “breathtaking debut novel” ( The Guardian, UK) of wealth in the face of crushing poverty, and the lawless anger produced by corrupt governments. An Untamed State is an uncompromising study of a proud, hot-tempered woman, fragile in her humanity, yet resilient, and the impact her kidnapping has on her relationship with her husband, family, and the country she never understood, but once loved. Spoilers: An Untamed State, Trigger warning: rape, gang rape, abduction. Author and essayist Roxane Gay is celebrated for her incisive commentary on identity and culture, as well as for her bestselling nonfiction and short story collections. A Haitian American woman survives a brutal kidnapping in this “commanding debut novel” from the New York Times–bestselling author of Bad Feminist ( The New Yorker).Īuthor and essayist Roxane Gay is celebrated for her incisive commentary on identity and culture, as well as for her bestselling nonfiction and short story collections. A Haitian American woman survives a brutal kidnapping in this 'commanding debut novel' from the New York Timesbestselling author of Bad Feminist (The New Yorker).