I managed to squeeze in one more book for #ReadCaribbean before June was over and I spent one very intense Sunday bingeing this book. It's the harrowing story of a young woman, Mireille, who is kidnapped outside her parents compound in Haiti, torn from her husband and young son and forced to spend 13 days in the brutal captivity of her kidnappers.

This is Roxane Gay's debut novel and it is exceedingly powerful, although you can also tell that it's a debut. I read her 2017 memoir Hunger last year, and you can tell that she hit more of a stride by then. There's a fair bit of telling rather than showing in An Untamed State.

Nevertheless, Gay presents a convincing and moving portrayal of PTSD with Mireille, even if the graphic descriptions of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her kidnappers was a bit overdone. My heart broke for Miri several times over as she attempted to grapple her way through life after her release. Things you don't think twice about such as a security search at the airport become these claustrophobic, terrifying experiences which you live alongside Miri.

I didn't particularly enjoy Miri and Michael's marriage. I wanted to shake Michael at times, especially when he was more focused on how Miri's kidnapping affected him more than what Miri went through. Thankfully this is offset by his mother, Lorraine, who undergoes some great character growth during the novel. By the end, hers and Miri's relationship was my favourite, and Gay reflects a lot on parent/child relationships.

I'm finding it difficult to settle on a rating for this one, so I'll just leave you with my review! Trigger warnings for severe abuse, torture and rape.