''Difficult Women'' is a 2017 short story collection by

Roxane Gay Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection ''Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayiti ...

Content

In ''Vogue'', Julia Fesenthal characterized ''Difficult Women'' as "a

misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised ...

's taxonomy of the opposite sex. On the narrator's short list: loose women, frigid women, crazy women, mothers, and, finally, dead girls," depicted in stories "woven through with strands of

magical realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical rea ...

Development and publication

Gay has described being challenged by publishers in the development of the collection owing to the difficult material the book covers. Speaking at the ''Los Angeles Times'' Festival of Books, Gay recounted, "Editors said, 'we love 'Difficult Women''but it makes me want to kill myself." Grove Press published the 272-page collection on January 3, 2017.

Reception

''Difficult Women'' received favorable reviews from critics. Reviewing the collection in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Megan Mayhew Bergman said Gay's "real gift to readers in ''Difficult Women'' is her ability to marry her well-known intellectual concerns with good storytelling." In ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', Jaleesa M. Jones gave ''Difficult Women'' four (of four) stars, noting Gay's "deft touch with how ... intersecting identities mold and shape women’s experiences." In 2018, ''Difficult Women'' was a finalist for the

Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction The Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a work of fiction on lesbian themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of t ...

and longlisted for the

Aspen Words Literary Prize The Aspen Words Literary Prize, established in 2018, is an annual literary award presented by Aspen Words, a literary center in Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is ...

References

External links

Difficult Women
at Grove Atlantic
Difficult Women: List of Stories
{{authority control 2017 short story collections African-American literature Grove Press books Literature by African-American women