An Untamed State

By: Roxane Gay

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Roxane Gay is a powerful new literary voice whose short stories and essays have already earned her an enthusiastic audience. In An Untamed State, she delivers an assured debut about a woman kidnapped for ransom, her captivity as her father refuses to pay and her husband fights for her release over 13 days, and her struggle to come to terms with the ordeal in its aftermath.

Mireille Duval Jameson is living a fairy tale. The strong-willed youngest daughter of one of Haiti’s richest sons, she has an adoring husband, a precocious infant son, by all appearances a perfect life. The fairy tale ends one day when Mireille is kidnapped in broad daylight by a gang of heavily armed men, in front of her father’s Port au Prince estate. Held captive by a man who calls himself The Commander, Mireille waits for her father to pay her ransom. As it becomes clear her father intends to resist the kidnappers, Mireille must endure the torments of a man who resents everything she represents.

An Untamed State is a novel of privilege in the face of crushing poverty, and of the lawless anger that corrupt governments produce. It is the 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.

©2014 Roxane Gay. Recorded by arrangement with Grove/Atlantic, Inc. (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Hard to listen to but so important

I had to put this book down for a while to process what I was hearing. Hard to listen to but worth it. Gives you insight into what is going on in the heads of victims of abuse and people w ptsd. The reader was brilliant.

A beatiful story about surviving.

I have been a fan of Roxanne Gay's writing for quite some time, but this is by far the best book of her's that I've read. The story is captivating and raw. I smiled as much as I cried while listening to this-- you can feel Marie's emotions shine through this piece. The performance does the writing justice.

I do warn anyone who is considering purchasing this about the graphic nature of some of the chapters. It's very detailed about what the main character has done to her when kidnapped, so if this is something that could be too much for you, I would steer away from this title. Other than that, I highly recommend this as it is one of the best books I've read in a while.

Captivating!

Excellent narration! Hard content to consume but very well done! Definitely a must read book!

Great!

Everything about this book is great. The narration is great. Robin Miles has a great reading voice and is able to change the tone, reflection, and volume to bring out each character's personality. She did a great job even when she didn't pronounce some of the creole words correctly. The story is compelling and pulls on your emotional strings and it is believable. I'm of Haitian decent and have visited family in Haiti a number of times and I can say that this book is on point with being American born, having Haitian parents and the combination of love and hate one can have for Haiti. A must read.

Educational and real.

This was a beautifully written and honest portrayal of the loss of one woman's soul. The inhumane strength it took to survive the aftermath with any part of her identity intact. It was Heartbreaking,fascinating and terrifying.I feel stronger and less naive after reading about the horrific torture and rape of the victim.I am grateful for the line: 'Women are not safe in a world where there are men". Awareness is so very important.