Not That Bad by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad

by Roxane Gay

Edited and with an introduction by Roxane Gay, the New York Times bestselling and deeply beloved author of Bad Feminist and Hunger, this anthology of first-person essays tackles rape, assault, and harassment head-on.

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In this valuable and timely anthology, cultural critic and...

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Reviewed by clementine on

4 of 5 stars

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Anthologies basically always suffer from one or two essays that are just not as resonant or well-constructed as the others, but taken as a whole this is an important and well-realized book. The sheer volume of stories is powerful enough; the clarity with which rape culture is articulated throughout the book gives it gravity. When I first heard of this book I thought the title was a reference to dismissals of sexual assault; now I see that it's also about the way sexual assault survivors try to downplay the events to ourselves.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 7 December, 2018: Finished reading
  • 7 December, 2018: Reviewed