The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture

June 15, 2018

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay, Emma Smith-Stevens
Published by Harper Perennial
Publication date: May 1, 2018
Genres: Book Clubs, Essays, Non-fiction, Social Issues
four-stars

bad

I feel like a broken record for all the times since 2017 that I’ve said, “Important reading. Timely reading. Everyone should read.”, but here I am again. Not That Bad, with its essays from women around the world, talking about their experiences of rape, harassment, intimidation, and violence is the kind of reading that goes beyond tears. In Roxanne Gay’s foreword we learn that she was gang raped when she 12 and that it became the benchmark in her life against which she would judge every slur against her looks, every threat of violence because of her mind, body-shaming for her weight…all were considered “not that bad” because she had survived something worse. That this is the baseline for any woman makes my soul hurt.

And yet, thanking God that we’ve never been raped or beaten is just as insidious. Thinking that our harassment/objectification/pain is “not that bad” puts us all even more at risk. IT IS THAT BAD. It is all bad and wrong and must be called out. These essays are by women known, such as actors Ally Sheedy and Gabrielle Union, to those unknown. They cover everything from physical violence to the insidious dissonance caused by being told, usually from the time we are very little girls, that feeling anger is a bad thing and showing it a death knell to ever being loved.

Not That Bad shows how endemic the mistreatment of women is in our society, from outright violence to the lesser slights of covert discrimination. As such it is difficult and melancholy reading, but there is power in these women who have given voice to their pain.  Like so much of what is happening in the world now, looking away may be easier, but these women, all women, need to be seen and heard if anything is ever going to change.

 

four-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 4 Star Books
  • By Emma Smith-Stevens
forgiven
The Forgiven
punchable
A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
neverhome
Neverhome: A Novel
magic
The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman
literally
Literally Me by Julie Houts
bourdain
Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography
adults
All Adults Here
falconer
The Falconer: A Novel by Dana Czapnik
duchess
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt: A Memoir
nsfw
NSFW: A Novel
bristol
Bristol House
miss her
No One Will Miss Her: A Novel
rules of civility
Rules of Civility
magic
The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman
wine of solitude
The Wine of Solitude
an untamed state
An Untamed State

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, essays, HarperCollins, social issues, women

Comments

  1. Sarah's Book Shelves says

    June 15, 2018 at 4:23 am

    I’ve thought about listening to this, but can’t decide.

    Reply
  2. Susie | Novel Visits says

    June 15, 2018 at 7:12 am

    What a powerful book! It’s one I know I should read, but will nee to be in the right frame of mind. Maybe it would be one of those books to read a bit here and there between other books. Insightful review, Catherine.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      June 15, 2018 at 9:39 am

      That’s how I did it, Susie. They’re all distinct so it doesn’t impact the book to read one or two then step away. It’s not a huge book, either.

      Reply
  3. Amy Melniczenko says

    June 16, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    I bought this recently and can’t wait to dig in. Based on your review, I need to move it up on my list!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Indiebound and Amazon. If you click on a link that takes you to any of these sites and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2023

Copyright © 2023 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in