4.5 starsI’ve read a lot of Gay’s nonfiction, but this is my introduction to her fiction. This short story collection is cohesive in a way you don’t often see, all immersed in the experience of being Haitian: leaving the island or attempting to leave, coming back for traumatic visits, or choosing not to go back, trying to acclimate into American society, and feeling the burden of the stereotypes of what it must be to be a Haitian. The protagonists are straight, queer, poor, well-off, but as dive...

I have tried numerous times before to read this author. Each time I could not handle the in your face realism, brutality that her writing evokes. I saw this, a book of short stories, two new, the others rereleased and thought I'd try once again. Most of these stories are very short, chronicling segments of lives of those from Haiti. They cover alternate expressions of emotions, feeling, sadness next to joy, fear next to courage, brutality next to tenderness. Most stories contain one or more of t...

I have heard nothing but praise for Roxane Gay, and this collection of tales set entirely in Haiti - 'a place run through with pain' - really appealed to me. Ayiti is accurately described in its blurb as 'a powerful collection exploring the Haitian diaspora experience'. Some of the stories included are little more than vignettes, or fragments of tales, examining one or two elements of the migrant experience, and covering just a couple of pages. Others are much longer, and have a lot of depth to

Surprising absolutely no-one, I loved this. I am a huge Roxane Gay fan and I love her short fiction nearly as much as her non-fiction. This collection of short stories showcasts Gay’s tremendous talent and her brilliant voice. While this cannot quite reach the highs of her second collection (very few things do), I still adored this.Gay’s stories center around pain. There is no way around that. These stories are grim and dark and very depressing. But she also, always, adds some hope, some light,

Ayiti is Roxanne Gay’s debut short story collection. The pages are few. The impact large. Each story flows into the next, although they are unrelated to one another with the exception of the overriding theme of Haiti, as a nation, a place of origin, a place with a complex history – one that grounds those who leave and often presents difficulties to those who stay. Gay’s writing is simultaneously demanding and easy. Love. Tragedy. Death. Survival. Aging. Machetes. Struggle. Friendship. Yearning.

I really connect with Roxane Gay's writing. The stories in Ayiti are raw and heart-rending - yet left me feeling hopeful.

This is Roxane at her best. This time the stories are connected, though. So this reads more like one short-ish book rather than separate short stories.It's a compelling and rather personal (read: raw) portrayal of Haiti from several people's perspectives that all still read like one loud-mouthed Roxane Gay. And that's why we love her!Thank you NetGalley for this copy in exchange for my honest review. I probably would've bought this book myself otherwise.

Having read but one short collection this entire year, I'm ending 2014 with a really good one. I was gifted this signed copy by a friend and I am so grateful. Ayiti is Roxane Gay's debut novel of short stories. It confronts the reader with Haiti, the good and the bad. It consists of fifteen stories all carrying different themes about Haiti and Haitians. Click the link to read the rest of the review. https://didibooksenglish.wordpress.co...

i am a fiction stan. i am an advocate for made up things. i am a fangirl for imagination alone. i read maybe 1% nonfiction.but for some reason....................roxane gay's nonfic works much better for me.maybe it's because her nonfiction is so personal? in comparison, her fiction draws heavily enough on her life to feel familiar but not as evocative and intense (for me!).beyond that, these were all too short for me to feel much...but were still very good?i don't know. roxane gay quest will co...

"People who leave islands always bring a complex mythology." Roxane Gay's voice comes through in every one of Ayiti's 15 short stories tied in one way or another to Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Gay evokes something in every story (even the sketches that are only about 1-page long). Some of these stories subvert the one-dimensional picture of Haiti as poverty-stricken island nation with voodoo and zombies; others focus on the grief of rape and loss. All of these stories leave an impact on the

Wow just wow. This short book collection by Roxane Gay really turned me into a huge fan of her work. I enjoyed Hunger but her fiction writing is outstanding. I really do need more of her in my life. This was perfect.

This was actually a republishing of her debut story collection that came out in 2011. Apparently there are two new stories in it although I am not sure which ones they are. Basically they all focus on the island of Haiti and the immigrant experience. From a young boy being bullied in school, to a young bride returning home, to a married couple setting sail for America Ayiti is trying to capture the essence of Haiti. In one respect Ayiti tries to dispel prejudicial assumptions towards Haiti and e...

I got this copy from Netgalley and I am so happy I requested it. Ayiti by Roxane Gay is an exceptional collection of short stories that speaks to Haiti. I am amazed that this is a debut novel, but then again, why? Roxane Gay is a master author so I should expect her debut to be flawless. We don't read a lot about Haiti and Haitians, and when we do it is hardly from someone who is intimate with the country's culture and practices. I am happy Gay chose this was her first collection this is require...

I wrote it and all but it's pretty good.

*4.5 stars* Ayiti was my first experience with Roxane Gay but it won't be my last. Ayiti is a beautiful work of short story fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, and you won't be able to put it down. The stories all explore the Haitian diaspora experience and they all flow into one another, but none of the stories are particularly related in any other way. I've always struggled a great deal with short stories as it is a very hard medium to work in and absorb, but Roxane Gay handles them like a maste...

Stirring and fast moving, the stories of Ayiti portray the suffering and resilience of Haitian and Haitian-American women. The debut collection consists of four fleshed-out stories and eleven short sketches. Many of the pieces anticipate the themes of Gay's subsequent work, from gendered violence to collective memory to the experience of immigration. One of the longer stories, "Sweet on the Tongue," even anticipates the plot of her novel, An Untamed State. Gay's prose moves at a brisk pace, and

Now I get why people love Roxane Gay! This short story collection contains 15 texts of varying length that all deal with Haiti and its people. In the acknowledgements, the author states: "I write about Haiti and the Haitian American experience from a place of great privilege but also a place of great pride" - and this pride shows in the texts themselves. Gay's stories radiate love for the country, its culture and the Haitian people, and the emotional impact derives from the empathy the reader ca...

2.5 starsAyiti is a slim collection of short stories, and is Roxane Gay's debut collection. Majority of these stories were scanty and felt like a tease, giving us a taste of Gay's imagination, but never reaching a climax or digging deep. Parts of the longest, and arguably the most realized, story in this collection is the main crux of her debut novel An Untamed State, which I have read. So it was a tad disappointing to read something familiar. In this market, I understand the urge to republish b...

At the heart of Roxane Gay's devastating debut collection, Ayiti, is truth. Whether a language is shared or a language divides, what it offers, when spoken with strength and authority, is an opportunity to share the truth. There is a connection to the desire for truth from the title of the book, which is the Haitian Creole for Haiti, to the final words, which are about more than language. The final words are about that which is beyond language. That which we all share: a desire for love, a relea...

I am a big fan of Roxanne Gay’s writing, and I really liked this one. Ayiti is a slim collection of short of stories, that appears to have been first published a few years ago. The stories are all focused on characters in Haiti or characters from Haiti, which is where Gay’s own family comes from. There are a few longer stories, and many very short snippets. There is one story in particular that I really liked that I gather formed the basis for her novel An Untamed State. It would be hard to say