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mirnda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Mental illness
Minor: Fatphobia, Gore, Medical content, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, and Sexual assault
effy's review
2.75
I would recommend this book to people that enjoyed Growing Things & Other Stories by Paul Tremblay and / or Things We Do In the Dark by Kirsty Logan. There are definitely some recurring themes in this book which is both interesting to observe but also confusing as the narratives seem to blend into one another.
Overall, I would describe this book as weird but I found the individual stories captivating and compelling once I found my footing even if I felt confused. I would be interested to note if I felt less confused on re-read.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Body horror, Rape, Medical trauma, and Animal death
snowiceblackfruit77's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Abortion, Body horror, Blood, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Vomit, Alcohol, Gore, Physical abuse, Death, Medical trauma, Cursing, Rape, and Sexual assault
emilo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content
kkalicky94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Emotional abuse, Death, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
loujanae's review
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, and Animal death
Feminist, short story collection, queer stories, feminist horrorlexihworth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Infidelity, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual violence, Sexism, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Rape, and Alcohol
blunderw0man's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Sexual content, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Rape, and Miscarriage
02mohara's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Domestic abuse
thegoblinempress's review against another edition
2.0
Reading Her Body and Other Parties feels like watching the news. I've come out of this collection feeling glum and underwhelmed, and to be honest if glum's what Machado's going for then she's achieved what she set out to do. I'm getting tired of books described as 'feminist [insert genre here]' being so damn bleak, though.
There's no denying that Machado is a talented writer and she's a writer I will definitely try again in future as I have a feeling In the Dream House will be more up my street than this book ended up being, but even the stories I enjoyed were so depressing. I think my favourite was the first story in the collection, "The Husband Stitch," simply because it's the one story I'm 100% sure I understood. Honestly I could just be an idiot who hasn't got what the stories in this collection were trying to do, but sometimes I don't want them to do anything--sometimes I just want a story, and so often these stories ended in such a way that I didn't feel any kind of resolution.
It doesn't help that Machado's writing style leads us to spend our time with characters who feel pretty held at a distance throughout the collection, so not only are these stories often a bit of a bummer but I didn't feel as though I got to know any of the women particularly well either.
I would also have to agree that the longest story in the collection essentially being a bizarre piece of Law & Order: SVU fanfiction was such a strange choice. Though weirdly it's a story I'm more likely to remember than some of the others.
There's not much else to say aside from that Her Body and Other Parties bummed me out. Don't get me wrong I wasn't expecting happy stories at all, but when I hear a collection described as feminist I'm hoping for stories that aren't about women being and remaining miserable.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Body shaming