Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

50 reviews

earthsigil's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very good writing and overall I enjoyed it but there's a lot that can be difficult to get through depending on your personal experiences. There's a good variety of content between stories while still encompassing the same or similar themes. I wish I were smarter to write a better review because it gloriously captures the female experience but alas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Medical content, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body shaming, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Rape

Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

oribee25's review

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Vomit, Sexual content, and Sexism

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It's hard to put into words just how striking Carmen Maria Machado's writing is. I read In The Dream House at the start of the year & was left bereft yet craving more. I wanted to immediately dive into Her Body & Other Parties but waited a few months as I wanted to appreciate it in its own right & in its entirety. 

 

What I found in the pages behind the striking cover was another world of brilliance which captured my imagination fully & left me wondering with every carefully chosen word. 

 

As with any collection of short stories some will have more resonance than others with every reader but overall I found that even if I didn't necessarily 'enjoy' each short story while reading, every single one left me pondering for quite some time after. The perfect example of this was Especially Heinous which felt almost a little bit tedious at times as I was going through the individual episodes, but eventually unfurled into a creepy & oppressive portrayal of the indeed tedious, relentless & pervasive acts of violence against women. 

 

In all honesty there isn’t a story within the collection that didn’t leave some kind of a mark on me or didn’t leave me sitting struck & deep in thought but some of my favourites which really struck a chord with their brutality & honesty were The Husband Stitch, Inventory, Real Women Have Bodies, The Resident & Difficult At Parties. 

 

The whole book is bursting full of so many moments and quotes to relish, digest and just linger on that I’ll definitely be buying a physical copy to reread and devour again and again. I rarely buy books due to fortunately receiving ARCs & having the use of a fantastic library system but I need, not even just want, to have a copy of Her Body & Other Parties on my shelf to return to. 

 

Carmen Maria Machado is a writer like no other & Her Body & Other Parties conveys her innate ability to write pieces which are visceral, haunting, brutal & deeply thought-provoking. 

 

Powerful, surreal and simply stunning. 

 

(It is a book I want to recommend to everyone but due to its dark thematic nature & at times perplexing story arcs I can admit it may not be for everyone so I’ve included TW in comments & happy to chat about these if you’re considering reading it.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Death, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Sexism, Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Drug use

The first story, The Husband Stitch, has depictions of underage sex; the second story, Inventory, also describes sexual interactions between minors. Inventory and Mothers depict relationships with questionable age gaps.

aformeracceleratedreader's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I wasn't sure what to expect of this, but I loved it. Some stories were stronger/better than others but each one was still enjoyable. The Husband Stitch, Inventory, and Eight Bites were probably my favorites out of all of them. Some stories were a little more confusing for me to understand and wrap my head around though. I feel like I'd have to reread them to fully understand.
There are some things I would say to check content warnings on, but if you are an avid reader of horror/thrillers it's nothing too unpleasant or unbearable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Body horror, and Medical content

Moderate: Vomit, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

toffishay's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

emilymbrown's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Absolutely jarring. Not what I was expecting at all but I fell so attached the moment I read the first page. Beautiful and scary and confusing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Grief, Suicide, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Violence, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Addiction, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Pregnancy, Abortion, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, and Death of parent

maddielinehan's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ahhh the innate horror of the female experience- carmen gets it

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Content Warnings

Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, and Body horror

marleyshaddox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Whew this was a doozy! A short story collection where the writing is so engaging and well done that I kept reading even when the content made me so so so  uncomfortable. A truly unsettling read, a collection of horror stories from the fantastical to the everyday horrors women face in a patriarchal society. Heavy subjects, dark humor, bizarre and intriguing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Sexism, and Sexual content

Minor: Murder and Rape

bookbabe0614's review

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Everyone is better off having read this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, and Vomit