Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

54 reviews

ytmsoba's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Grief, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse

apolloann's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Animal death, and Sexual content

k_aro's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

• 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? Yes

4.75

Basically a lot of it went over my head. Especially the story about Bad and the child, and the bits about the SVU. I've never watched SVU, so maybe that's kind of just a corner of something I'm totally unaware about. That said, the bits that I got, they really struck my bones; Machado is really talented at making you feel seen even when you might not be the exact person she's describing.

I think the one that rang most closely was "Eight Bodies", especially given that it came right after reading I'm Glad My Mom Died, a lot of which revolves around McCurdy's eating disorder (that has to do with her mom and how they are mirrors of each other). And also recently listening to Lucy Dacus' "My Mother and I". I've had a lot to think about with regards to me and my mom - especially since I've been away from her for a long time, now, when compared to the rest of my life. I also think about Rayne Fisher-Quann's Tiktok about being thankful for having mommy bloggers to see that moms truly do have lives that exist beyond their children, and how so often when you become a mother it seems to become the hinge of your life.

Especially since "Eight Bodies" is written from the painful perspective of a mother and a daughter who'll never really see eye to eye. It's painful, to simultaneously be the mirror of your mother but also to hate it. It's weird.

That aside, Machado is also a beautiful author, with the prose flowing as smooth as butter. Also, this book is so horny. And that's great. Maybe I'll read it again and appreciate it better the second time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, Cursing, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, and Murder

lmaloney's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

Wow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Gaslighting, Gore, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Dysphoria, and Eating disorder

Minor: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Child abuse, and Cursing

booksnbones13's review

challenging dark 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

4.0

a great collection of stories that stick with you. well written and mysterious and creepy, but also sad and at times endearing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Eating disorder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Murder

bc288's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Grief

dromedaryreader's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I loved some of the stories in this book. Others seemed lazy and were too caught up in small details to work as a short story. Eight Bites, Mothers, Difficult At Parties, and The Husband Stitch were my personal favorites. Inventory and The Resident were alright. I was not a fan of Real Women Have Bodies or Especially Heinous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide

woweewhoa's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

This is a weighed review because if Especially Heinous was on its own, I'd rate it 5 Stars. The writing is haunting and the way it describes things is very vivid. I enjoyed it a lot!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

itsheyfay's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Minor: Domestic abuse, Vomit, Physical abuse, and Sexism

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