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rosieecross's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Rape
sbriggs98's review against another edition
Graphic: Misogyny, Death, Infertility, and Medical trauma
waybeyondblue's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Body horror, Sexual content, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, and Vomit
Minor: Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Blood
arbramirez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Stalking, Rape, Medical trauma, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child death, Blood, Sexual assault, Infertility, Incest, Drug use, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Kidnapping
yleavy'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
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Domestic abuse
snazzy10101'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
4.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse
queer_bookwyrm's review
- 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? No
4.0
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado is an 8 story horror collection that focuses on women and the monstrous things men and society do to them. It's also about how your own mind can be the villain.
I have to say, these were some weird stories. They were very creepy and unsettling in a psychological horror kind of way with some body horror thrown in. Most of the stories are either sapphic or bisexual. The first story was my favorite, about a girl with a ribbon around her neck. She had one rule for her partner: never touch the ribbon and never remove it. It's a story about love and trust and consent that ends exactly the way you'd expect.
Others were more disturbing or confusing. There were a couple of stories that I didn't really get what was happening. Some of the stories felt like I needed more context, more background, which is always my problem with short stories. I always want them to be longer. Machado also capitalizes on her use of the common horror trope of the unreliable female narrator who is out of her mind. The woman in the attic type of thing.
Machado's prose is stunning and delicious. Definitely pick this up if you are a literary fiction fan or a fan of female horror in general.
Graphic: Medical content, Blood, Self harm, Sexual content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
mirasu's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Rape 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