Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

23 reviews

rebrosecca's review

challenging dark 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

5.0

 An uncomfortable and gritty look at issues surrounding women's bodies. Every story addresses some form of violence put on women, whether from strangers and predators, those close and dear to us, society, or ourselves, it misses nothing. The writing is very original, blending genres, making everything grim and dark and unreal. These are stories that every time you read them, you get something more from them. The book should definitely be read with caution if you are sensitive to certain issues like sexual assault/rape and body image. I found this confronting in a lot of ways, but I have a serious appreciation for how thorough and relatable the subject matter is. The utterly unique writing style sets this apart from any other collection of short stories I've read so far. New favorite author. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Gore, Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Dysphoria

warlockdorian's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, and Cursing

mirasu's review

dark emotional slow-paced

• 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

Alas... Her Body and Other Parties felt sophomoric and contrived. Machado's technical skills far surpass her conceptual premises here. It's interesting to compare these stories to In the Dream House, though.

---

Content Warnings

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

helhas3letters's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Kidnapping, Sexism, Child abuse, Child death, and Death

Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Medical content, Murder, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Blood, Body horror, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, and Homophobia

devin_raquel's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Sexual content, and Eating disorder

lexihworth's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

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

the_harlequin's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Colonisation, Confinement, Rape, Fatphobia, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

blunderw0man's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Sexual content, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Rape, and Miscarriage

castaliamay's review

dark reflective 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment

yaoipaddle's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-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

2.0

Average rating: 2.6
Read this very spaced out because you may tire of the author's writing style SO FAST. I loved the Husband Stitch when I read it online, so I was excited to read an entire book by the same author. Big mistake. She struggles to end even her most interesting stories well and the sheer amount of sexual content is exhausting when you read the stories back to back.

The Husband Stitch - 5 stars
One of my fave short stories. I had read it twice on its own before finding it in this book.
Every time I read it I have new thoughts on it. All time top story.

Inventory - 4 stars
Very interesting to read after COVID. Short and easy to read.

Mothers - 1 star
Useless. Truly dogshit.

Especially Heinous - 2 stars
IDK if it was supposed to emulate this weird perversion society has with Law & Order SVU. If that was the case it succeeded. It dragged on and the ending was so lame.

Real Women Have Bodies - 3 stars
By this point I was dead tired of the author's writing style. I liked the premise but the ending yet again was a let down.

Eight Bites - 2 stars
I felt nothing about this. The commentary was shallow.

The Resident - 1 star
This took me so long to read because I barely wanted to get through this crap story. I was exhausted by the author's writing style and I found the main character loathsome. I could write a better feminist short story in high school than 'The Resident'.

Difficult at Parties - 3 stars
I will reread this one at a later time. I think it was just OK. I am so tired of the author though that I don't think I could appreciate this story as much as I would on a reread in the future.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Violence, Cursing, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Dysphoria, Sexual harassment, Grief, Sexual assault, Medical content, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Stalking, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse