Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Her Body and Other Parties

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

59 reviews

oribee25's review against another edition

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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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travelseatsreads's review against another edition

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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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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense

4.25

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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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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emilymbrown's review against another edition

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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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maddielinehan's review against another edition

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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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marleyshaddox's review against another edition

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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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