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lazuliz's review against another edition
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Sexual assault
snazzy10101's review against another edition
- 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
michelleabdanan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- 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
krispiefries's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Child abuse, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Vomit
mirasu's review against another edition
- 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
frogreads_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The only reason this is not marked higher is because of my difficulty of understanding. Some of these stories are red hot wires of pain and trauma and then they're gone- and im left grasping to find the purpose of the story itself. I look forward to the day the author releases a longform story and we are allowed to grow, blossom, and die with the main characters.
Her characters are deep from the start and complicated like a dream you barely remember. All of these stories are feminist, predominantly queer, and have an edge of mental health and i appreciate them for that.
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
brittknee52's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse
velvet_young's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror and Eating disorder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: Violence, Murder, and Death