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Reviews tagging 'Body horror'
جسدها وحفلات أخرى by ضحوك رقية, Carmen Maria Machado, Carmen Maria Machado
191 reviews
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm glad I'm going to talk about this book with people, because I feel like I don't fully understand it. There were some stories I really liked, and some I struggled to figure out the meaning of. It doesn't mean it's a bad short story collection, I just for some reason was expecting something a bit more direct and less open to interpretation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body horror, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really really liked the book until the chapter that was a weird Law & Order: SVU thing. I don’t know what that was about. It was so confusing and so strange. I couldn’t make sense of it. It kind of soured the rest of the stories. “The Husband Stitch” was such a neat retelling of several urban legends we’ve all grown up with. “Inventory” was one of my favorites. It was basically an inventory of lovers the main character had as they traversed a dystopian landscape that seemed to get bleaker and bleaker. “Mothers” was so good but so very sad which is what I think made it good. A woman recounts her relationship with a woman she named ‘Bad’ and it’s a fitting name because Bad is awful to her. “Especially Heinous” I hated this story. It didn’t make sense. It had titles from SVU episodes but none of the fake synopsis had a lick to do with SVU expect the names of some characters and the storyline was so strange. There were murdered girls who haunted Benson but then Benson and Stabler had Doppelgängers too? This one took me a while to get through and then I was disappointed I spent time reading it. “Real Women Have Bodies” was such a tragic story. Women are disappearing but not like you’d think. It’s a slow process, a disease, where they slowly become translucent and then absorb into nearby things to haunt it. The story explores themes of materialism and the value of women. “Eight Bites” is about a woman who is undergoing bariatric surgery. She is the last of her sisters to undergo a procedure to fit the ideal image of a woman. Her sisters are equal parts supportive and judgmental. She has a strained relationship with her daughter who can’t seem to understand her mother’s decision. In the end, the main character gets her ideal body but she can’t seem to let go of her former self. This was maybe the most relatable story. “The Resident” was long and forgettable. The main character goes to a camp that happens to be where she did Girl Scout camp. Names are hidden and there’s maybe a disease of pimples and sours going around? I’ll be honest, I didn’t like it and kept forgetting where I had left off. “Difficult at Parties” this one was most relatable to me and maybe I’m putting something to that. The main character was attacked in her home. It felt like maybe she was raped, that’s what I got from her description of trauma at least. She develops the skill of hearing the thoughts of people in porn movies from her trauma. Her partner tries to get her out of the house but the weight of her trauma is too heavy. It was sad, heartbreaking, and all too real for women but so delicately told. Overall the book was interesting and several stories were good but Especially Heinous and Residents just didn’t do it for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What an extremely good and extremely brutal read! It took me a very long time to finish this book because I found myself deeply affected by nearly every story. Difficult at Parties has evoked a rather tenacious lump in my throat that requires some tender care. Especially Heinous gripped me thoroughly and The Husband Stitch was the perfect kick-off to this collection. Women’s lives are already made horrific in so many ways and the hauntings throughout all of these stories only make this point more poignant. Stories of women haunted by the familiar victims of the world around them will always be a gut punch for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this for the genre challenge and am excited to read more of Carmen Maria Machado's work!
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Pandemic/Epidemic
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This is my style of horror, even though I wouldn't say I'm a fan of the genre. Especially Heinous, Real Women Have Bodies, and The Resident will especially haunt me forever. Read with someone so you can discuss afterwards, because these stories deserve reflection and analysis.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Oh dear, I fear I am too dumb to understand this book. Much like with many short story collections, some of these chapters hit; others just left me absolutely baffled. Despite not having a clue what was going on or the deeper meaning, I still love Machado’s prose. It is dreamy, ethereal, and still concise. Her memoir remains her best work for me but I do imagine that is due to my literary IQ more than anything.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content
Moderate: Body horror, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Fatphobia, Rape
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
This short story collection reads like poetry at times. That is, it floats between evocative imagery and "vibes." I will now say what I mean in a less demure manner: there are times in which you simply do not understand what is happening. I often found myself confused for the first few pages of nearly every story, but once I caught onto the action I was pretty interested.
I have yet to decide what I make of the sexual overtones throughout the collection. I found unnecessary the depiction of sex in some scenes. But she is successful in showing how horrifying sex can be in our interpersonal relationships, especially when sex expresses power in those relationships.
I did not find "Especially Heinous" pleasurable to read. If you're a fan of Law and Order: SVU, you will be interested in how Machado reimagines the protagonists and the plot. I found it borderline nonsensical. The premise is interesting, however, I found it difficult to piece together.
"The Husband Stitch" and "Eight Bites" are my favorite stories from the collection. "The Husband Stitch" combines poetic prose with interesting vignettes that capture the reader. The narrator's voice is hypnotic. "Eight Bites" reminds of the film The Substance and a bit of the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper." (CW: eating disorder.)
While I will probably not return to read most of the stories in this collection, I do appreciate the inventive writing and look forward to more writing from Machado.
I have yet to decide what I make of the sexual overtones throughout the collection. I found unnecessary the depiction of sex in some scenes. But she is successful in showing how horrifying sex can be in our interpersonal relationships, especially when sex expresses power in those relationships.
I did not find "Especially Heinous" pleasurable to read. If you're a fan of Law and Order: SVU, you will be interested in how Machado reimagines the protagonists and the plot. I found it borderline nonsensical. The premise is interesting, however, I found it difficult to piece together.
"The Husband Stitch" and "Eight Bites" are my favorite stories from the collection. "The Husband Stitch" combines poetic prose with interesting vignettes that capture the reader. The narrator's voice is hypnotic. "Eight Bites" reminds of the film The Substance and a bit of the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper." (CW: eating disorder.)
While I will probably not return to read most of the stories in this collection, I do appreciate the inventive writing and look forward to more writing from Machado.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Eating disorder, Sexual assault