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janwe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
BUT, and that has rather to do with my personal reading tastes at the moment, than with the stories and their contents ...
I AM soo over that kind of "vulgar sexual content"... I don't know... I just couldn't care less about it... That definitely influenced my reading experience..
Additionally, due to the blurb on the back, I expected the short stories to be weirder, and dip more into SF and horror (it is horror - but rather everyday horror of the female experience in society)...
I guess, I am not the right audience for these kind of literary short stories 🤷♀️
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Rape
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
intoblossom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Body horror
Moderate: Violence, Rape, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
angelboxd's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Eating disorder
fairytalefootnotes'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? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Child death
valsometimesreads'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? No
3.25
Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Vomit, and Sexual violence
estellazacharia10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Sexual assault, and Eating disorder
bashsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Body horror, Alcohol, Animal death, Vomit, Death, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Violence, Eating disorder, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, and Sexual harassment
-Explicit description of a flu-like illness. -Explicit description of popping pimple-like welts.danimacuk'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
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship