Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Il suo corpo e altre feste by Carmen Maria Machado

173 reviews

newtons's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Blood

sabrinames's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

Amazing, incredible, showstopping, never the same! I really loved this collection, the themes in it were so good and the writing is so elegant and the horror, some stuff had me grimacing physically. The only men story was Especially Heinous, which might be bc I've never seen SVU, so that's why this doesn't get the full 5, bc that one was also especially long

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Misogyny, Rape, Vomit, and Stalking

briannamcl's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Rape

earthsigil's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Very good writing and overall I enjoyed it but there's a lot that can be difficult to get through depending on your personal experiences. There's a good variety of content between stories while still encompassing the same or similar themes. I wish I were smarter to write a better review because it gloriously captures the female experience but alas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body shaming, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal death, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

maggies212's review against another edition

3.75

this book was great, it took me a while because i was in a reading slump but it didn’t have much to do with the book. i did find the middle of the book a bit messy and chaotic, with all the police reports and stuff, but i think that’s how the author intended it to be. it just wasn’t for me though. however, the rest of the book was great and captivating. i loved it! it sucked me in and carmen maria machado is a truly talented author. i did like in the dream house a tad more, but this book was great!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape

oribee25's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, and Vomit

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, and Blood

The first story, The Husband Stitch, has depictions of underage sex; the second story, Inventory, also describes sexual interactions between minors. Inventory and Mothers depict relationships with questionable age gaps.

sydneybenjamin's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder