Reviews with content warning for Rape - Il suo corpo e altre feste

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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hippiequeen's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I think the reading is worth for the “Especially Heinous” short story, which is the one that impressed me the most, especially for the choice of narrating through episodes summaries of a tv show. That story was brilliant, but unfortunately I found the rest of them quite boring. Maybe it’s because I am not that into fantasy / dystopia books, but I did love her memoir and her writing style is always good.

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dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

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mirireads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

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serenspace's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

womanhood is a horror story. that is the central theme of this collection of short stories, molding the literal from the metaphorical. it is violent in its truths about the woman and her choices, her experiences as they differ from her counterparts. each tale is tragic as we know our lives can be. there is no escape, we feel. only forward through the muddy waters.

the first story in this book tells the uncomfortable story of a woman and her husband becoming acquainted, and the overwhelming sense I got from this story was that of loss. the narrator details her encounters with her husband, such as her first time and her entire motherhood until her untimely death. machado easily portrays the sense of loss that women must endure as they mature. while her husband gets all he desires, all he needs, the narrator sacrifices greater and grander parts of herself until her life is all she has left to give. and he takes it. this absence recurs throughout the collection of stories, and it reflects something inside of me that scares me. are we the women, the feminine, the unmasculine, defined by what we do not have or no longer claim as our own?

so the book continues into the lives of many women, many victims and many incidents so easily avoided if not for the culpability of cruel men. the women in these stories live rich lives that bleed empty through their living and telling. every history is drenched in misery and misfortune, no successes or victories to be found amongst them. like life itself, womanhood itself, each character’s story ends unresolved.

though the dampened mood of the stories forces one to read them in a miserable mindset, the writing style is superbly controlled to portray such a variety of sad emotions that serve to further the stories through feeling alone.

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