Scan barcode
kjarmschool's review against another edition
5.0
I truly loved this book despite the very difficult topic. The varied metaphors, the second person perspective, the way the short anecdotes broke things up while slowly revealing the story all felt like a genius way to help me understand the author's emotional experiences in an authentic way. Love her voice. About 3/4 in when there is suddenly an anecdote of her father teaching her in childhood that when you don't know the answer to a test, just write what you do know. I audibly gasped at the lovely metaphor.
unabridged_reader's review against another edition
4.0
Stunning. Beautifully written and raw. I have never encountered a memoir quite like this one. I often struggle to read narratives that are presented in a fragmented structure. The piece is spliced with poetry, excerpts, and anecdotes ... yet it maintained its focus throughout. I greatly appreciate intentionality and focus in narrative pieces; there is beauty in brevity. Still, I would happily read pages upon pages of Machado's thoughts. Her handle of human emotion and ability to capture its range is pretty spectacular.
I read this digitally, but I'm hoping to get a hand on a physical copy someday to annotate.
I read this digitally, but I'm hoping to get a hand on a physical copy someday to annotate.
aleyajo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
2.75
I feel like she was really ambitious with this but it felt overdone to me; it’s so dramatic but I feel like telling the story without trying to make it incredibly poetic or fitting all these different genres would’ve been more enjoyable. However, it is pride so I must read gay books.
reads2cope's review against another edition
4.5
Exactly as enthralling as everyone said it would be. This is a gripping and gut-churning look into the depths of an abusive relationship, but Carmen Maria Machado also beautifully weaves history, literary criticism, and hope into every section. A memoir, a poem, and so much more.
hat_hanna's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to this book this time. Read it two years ago. Still probably the best book I have ever read.
whatnataliereadss's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Stunning, profound, incredible, beautiful, raw and extraordinary - only a few adjectives that could be used to describe this exceptional memoir.
enyltiak's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
A book review in snippets of thoughts I sent to my friend I was buddy-reading with as I went:
- “!!! genuinely so good. i didn’t realize it was in 2nd person (or, well mostly anyway) and honestly how did i not see that coming. just Works. i don’t think i finished all the stories in her body and other parties but even so, as much as i was enjoying that i feel like this is even better! also noted the way that even chapters focused outside of “her” are still “dream house as…” painting this representation draped over the whole thing of how this relationship has reflected on/effected her whole life reaching backwards”
- “genre defying and unique and yet makes perfect sense. of course [a memoir] should be written this way. why would it be any different? you can see she is SUCH a skilled writer. i can’t wait to see a novel from her. like holy shit, can you imagine?”
- “i get lost in the pov shifts and it’s all one. its me and you and her and wow. also the footnotes !!!!!!! i am not coherent but wow”
- “!!! genuinely so good. i didn’t realize it was in 2nd person (or, well mostly anyway) and honestly how did i not see that coming. just Works. i don’t think i finished all the stories in her body and other parties but even so, as much as i was enjoying that i feel like this is even better! also noted the way that even chapters focused outside of “her” are still “dream house as…” painting this representation draped over the whole thing of how this relationship has reflected on/effected her whole life reaching backwards”
- “genre defying and unique and yet makes perfect sense. of course [a memoir] should be written this way. why would it be any different? you can see she is SUCH a skilled writer. i can’t wait to see a novel from her. like holy shit, can you imagine?”
- “i get lost in the pov shifts and it’s all one. its me and you and her and wow. also the footnotes !!!!!!! i am not coherent but wow”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia