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teddyotso's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcoholism, Fatphobia, and Lesbophobia
heynonnynonnie's review against another edition
4.5
In the Dream House is a bold and experimental memoir unlike anything that I've read before. But like all things new and experimental, there's a strong element of confusion. What was the author's intent? When did the story begin? Why was this chapter here? What was the importance of this metaphor? Of this citation? Sometimes I sat with a chapter and read it over and over again to try to make sense of its meaning. Now that I'm done with the book, I think the author's intent is much more clear. It's not a linear story. It's a collection of short pieces that circle around and around a subject, a thesis, and only sometimes about an abusive relationship.
The author has a story to tell but has no language for it. She must invent one. The point of the story isn't her abusive relationship, it's that she has no way of framing it. She tries over and over again in each chapter to fit it into various tropes - like holding up a jewel to the light to inspect all its facets. Yet, she finds over and over again that there is no one narrative to tell her story. Every one explains an aspect but ultimately fails to fully contain her story.
We feel that something wrong has happened to her, but there is no law broken. There's no legal case to refer to. There's no piece of writing that explains what happened. No character archetype to fall back on. No narrative to allude to. And so her goal is to imagine an archive, a house, a structure in which her story can live. A place where her story exists among literary devices, allusions, and metaphors that build legitimacy that the story is seeking.
I think it's easy to mistake the sometimes second person tense as a weak attempt to create empathy. But it's not an attempt to blur the boundary between author and reader. It's a necessary disconnect in the text. An "I" author and a "you" victim that Machado switches between. A wall between the person she was and the person she is. A classification for her feelings and thought patterns. An Othering to in order to create the many character archetypes the victim falls into.
The book feels like both the building and the unravelling. It seeks to teach you how to read its text and keeps you away from its core. It's discovering the why of a ghost through the means of a haunted house.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Sexual harassment, Drug use, Lesbophobia, and Alcoholism
beforeviolets's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the literal definition of poignant. I’m afraid to say too much, like speaking on the book in something so trivial as a review on the internet will pop the bubble of its magic. It feels insulting to try to put my reading experience into a summary of judgments. I could speak for days on its mastery. I can’t wait to read more of the brilliance that is Machado’s writing.
TW: intense discussion and portrayal of toxic relationships and domestic abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual), assault, homophobia/lesbophobia, sexism, grooming, panic attacks, eating disorder (mention), alcoholism, abusive parental figures (emotional), vomit , murder (mention), blood (mention)
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Rape, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Vomit
Minor: Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Murder, and Blood
embervleo's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Biphobia, Bullying, Violence, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, and Fatphobia
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, and Car accident
mallory10100's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Infidelity
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit
this book really doesn’t feel like non fiction, but it’s a chilling true story and i highly recommend iturs's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Drug use
rachaelallyn's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence
lycheejelly's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Cancer, Cursing, Dementia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
jmcordero's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Self harm
Minor: Lesbophobia, Outing, and Medical content
corvidprince's review against another edition
5.0
this book is bone chilling and real. it's one of the few books that have ever brought me to tears.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Religious bigotry