Reviews tagging 'Biphobia'

En la casa de los sueños by Carmen Maria Machado

109 reviews

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

In the Dream House felt so reminiscent to me of Children of the Land, in that both memoirs are non-linear and episodic, weaving truth abstractly to allow for a retelling of significant trauma. The use of horror devices - and the eery symbolism of the dream house - underscore the constant suspense and fear Machado experienced within an abusive relationship with her female partner. Her narrative creates new space for accounting trauma within queer relationships, and she incorporates historical discussions of intimate partner abuse in queer relationships and research into its prevalence. 

This narrative structure also helps the reader understand the slow boil of abuse and sheds light on the ways people wield power within relationships. It is a heart wrenching examination of the isolation, emotional manipulation, bullying and gaslighting of emotional abuse in particular. I also really appreciated the reflections on language and pop culture (the origin story of the term gaslighting was new to me and fascinating).

This is a horrifying and beautifully written memoir that will resonate with those who appreciate nonlinear reflections. I particularly loved the use of second person to address her younger self, and the simultaneous distance and intimacy this created for her as she examines this part of her life. 

I would also note that the audiobook is narrated by Machado and I highly recommend this format.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content

abigailstone10's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Biphobia, Blood, Grief, and Homophobia

vrhayes08's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, Cursing, Stalking, Alcohol, and Biphobia

Minor: Drug use and Pregnancy

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Medical content, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Biphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Rape, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Confinement

Minor: Dementia, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Bullying, Gun violence, and Stalking

hoolen's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming

Minor: Biphobia

sunshine_sophia's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

an absolutely beautiful read. this book was eloquent, wickedly smart, and moving. the prose-style writing is poetic and reads rhythmically. i loved the themes of each chapter and the pop culture references. even though i did not recognize all of them, Machado made it very accessible to demonstrate her point(s). 

as someone who works in the domestic violence/sexual violence awareness realm, this was poignant and applicable to my work. relationship violence is already something that many people shy away from and would rather brush under the rug. queer relationship violence is even more scarce when it comes to discussions around it (or lack thereof). Machado beautifully shows the light on queer domestic violence with her own powerful story paralleled by literature and research. not only was it moving but it was also educational. 

i listened to the audiobook, narrated by Machado herself, which made it more personal.  overall, this was an incredibly moving and thought-provoking read. i would recommend this book to queer individuals, especially women loving women individuals, and allies and supporters alike. we must shine a light on relationship violence, especially in marginalized communities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Biphobia and Lesbophobia

mdwsn27's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Vomit, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Body shaming, Abandonment, and Biphobia

breadbummer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

LOTS of literary/cultural references that flew way over my head, mainly in terms of "chapter" titles and, maybe it's because of the ADHD troubles when listening to an audiobook without text, but there were some passages that I was confused about how they related to the story. Otherwise, I'm speechless; horrifying events that were beautifully written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Animal death

Minor: Biphobia, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Blood

jadejeanne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

this book, honestly, changed my life. not only is it a memoir about the author's personal domestic abuse story, but it also brings in outside discussions on the perceptions of queer people and women. i adore the way it is formatted, and recommend it to anyone i might come by! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Homophobia and Biphobia

Minor: Fatphobia

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia

Minor: Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Biphobia, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cursing, Grief, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Torture