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ahappyhallowqueen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Eating disorder, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Rape
sarah_hutchins's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, and Blood
Minor: Sexual harassment, Cursing, Animal death, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Medical content, Self harm, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
undecidedpersonality's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Blood, Misogyny, and Self harm
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado is an 8 story horror collection that focuses on women and the monstrous things men and society do to them. It's also about how your own mind can be the villain.
I have to say, these were some weird stories. They were very creepy and unsettling in a psychological horror kind of way with some body horror thrown in. Most of the stories are either sapphic or bisexual. The first story was my favorite, about a girl with a ribbon around her neck. She had one rule for her partner: never touch the ribbon and never remove it. It's a story about love and trust and consent that ends exactly the way you'd expect.
Others were more disturbing or confusing. There were a couple of stories that I didn't really get what was happening. Some of the stories felt like I needed more context, more background, which is always my problem with short stories. I always want them to be longer. Machado also capitalizes on her use of the common horror trope of the unreliable female narrator who is out of her mind. The woman in the attic type of thing.
Machado's prose is stunning and delicious. Definitely pick this up if you are a literary fiction fan or a fan of female horror in general.
Graphic: Medical content, Blood, Self harm, Sexual content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
krispiefries's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Child abuse, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Vomit
ilovepastaandpizza's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
insgesamt fand ich die meisten geschichten gut. es ist sehr viel up-to-interpretation und mysteriös, weshalb ich für manche interpretations ansätze googeln musste.
es geht sehr viel um sexualität und körperlichkeit, und besonders um deren verknüpfung zur psyche. ich muss sagen, beim lesen habe ich oft echten ekel, tiefe scham, verzweiflung und traurigkeit gespürt, und manchmal auch einfach angst, frustration oder plain anger. manchmal auch ein punch in the face oder ich musste laut gaspen. die geschichten sind genial geschrieben.
ah und es ist sehr queer-normalising which was nice.
i saw someone make a ranking so i will do that too.
Stories Ranked
1. Real Women Have Bodies
2. Eight Bites
3. The Husband Stitch
4. Inventory
5. Difficult at Parties
6. The Resident
7. Especially Heinous
Graphic: Vomit, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Sexual assault
the_harlequin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Colonisation, Confinement, Rape, Fatphobia, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Body shaming, Gore, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Body horror, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Abandonment, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Suicide, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, and Child abuse
Illness outbreak, epidemic ("Inventory"). Unreality ("Especially Heinous"). Insects ("Eight Bites," "The Resident"). Illness ("The Resident").k_aro's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
I think the one that rang most closely was "Eight Bodies", especially given that it came right after reading I'm Glad My Mom Died, a lot of which revolves around McCurdy's eating disorder (that has to do with her mom and how they are mirrors of each other). And also recently listening to Lucy Dacus' "My Mother and I". I've had a lot to think about with regards to me and my mom - especially since I've been away from her for a long time, now, when compared to the rest of my life. I also think about Rayne Fisher-Quann's Tiktok about being thankful for having mommy bloggers to see that moms truly do have lives that exist beyond their children, and how so often when you become a mother it seems to become the hinge of your life.
Especially since "Eight Bodies" is written from the painful perspective of a mother and a daughter who'll never really see eye to eye. It's painful, to simultaneously be the mirror of your mother but also to hate it. It's weird.
That aside, Machado is also a beautiful author, with the prose flowing as smooth as butter. Also, this book is so horny. And that's great. Maybe I'll read it again and appreciate it better the second time!
Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, Cursing, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, and Murder
taylorsevalia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Eating disorder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Rape, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Eating disorder
Minor: Gun violence, Murder, Fatphobia, Vomit, and Self harm