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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
siobhanward's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
I struggled, however, with Especially Heinous. I really dislike when authors use the same, repetitive technique in a story and draw it out longer than any other piece in a book. Maybe I have a short attention span and it gets boring, maybe I would have liked it more if I'd watched more of SVU. Who knows.
Apart from that, it was a solid read - I think Machado has a great style and I love reading her work.
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Sexual assault
yaoipaddle'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Read this very spaced out because you may tire of the author's writing style SO FAST. I loved the Husband Stitch when I read it online, so I was excited to read an entire book by the same author. Big mistake. She struggles to end even her most interesting stories well and the sheer amount of sexual content is exhausting when you read the stories back to back.
The Husband Stitch - 5 stars
One of my fave short stories. I had read it twice on its own before finding it in this book.
Every time I read it I have new thoughts on it. All time top story.
Inventory - 4 stars
Very interesting to read after COVID. Short and easy to read.
Mothers - 1 star
Useless. Truly dogshit.
Especially Heinous - 2 stars
IDK if it was supposed to emulate this weird perversion society has with Law & Order SVU. If that was the case it succeeded. It dragged on and the ending was so lame.
Real Women Have Bodies - 3 stars
By this point I was dead tired of the author's writing style. I liked the premise but the ending yet again was a let down.
Eight Bites - 2 stars
I felt nothing about this. The commentary was shallow.
The Resident - 1 star
This took me so long to read because I barely wanted to get through this crap story. I was exhausted by the author's writing style and I found the main character loathsome. I could write a better feminist short story in high school than 'The Resident'.
Difficult at Parties - 3 stars
I will reread this one at a later time. I think it was just OK. I am so tired of the author though that I don't think I could appreciate this story as much as I would on a reread in the future.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Violence, Cursing, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Dysphoria, Sexual harassment, Grief, Sexual assault, Medical content, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Stalking, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
esophagus18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Excrement, Vomit, Mental illness, Sexual content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gore, Medical content, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Medical content, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Rape, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
nialiversuch'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Body horror, Violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Medical content
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
dromedaryreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide
earthsigil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Sexism, Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Drug use
The first story, The Husband Stitch, has depictions of underage sex; the second story, Inventory, also describes sexual interactions between minors. Inventory and Mothers depict relationships with questionable age gaps.