Reviews tagging 'Rape'

In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado

59 reviews

klsreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

In the Dream House is a masterpiece. Told in vignettes structured around literature tropes, this memoir follows the rise and fall of a profoundly abusive relationship. Machado is brave, vulnerable, and unflinchingly honest as she exposes the abuse she suffered across a 2 year relationship with another woman. She asks: if we view queer relationships as utopia divorced from patriarchy and hierarchy, are we being homophobic? Are lesbians not humans - complex, hurting, and capable of inflicting extreme harm? If we flatten a group of people into a monolith, we dehumanize them. This book is a necessary addition to the growing work on the incidence of abuse in queer relationships.

I've never read anything quite like this - I loved the vignette narrative structure. The book moved quickly because most sections were short. A couple of the tropes dragged on for me/didn't hit 100%, but I was enthralled and could hardly put it down. A few standouts for me - "Dream House as Deja Vu" (x3), "Dream House as Queer Villainy" (!!!), "Dream House as Bluebeard", "Dream House as the River Lethe", "Dream House as Choose Your Own Adventure" ...... ok, I have to stop or I'm going to quote half of this work.

Even more wild: I was in Iowa City as an undergrad during the events of this book. Did I see Carmen and the Woman from the Dream House at a coffee shop, at Obama's speech, in a bookstore? It makes me shiver, the ways people suffer out of view.

Brilliant. Carmen Maria Machado is an absolute force and a genius of prose and innovative structure. I HIGHLY recommend this book, but mind the CW's. Machado doesn't shy away from the gore at the heart of her story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Blood, Violence, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Biphobia, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gun violence

errie's review against another edition

challenging dark

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

mirandalikesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

This was one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. 

The thing that sets this book apart is the way it was written. The tone feels like poetry while equally being digestible and readable. The switch between first and second person was such an interesting way to tell a story. The "I" was disconnected from the "you" but still told told a cohesive account of Machado's story. The you chapters invited the reader in to examine the parts of their reality that they are disconnected from too. 

This perspective on domestic abuse intersected with queer culture intersected with fat culture and with religious trauma is engaging and terrible and inspiring. 

A wonderful read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Addiction, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Stalking, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

Moderate: Fatphobia and Body shaming

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, and Mental illness

saviirose's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Rape

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

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Cursing, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual content, Body horror, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Dementia, Pregnancy, Racism, and Gun violence

jesselopod's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This is the most unique  memoir I have ever read. Brilliant, challenging, and harrowingly raw. I did not expect this non-linear shattering of perspective, dissecting events into many different genres and dissecting the genres themselves. Absolutely incredible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

bibliophage_teamage's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

sapphotoni's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

verysillygoose's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Rape