Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado

501 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. 

---

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

ellornaslibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Infidelity

Minor: Death and Fire/Fire injury

cancerousblush's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

Interesting format that really puts a spin on how memoirs can be an archive in different aspects

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

chealey14's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

filisia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Sexual assault

kpully13's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

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

mybetzfriend's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Violence, and Gaslighting

paigebayliss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

iswearimliterate's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

This book is excellent, heartbreaking and full of as much tension as hope. The writing style and repeated references to fairy tales (placing the understudied world of queer relationship abuse into a timeless context) really ground it as being not only harrowing for its content, but also in the diversity of emotions that Machado can conjure. Abuse is never a straight line, full of false breakups, moments of hope, and even love, or what you’ve convinced yourself is love. Top-tier.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Body shaming

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Sexual violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy

acorny's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia