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onamoonbeam's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
oh! so that's why this author's famous! moment. read a few excerpts of this for a creative writing class and loved them months ago, finally got around to reading the whole thing. the mastery machado has over language is. absurd. somehow lots of colloquial language to illustrate swathes of emotion and history that will be rattling around in my mind for who knows how long. she also likes the word eponymous, which i will now actually remember the definition of.
notable bits
notable bits
- as a trope lover, the fact the memoir is formatted like this at all is already fantastic, not to mention. literally everything else
- the three deja vu chapters are marked in my book, and i flipped between them, reading their corresponding sentences in order in awe of oh. everything in this book is put together with intention, and this is just a small piece of it.
- the choose your own adventure part with the
(multiple!!) pages that say smth like 'you should not be on this page, there was no way to get to it with the choices provided. you wanted to get out/you can't get out, this already happened/were you looking for a way out' ARE SO GOOD i love when authors use their mediums to the fullest because in what other format could that exist? it reminded me of some pieces of interactive fiction, where choice being given and then taken away, or pointing out the illusion of choice, is more impactful than starting out with no choice to begin with. -
the use of footnotes in reference to folklore and foreshadowing is *chef's kiss* both opposite and adjacent to the princess bride to me. some of them, esp the one of 'mother killing her child' i gasped at -
pointing out that the language we use to describe abuse is so trite that horrible experiences seem banal, then pointing out a specific experience -
magical realism almost? of her experiences after the breakup, shrinking and drowning in tears and finding solace in animals -
"We deserve to have our wrongdoing represented as much as our heroism, because when we refuse wrongdoing as a possibility for a group of people, we refuse their humanity" AAAGH -
explicit separation of "you" and "i" in one chapter that continues for the rest of the book, works to 1. separate her experiences at the time of the relationship and at other points in her life 2. a marker of her growth 3. everything becomes deeply personal to the reader. you are running/dreaming/hiding. do you understand, now? -
"Part of the problem was, as a weird fat girl, you felt lucky." the elementary school me is pounding the floor of my heart, ie. when I read that I gripped the book a little tighter - HOUSE AND SPACE METAPHORS
something about this is peak english major to me, and i mean that as a compliment. guess i gotta go read her body and other parties now
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
fayemomodu's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Absolutely love this book. As someone who attending college at the University of Iowa I loved reading this as it takes place in Iowa City at the college. The book almost reads as poetry and is very beautiful written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Body shaming
jazhandz's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Blood, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
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.
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
kvokolek's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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
fieldofhats's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
“Once, when I was a kid, I stood in that wonderful sand right at the lip of the tide—the kind that could be wet and pliable or go hard like damp cornstarch—and yelled to my parents that I was standing on the line of the map. When they didn’t understand, I explained that there was a line on the map between the land and the water, and I was on it, precisely.”
Read for Queer Lit and Theory.
Such a powerful book about the intricacies of queer relationships and history. The structure is perfect, the writing is engaging, and the themes are gut-wrenching and harsh, but not entirely hopeless.
First, I wanted to speak on the structure of the book, which is one of the main reasons I love it so much. I have nothing but whole-hearted love for short chapters. A book can be 600 pages, but if the chapters are short I will devour it. Likewise, if a book is 200 pages of straight, unbroken prose, I will struggle to even pick it up. For this book specifically, the short chapters serve a very specific purpose; Machado has a point to make with each chapter, one that stands on its own. Each chapter portrays one scene or vignette of their relationship, and while they are all connected and create a cohesive story, the chapter ends when the scene is done. This format also makes it easy for her to interrupt the narrative for the folktale chapters in a way that isn't jarring. The short chapters do a great job of keeping me engaged since I'm not committing to much when I begin to read a chapter, which subsequently keeps me reading.
But the short chapters serve a purpose even beyond that. In the "Dream House as Choose Your Own Adventure" section of the book, Machado uses the short chapters as a means to lure the reader into an immersive game that demonstrates the everyday abuse that went on within Machado's life. In this section, there are choices that center the narrator and choices that center the partner; an example of the former would be the choice to “tell her to calm down”, or theatrically drive away from the house; an example of the latter would be “apologize profusely” or “do as you are told.” If you always choose the latter options, you will find yourself in a loop. You literally can’t get out unless you choose one of the former, of which there are very few. The grim reality is that the options you have for centering the narrator are all unrealistic; they would never happen at that point in the narrative, and she says this whenever you choose them. But those are the only ways to get out. The only exception to this is the “dream about the future” option, which leads to a positive refrain from the existential dread, until it asks you to turn to a page which has you waking up and starting all over again. The structure of this book allowed for Machado to do this, and the book is all the better for it.
The theme of Archival Silence is such an interesting, sad, almost looming presence throughout the book. in the introductory chapter, “…as Overture, she asks what authors are trying to hide with prologues — and in the prologue chapter, she speaks on hidden, forgotten, and lost texts. In a way, Archival Silence is a form of humanities collective prologue.
I love themes of fate and destiny, and while this is a true story, Machado uses the narrative theme of fate to connect the dots of her life, which is no clearer than at the end “…as Sex and Death.”The shock of having narrowing avoided such a dire event by mere coincidence puts the whole thematic structure of the book into perspective; Machado’s life hinges on the various fortunes of fate, which are often as cruel as they are rewarding. The Dream House, a symbol of safety tarnished by circumstance and abuse, is representative of this.
I really love that Machado shares the nuances of sexuality in this book. She spent most of her life as bisexual before she realized that she preferred women, but she still has a fondness for non-women. In “…as Sex and Death,” she says, “I don’t miss men, but I did miss you.” It’s a good reminder that sexuality isn’t a static, black-and-white thing. It’s fluid and has multitudes of nuance.
Give this book a read. Seriously. Check the trigger warnings, of course, but if you can you need to read this book.
Read for Queer Lit and Theory.
Such a powerful book about the intricacies of queer relationships and history. The structure is perfect, the writing is engaging, and the themes are gut-wrenching and harsh, but not entirely hopeless.
First, I wanted to speak on the structure of the book, which is one of the main reasons I love it so much. I have nothing but whole-hearted love for short chapters. A book can be 600 pages, but if the chapters are short I will devour it. Likewise, if a book is 200 pages of straight, unbroken prose, I will struggle to even pick it up. For this book specifically, the short chapters serve a very specific purpose; Machado has a point to make with each chapter, one that stands on its own. Each chapter portrays one scene or vignette of their relationship, and while they are all connected and create a cohesive story, the chapter ends when the scene is done. This format also makes it easy for her to interrupt the narrative for the folktale chapters in a way that isn't jarring. The short chapters do a great job of keeping me engaged since I'm not committing to much when I begin to read a chapter, which subsequently keeps me reading.
But the short chapters serve a purpose even beyond that. In the "Dream House as Choose Your Own Adventure" section of the book, Machado uses the short chapters as a means to lure the reader into an immersive game that demonstrates the everyday abuse that went on within Machado's life. In this section, there are choices that center the narrator and choices that center the partner; an example of the former would be the choice to “tell her to calm down”, or theatrically drive away from the house; an example of the latter would be “apologize profusely” or “do as you are told.” If you always choose the latter options, you will find yourself in a loop. You literally can’t get out unless you choose one of the former, of which there are very few. The grim reality is that the options you have for centering the narrator are all unrealistic; they would never happen at that point in the narrative, and she says this whenever you choose them. But those are the only ways to get out. The only exception to this is the “dream about the future” option, which leads to a positive refrain from the existential dread, until it asks you to turn to a page which has you waking up and starting all over again. The structure of this book allowed for Machado to do this, and the book is all the better for it.
The theme of Archival Silence is such an interesting, sad, almost looming presence throughout the book. in the introductory chapter, “…as Overture, she asks what authors are trying to hide with prologues — and in the prologue chapter, she speaks on hidden, forgotten, and lost texts. In a way, Archival Silence is a form of humanities collective prologue.
I love themes of fate and destiny, and while this is a true story, Machado uses the narrative theme of fate to connect the dots of her life, which is no clearer than at the end “…as Sex and Death.”
I really love that Machado shares the nuances of sexuality in this book. She spent most of her life as bisexual before she realized that she preferred women, but she still has a fondness for non-women. In “…as Sex and Death,” she says, “I don’t miss men, but I did miss you.” It’s a good reminder that sexuality isn’t a static, black-and-white thing. It’s fluid and has multitudes of nuance.
Give this book a read. Seriously. Check the trigger warnings, of course, but if you can you need to read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Biphobia
sarah_hutchins's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Biphobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
drgnhrt968's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship