Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Das Archiv der Träume by Carmen Maria Machado

83 reviews

beforeviolets's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

In the Dream House is a profound and thoughtful memoir exploring Carmen Maria Machado’s experience in a queer abusive relationship. The narrative is broken up into short chapters that explore different storytelling perspectives and styles, sprinkled through with thoughtful discussion of abuse, villainy, and queer history, and all while connecting tropes of folklore and symbolism to weave a cautionary fairytale of her own.

This book is the literal definition of poignant. I’m afraid to say too much, like speaking on the book in something so trivial as a review on the internet will pop the bubble of its magic. It feels insulting to try to put my reading experience into a summary of judgments. I could speak for days on its mastery. I can’t wait to read more of the brilliance that is Machado’s writing.

TW: intense discussion and portrayal of toxic relationships and domestic abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual), assault, homophobia/lesbophobia, sexism, grooming, panic attacks, eating disorder (mention), alcoholism, abusive parental figures (emotional), vomit , murder (mention), blood (mention)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Vomit

Minor: Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Murder, and Blood

sady's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Vomit

eoghannnivall's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

animalsmals's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Animal death, Vomit, and Biphobia

mallory10100's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

wow this book was amazing. heartbreaking yet quick. i highly recommend. i really liked the unique format. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit

this book really doesn’t feel like non fiction, but it’s a chilling true story and i highly recommend it

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

I found it. The perfect memoir. The writing throughout this entire book is so beautiful even while describing the most harrowing details that I couldn't believe I was allowed to read it. It is beautiful and horrifying. There is also a lot of important commentary throughout about how women can easily be monsters in lesbian relationships, that abusive relationships are not exclusively a heterosexual phenomenon and the myth of the "lesbian utopia" is just that, myth. In reality, lesbian relationships have the capability to be just as toxic as any other relationship, that we should believe queer women when they come forward with their stories and not dismiss them. Abuse is abuse, be the perpetrator a man, woman, or gender nonconforming. I think this one is gonna stay with me for a really really long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, and Gore

Minor: Blood

lycheejelly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Cancer, Cursing, Dementia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

halcyonkathryn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Vomit and Infidelity

Minor: Body shaming

macadoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Animal death

dramaqueentears's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Carmen Maria Machado tells the story of her abusive same-sex relationship. She tells it in small snippets that come together and put the whole picture in perspective. While I enjoyed reading about her experience, it was the format that captivated me. Machado calls her ex “the woman in the dream house.” Most of the abuse takes place in the “dream house,” so each essay snippet is written like this: “Dream House in Deja Vu,” with Deja Vu being the name of the essay. 

She makes a lot of interesting connections between past written accounts of abusive lesbian relationships. Butch women are easier for society to cast as abusers. If you’re a woman of color in an abusive same-sex relationship, you can forget about any kind of public empathy. She speaks of Debra Reid of the Framingham Eight and how she was criminalized harder for defending herself against her partner because she was a Black lesbian. It was bone chilling how the rest of the Framingham Eight were allowed to move on in society while Debra Reid was never allowed the same freedom. Cis hetero people have no problem believing queer women to be capable of being abusers while queer women turn their backs on victims because they can’t tolerate the “bad press.” There is a lot to think about in between the pages of fear, love, and devastation that Machado describes about her ex. 

Also Machado did something genius. The Choose Your Adventure chapter was impeccable. I can’t recommend this enough. 

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts