Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

85 reviews

hunkydory's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, and Religious bigotry

amyelliot's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-paced

4.75

This book is reflective, heartbreaking, and informative. It taught me about queer history and the relationships and disfunctions that shaped our community today. It also tells the personal story of a queer woman dealing with domestic abuse and her mental state in a fragmented and fascinating way. I read it in days. I recommend this to all gay women! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, Mental illness, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

thebigemmt505's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

“Clarity is an intoxicating drug, and you spend almost two years without it, believing you were losing your mind, believing you were the monster, and you want something black and white more than you’ve ever wanted anything in the world.”

In The Dream House is a memoir from the author Carmen Maria Machado that details her experience with an abusive, queer relationship. It uses narrative tropes to explore the complex perspectives and emotions from this time in her life, with each chapter introducing a new trope. 

In The Dream House is incredibly written. Not only does it show an impressive knowledge of literature and queer history, but the knowledge is used not in a pretentious way, but instead is used to deeply and profoundly explore the many complicated feelings around an abusive relationship. Many sentences are beautifully sad and achingly relatable, while others are darkly funny. The order of the story and the choice to often interrupt the narrative is unique and genuine, as if we follow Machado’s exact lines of thinking. The pacing is relatively well done, and the recounting flows smoothly. 

The trope structure does get a bit stale after awhile. The chapters are short, and because each chapter is short, the punches feel a bit less punchy in the later chapters. Granted, there’s only so much “punch” to be expected from an autobiographical story, so it’s not a massive criticism. There are also moments of repetition that feel a bit unnecessary. The ending is a bit messy, though it was probably intentional (and my bias shows given I’m a “clear beginning clear ending” person.) 

On a personal note, my own traumatic history fortunately lacks an abusive relationship, despite my many brushes with horrible people and traumatizing events. Even despite this, the book offered so much solace in its depiction of queer interpersonal conflict and abuse. It’s true that the queer community is more hesitant to expose its humanity to the world, dark and disgusting and horrific as it can be (like all of humanity ever), and having had my share of not-so-great gay community experiences myself it’s nice to see it explored in this book. In addition, so much of the talk on trauma is raw and real and too familiar. The pain of and shame and self-blame are all such familiar feelings. It’s heartbreaking to read and to know we’re not all alone. 

“I speak into the silence. I toss the stone of my story into a vast crevice and measure the emptiness by its small sound.” 

It’s an emptiness that I hope will be filled by more books like this one. 

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Car accident, Death, and Drug use

readersreadingnook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Drug use, and Gaslighting

Minor: Vomit

sarahsbookstacks's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders

amberghinii's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Physical abuse, Vomit, Drug use, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Biphobia, Alcohol, and Homophobia

sapphicmuscaria's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

love book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Murder, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Car accident, Blood, Sexual content, Homophobia, Bullying, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, and Suicidal thoughts

rainbowcerberus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Dementia

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Confinement, Grief, Homophobia, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Rape

Minor: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Animal death, Car accident, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Eating disorder, Vomit, Murder, and Medical content

floatinthevoid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. I still have a lump in my throat as I write this review, because on god, this book took me to a rollercoaster of emotions. Brilliant and poignant writing, thorough research, and the kind of book that really brings out your empathy. You can tell that Carmen Maria Machado has a lot of compassion while writing this, she wants to reveal the ugly truth of queer abusive relationship, but she also wants to tell others who might find themselves in similar situations that there's hope, that someone will believe you. This so hard-hitting for me who has been in a toxic relationship, i think i will cry again while reading some of the quotes that hit too close to home. This book is an important read for everyone. The writing style is easy to digest, although caution is very much needed.

"A reminder to remember: just because the sharpness of the sadness has faded does not mean that it was not, once, terrible. It means only that time and space, creatures of infinite girth and tenderness, have stepped between the two of you, and they are keeping you safe as they were once unable to."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Fatphobia and Lesbophobia