Reviews tagging 'Rape'

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

61 reviews

annuich's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

tractatus's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

purplemind's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

Once more, my book club's monthly pick leads me to a memoir, and I have to say, of the ones I've read so far, this one is definitely my favourite.
Reading through Machado's retelling of her years "in the dream house" (as well as several parts of her life before and after) was an emotional journey, both heartbreaking and fascinating, haunting and beautifully written. 
I usually don't like very short chapters in books as I feel that they break up the narration too much, and bring its flow to a halt. Machado might have managed to change my mind for good, however: even the bite-sized chapters carry weight, and intent (the "Deja-Vu" ones especially come to mind), not in little part thanks to the brilliant idea of drawing parallels between literary genres, devices, or tropes and her life. Perhaps, at the end of the day, it really does come down to how well you handle them, and the author, here, handled them perfectly.
This should be a very hard book to get through, the subject matter anything but light, or pleasant, as necessary as it might be to discuss. Machado, though, takes on the difficult task of fighting against the "archival silence" surrounding abuse of women in same-sex relationship with incredible dedication, and grace, and a surprisingly amount of humour. As a queer person myself, this book resonated with me deeply: I can't stop thinking about it, even after having finished it nearly two weeks ago. This one goes straight to my favourites, and I'm definitely going to pick up more of Machado's work in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Rape

olivemyheart's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad fast-paced

5.0

This book was absolutely heartbreaking and necessary. As Machado claims, queer people are people, and that means we can have every experience people have--which encompasses abusive relationships. Furthermore, her ability to understand and convey her own emotions shows maturity and introspection that is truly admirable. At first I anticipated not liking the speculative writing style, but it was very well done and effective for conveying her experience. Here are a few moments that I found incredibly profound (CW for discussion of domestic violence)
Her wishing her girlfriend had been a man so that people would believe her, so her experience wouldn't give the queer community bad rep
Her wishing her girlfriend had just hit her so she would have some concrete evidence
Her discussions of queer history and intersectionality, which showed the depth of research and thought she put into this book
Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I'm very glad to hear Machado is in a happier place now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

Minor: Murder, Physical abuse, and Rape

kylajaynebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

5 stars is not a high enough rating. This book was haunting, heart-wrenching, depressing, aggravating and beautifully written. This book made me slam it shut and start scream sobbing, this book made me reflect on my own relationships, this book made me feel every single emotion. I read this book in one sitting it was absolutely PERFECT and so so necessary. Please read it if you're able to, be mindful of all of the content warnings please it is by no means an easy read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

pennym_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Vomit, Rape, and Sexual assault

scoulson2011's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

I was totally engrossed by this book. Machado's pacing is excellent, and the house she builds turns into a trap around you, although you feel safer in knowing she made it out and to happier times, albeit not unscathed

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Rape

danajoy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I don't usually rate memoirs. I make an exception for In the Dream House because the writing is so incredibly crafted. It is beautiful, heartbreaking and important. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Emotional abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Infidelity, and Rape

sucreslibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

amywong's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

I loved the tie in of historical instances of queer domestic abuse and how it was poorly dealt with and now overlooked or not discussed enough partly because of the pressure of queer people wanting to be perfect to not give any poor look to the opposing people to weaponize. Even though these issues are not relevant to being ok or not with queer people it's inherently tied to relationships in general if anything it shows how their relationships are the same as "normal" relationships so should be included in any discussions about relationships. 

This was also the perfect balance of poetry, essay, or in the realm of abstract that I can still easily follow but enjoy the different style of writing than the usual novel. I did get lost a few times there but it wasn't a big deal. The way that Machado didn't name the offender gave the feeling that this could be anyone and I really liked that. Absolutely worth the read and it's a pretty quick one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Violence, Rape, and Physical abuse