Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

234 reviews

vigil's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

everything carmen maria machado writes is breathtaking and this book is no different. if you can stomach the theme of abuse, i highly recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

thosemedalingkids's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

sunbeam_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

One of the most amazing book I read in  2021. Absolutely would recommend to anyone, especially sapphic folks. However, PLEASE read TW/CW for this book it deals with really heavy stuff that may be triggering.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

This book deals entirely with domestic abuse in sapphic relationships.

literaryrambles's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault

elizabethmaria's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence

keirahelena_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

Minor: Homophobia

cianarae's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I read this entire book in one sitting and could not put it down. It’s beautiful, tragic, splintered, poetic, visceral, unique. I loved the references to movies and books throughout that really gave context to the author’s thoughts and experiences. I want to share this book with everyone I know!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Dementia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

atmreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I know I already listed the trigger warnings above, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to take those seriously. This book is dark, intense, emotional, and deals A LOT with trauma and traumatizing events. I cannot in good conscious recommend this book without telling all of you to keep in mind these trigger warnings and do what is mentally healthy for you.

I just need to say that I LOVED this book. It is incredibly well written, creatively told, and exquisitely presented. This novel is told through a series of vignettes, each one focusing on a different event told through the lense of a different trope. And my god it was such an immersive way to tell the story! Simply reading the header of “Dream House as ____” immediately had me intrigued.

Next, the themes. I know themes are often discussed in the context of works of fiction, but this novel had such great themes despite being someone’s real life. The focus on how abuse within LGBTQ+ relationships is often dismissed because “how could a woman abuse another woman??” I think that highlighting that abuse is not homogeneous and can happen in any relationship of any kind is a really important message to give. And to hear the perspective of someone caught in an abusive relationship who felt trapped with no way out is incredibly important, because I think many people, whether consciously or not, have this idea that if you’re in a bad situation you should just leave. It’s not that simple but to hear and see someone’s real, lived in experience is SO important.

Lastly, the lasting impact. This is a book that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. This book had me crying at 1 am and 1 pm, it had me thinking deeply about what Machado was saying. This is a book I’ll take with me through life, one that I’ll look back to as a distinct point in time. It is truly a work of art.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

alymac42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Biphobia and Sexual assault

plethora's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

I don't read things quickly, and I read this in a day. The formatting makes each page or so its own self-contained reflection, so it was perfect for my distractable brain to pick up and put down between texts (I know, I'm the worst). As a 90's nerd kid every reference in this felt relatable to me. And I so applaud the author for choosing to convey her truth the way she did.

When I got to page 162 I audibly squealed with glee at the choice.

This books is as much an anthology that points and screams at the undercurrent of Queer history that has been suppressed for centuries by cishet institutions, as it is a personal memoir. Carmen Maria Machado has made a point to champion her community while holding it accountable to the reality its members face.  

The author's play and use with genre, theme, format made following this story that much more invigorating, while imbuing the reader's journey with the same fragmented, recursive, reflective search for clarity we all feel in the

aftermath of a toxic and abusive relationship. Reading this felt like sitting with a friend trying to make sense of their last relationship over a bottle of wine. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Sexual assault

Ugh, men.