Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

167 reviews

raisinreads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Alcohol

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol

twilightfan420's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

Five star book alert! I devoured this one and have taken so much inspiration from it already. I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said about the subject matter; it’s deeply tragic, poignant, and real. I love how unique the structure was. The short chapters each recontextualizing the motif of the dream house. The use of footnotes to add extra context, extra figurative meaning. The second person POV creating an wholly immersive experience. All absolute genius decisions. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts

winterdevil's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

 A cleverly structured memoir reflecting on abuse in a lesbian relationship—each chapter in the story is a different genre or concept with its own convention and angle.

The ending, however, felt rushed and less "complete" for lack of a better word. There are a few moments in recounting the abusive relationship where Machado says that she doesn't know how she'll learn to trust a lover again, how she'll grow comfortable in her body, how she'll let anyone touch her. Then the relationship ends, and suddenly she just does all those things all in the same chapter without reflecting on how or why. It's especially stark because she doesn't ever make a choice to walk away from the relationship (and I understand why, but if you aren't choosing to leave, the choice is made for you, and you stumble onto someone else's lips, we never actually see her regain agency on the page). She kisses someone and then marries someone else, but we don't hear anything about how she got from point A to point B emotionally. And I wouldn't expect it at all if she hadn't brought up how difficult it would be in the first place.

Especially since her craft in the beginning 85% was so meticulous and well-written, the end felt unpolished by comparison, like she was tired and just wanted to get it done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

mkwreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

meleac07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

As a queer, predominantly lesbian individual, this gave me perspective and made me feel, in a way, safe.
Seeing a woman so openly and explicitly talk through her experience with queer domestic abuse, it both hurt me to the very core of my being and gave me hope that some day, we could as a society, fully acknowledge and accept that queer people are not a different species, somehow immune or shut off from the experiences of heterosexual people.
I find a part of myself reflected in this story, and the author so eloquently told it in a way that made me feel a part of it somehow, like I could feel a mere fragment of her suffering and heartbreak. 
This story is both brave and powerful in every way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood and Lesbophobia

Minor: Animal death and Fatphobia

daria_mm's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming and Homophobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

hannibanani29's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Cancer, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

florinoakenshield's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

wow wow wow. i picked this book up bc i thought it was a horror story, and i wasn’t wrong! my first memoir and it was about queer domestic abuse. i loved how informative it was, and diverse in its prose. my favourite part was the choose-your-own-adventure segment (it wasn’t really, which was the point) and the majority of this book being second person pov was surprising but also really helped get me into her story. my ginormous ego did start to think that this could never happen to me, but then i really started to think about it and maybe i wouldn’t be the victim (too flighty) but i could be an abuser - HORRIBLE TO SAY I KNOW! but i think that reading this story about the woman in the dream house really opened my eyes on how my behaviour truly affects people i love. if i love them, then how could i hurt them? pre-dream house flo would believe that, but post-dream house flo knows better.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

toffishay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

What an amazing, powerful, interesting, and informative read. The formatting of this book pulls you in, with each "chapter" representing the story of this relationship from a different literary genre or device. I read this book so quickly and you are pulling in with every word. It is certainly emotional and I teared up more than once. This is a memoir about domestic abuse, so I would certainly look up trigger warnings. But, I find this to have been such a valuable and engaging reading experience that I absolutely have to recommend.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail