Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

20 reviews

lpogo16's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Machado had a lot of courage in talking about her story and a lot of heart in telling the story of other queer women. This book really opened my eyes to a topic I never thought to look at head on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Bullying, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Body shaming, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Vomit, Dementia, Blood, Cursing, and Confinement

The vibe of this book is really sad. The energy is very depressing though it does take a hopefully turn at the end.

klsreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

In the Dream House is a masterpiece. Told in vignettes structured around literature tropes, this memoir follows the rise and fall of a profoundly abusive relationship. Machado is brave, vulnerable, and unflinchingly honest as she exposes the abuse she suffered across a 2 year relationship with another woman. She asks: if we view queer relationships as utopia divorced from patriarchy and hierarchy, are we being homophobic? Are lesbians not humans - complex, hurting, and capable of inflicting extreme harm? If we flatten a group of people into a monolith, we dehumanize them. This book is a necessary addition to the growing work on the incidence of abuse in queer relationships.

I've never read anything quite like this - I loved the vignette narrative structure. The book moved quickly because most sections were short. A couple of the tropes dragged on for me/didn't hit 100%, but I was enthralled and could hardly put it down. A few standouts for me - "Dream House as Deja Vu" (x3), "Dream House as Queer Villainy" (!!!), "Dream House as Bluebeard", "Dream House as the River Lethe", "Dream House as Choose Your Own Adventure" ...... ok, I have to stop or I'm going to quote half of this work.

Even more wild: I was in Iowa City as an undergrad during the events of this book. Did I see Carmen and the Woman from the Dream House at a coffee shop, at Obama's speech, in a bookstore? It makes me shiver, the ways people suffer out of view.

Brilliant. Carmen Maria Machado is an absolute force and a genius of prose and innovative structure. I HIGHLY recommend this book, but mind the CW's. Machado doesn't shy away from the gore at the heart of her story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Blood, Violence, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Biphobia, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gun violence

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Medical content, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Biphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Rape, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Confinement

Minor: Dementia, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Bullying, Gun violence, and Stalking

yrpalal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Infidelity

bildungswalton's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Animal cruelty

foiblesandfiction's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I agree with other readers that it is difficult, almost impossible, to rate memoirs.

But I will say that this memoir is really damn beautiful.  I read the audiobook narrated by the author, which is one of my absolutely favorite ways to consume non-fiction literature.  It was haunting and informative and tense.  Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Homophobia, Grief, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia

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

chaotic_bibliophile's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective fast-paced

5.0

This book was so easy to consume and so upsetting to digest. Carmen Maria Machado has gorgeous way of defining and then sharing horrifying truths. The sections reflecting on the love of her friends and the people who valued around her was beautiful. I had to take a few breaks while reading this, but I'm glad I did, and I appreciate the shared resources at the end of the book and citations throughout, giving further information and history for queer domestic violence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Body shaming, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Pregnancy

kers_tin's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Homophobia, Biphobia, Body shaming, Confinement, and Cursing