Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Nella casa dei tuoi sogni by Carmen Maria Machado

31 reviews

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

mybetzfriend's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Violence, and Gaslighting

ems_book_shelf's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

5.0

This book was a masterpiece. From the start, it was hard to put down. The writing is so lyrical and the way the author writes metaphors for things that can’t be put into explicit words was amazing. There were many parts of this book that dug up past my traumas, put things into words that I have been struggling to myself, and made me reflect on my own thoughts and feelings and remembrances. 

Recommending this book a million times over 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Blood, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

amyhasel's review against another edition

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

4.0

Heartbreaking, informative, and brilliant, with circular narrative that will just keep punching you in the gut. Thank God Carmen Maria Machado is also hilarious, or every reader would be breathless with horror. Not a love story, except maybe with herself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Violence, Lesbophobia, Fatphobia, and Toxic friendship

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Cursing, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual content, Body horror, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Dementia, Pregnancy, Racism, and Gun violence

blackbird300's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Sexual content, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Lesbophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

blymanor's review against another edition

reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Body shaming, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, and Lesbophobia

mdwsn27's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Vomit, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Body shaming, Abandonment, and Biphobia

creativerunnings's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Toxic relationship

_morgreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship