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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
This book was a bit of a roller coaster. It's unlike anything I've read before.
I absolutely loved the first 2 short stories - unique, impactful, engaging, and had enough detail and content to make sense while still being esoteric, dark, and a little odd.
After that I had a harder time with the stories, the next few felt too difficult to grasp -- not enough story to follow, and overall just so grim. The Law and Order short story felt like a never ending fever dream that I simultaneously could not look away from.
I think the one that disturbed me the most was "The Resident" for some reason.
By the end, the hyper-sexuality, disturbing themes, tragic outcomes, and lack of resolution for all the women wore me down and I felt tired and ready to finish. Perhaps feeling exhausted at the end is part of the desired effect?
Overall a unique read, focused on women's lives and bodies and the harms (large and small) that are done to them. It is spooky, grim, and hard to grasp at times.
I absolutely loved the first 2 short stories - unique, impactful, engaging, and had enough detail and content to make sense while still being esoteric, dark, and a little odd.
After that I had a harder time with the stories, the next few felt too difficult to grasp -- not enough story to follow, and overall just so grim. The Law and Order short story felt like a never ending fever dream that I simultaneously could not look away from.
I think the one that disturbed me the most was "The Resident" for some reason.
By the end, the hyper-sexuality, disturbing themes, tragic outcomes, and lack of resolution for all the women wore me down and I felt tired and ready to finish. Perhaps feeling exhausted at the end is part of the desired effect?
Overall a unique read, focused on women's lives and bodies and the harms (large and small) that are done to them. It is spooky, grim, and hard to grasp at times.
dark
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence
Not all the stories hold up on re-read, but even so, Machado is a master of suspense, and crafts her language with brilliant poignancy.
¡No me ha gustado! Mucho mecanismo y poco fondo. Sigo sin saber si es la traducción, pero es que no tengo tan claro que las historias me hubieran gustado, aportado algo o simplemente disfrutado en el idioma original. Me han parecido la mayoría bastante... imprecisas. Pero yo qué sé, si soy tonta.
These stories! This is one of the best books I've read this year. I'd call it a collection of stories with aimless main characters who largely follow their desires over their needs. The way the author writes is big and dark and glossy. She hints at the grotesque without ever actually getting there. There were a few stories I did not like as much between the middle and the end, but the last one was excellent as well and they really stay with you in a disturbing and lovely kind of way.
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Um livro sobre o corpo desmistificado. Através de vários contos, a autor apresenta uma visão solta, nua e crua do corpo feminino e das coisas de que é capaz: desde dar à luz, até gemer de prazer, passando pelo menos positivo como violência.
Passei um bom bocado com o livro até porque ao que inicialmente pareciam histórias desconexas, parece-me que podemos, nós leitores, criar pontes entre elas.
Uma mulher que tem uma fita em que o marido não pode tocar, uma mulher que durante uma epidemia reconta os casos que teve na vida, uma mulher que vê outras desaparecer, uma mulher que se junta a uma residência artística e adoece constantemente.
Agora vou ler um romance da autora.
Passei um bom bocado com o livro até porque ao que inicialmente pareciam histórias desconexas, parece-me que podemos, nós leitores, criar pontes entre elas.
Uma mulher que tem uma fita em que o marido não pode tocar, uma mulher que durante uma epidemia reconta os casos que teve na vida, uma mulher que vê outras desaparecer, uma mulher que se junta a uma residência artística e adoece constantemente.
Agora vou ler um romance da autora.
I thought this was an interesting short story collection. I think my favorite would be either "The Husband Stitch" or "Especially Heinous." The format for "EH" was really interesting because I've never seen that format before and I just loved it. "THS" was both great commentary on womanhood/motherhood and also very nostalgic with all of the classic spooky stories referenced throughout.
I really enjoyed that every story centered around women and/or the trials of femininity and girlhood/womanhood. The supernatural elements throughout were also a lot of fun. Stories that can balance being strongly rooted in realism while also having a fantastical element are always really cool (when done well). I think that Machado often went a bit overboard with the surreal elements and stream of consciousness. I was often confused about what was confusing me. I'm not the most analytical reader but I do think I'm at least somewhat intelligent. But I spent a lot of time reading "Her Body and Other Parties" wondering if I was missing out on some symbolism or deeper meaning. I spent more time thinking about the stories than I did reading them, which is good when you're thinking "what does this mean" but not when you're thinking "what's even going on right now?"
I did enjoy the writing and I thought all the short stories had interesting plots. I don't think I'll ever re-read this collection but I think anyone looking for some woman-centric storytelling should try it out.
Date Read: 02/14/25 - 02/17/25
STORIES:
The Husband Stitch - A woman with a green ribbon on her neck details her life after meeting her future husband up until the night he kills her.
Inventory - A woman makes a list of all the people she's been intimate with both before and after an apocalyptic pandemic.
Mothers - A woman is shocked when her former lover returns with a baby who she claims is biologically the daughter of both of them.
Especially Heinous - A series of fictional episode plots for Law and Order SVU with increasingly supernatural and surreal elements.
Real Women Have Bodies - In a world where women have been slowly losing their corporeal forms, two women fall in love until one begins to disappear.
Eight Bites - An obese woman reflects on her difficulties with eating and decides to get weight loss surgery
The Resident - An unstable author joins an artists' retreat in the mountains where the isolation and the other residents take a toll on her already poor mental health.
Difficult at Parties - A couple struggles with reviving their intimate relationship after one recovers from a sexual assault.
I really enjoyed that every story centered around women and/or the trials of femininity and girlhood/womanhood. The supernatural elements throughout were also a lot of fun. Stories that can balance being strongly rooted in realism while also having a fantastical element are always really cool (when done well). I think that Machado often went a bit overboard with the surreal elements and stream of consciousness. I was often confused about what was confusing me. I'm not the most analytical reader but I do think I'm at least somewhat intelligent. But I spent a lot of time reading "Her Body and Other Parties" wondering if I was missing out on some symbolism or deeper meaning. I spent more time thinking about the stories than I did reading them, which is good when you're thinking "what does this mean" but not when you're thinking "what's even going on right now?"
I did enjoy the writing and I thought all the short stories had interesting plots. I don't think I'll ever re-read this collection but I think anyone looking for some woman-centric storytelling should try it out.
Date Read: 02/14/25 - 02/17/25
STORIES:
The Husband Stitch - A woman with a green ribbon on her neck details her life after meeting her future husband up until the night he kills her.
Inventory - A woman makes a list of all the people she's been intimate with both before and after an apocalyptic pandemic.
Mothers - A woman is shocked when her former lover returns with a baby who she claims is biologically the daughter of both of them.
Especially Heinous - A series of fictional episode plots for Law and Order SVU with increasingly supernatural and surreal elements.
Real Women Have Bodies - In a world where women have been slowly losing their corporeal forms, two women fall in love until one begins to disappear.
Eight Bites - An obese woman reflects on her difficulties with eating and decides to get weight loss surgery
The Resident - An unstable author joins an artists' retreat in the mountains where the isolation and the other residents take a toll on her already poor mental health.
Difficult at Parties - A couple struggles with reviving their intimate relationship after one recovers from a sexual assault.
dark
tense
medium-paced