A review by kyarabereading
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This short story collection has the types of short stories that stick with you long after you’ve read them, that make you reflect on what these stories say about life, identity, womanhood, etc. A lot of them were tough reads, and sometimes I’d have to take breaks between stories, but this book was definitely worth the struggle. I also found Machado’s writing style really beautiful and unlike anything I’ve read before. This book definitely had a lot of lines that made me go “How did she come up with that?” 

I’ll admit that not every story was a hit for me - some felt on the nose while others went above my head. Sometimes the message got a bit lost for me. This was my second read, but I think if I gave it another read some time in the future, I may feel differently about that.