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

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

There’s no doubt that Carmen Maria Machado is an immensely talented storyteller. Her prose is variously elegant and chilling in this collection, and I really enjoyed hearing it read aloud in the audiobook. But I wasn’t gripped by the plots of the stories themselves — most of them ended fairly quietly and lacked the thrill of a some kind of mystery revealed.  I fully skipped “Especially Heinous” (a retelling of SVU plots) because the format didn’t do anything for me, and I don’t know anything about that show. That doesn’t mean the rest of the stories weren’t good, they just didn’t give me what I wanted out of a horror anthology, but I don’t regret seeing the collection through. If you want to read some gorgeous writing and engage with thoughtful stories that blend themes like body horror and trauma with feminism and queerness, give it a try.  

Standout: The Husband Stitch 
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