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scifi_rat 's review for:
Her Body and Other Parties
by Carmen Maria Machado
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
The Husband Stitch - 4 stars [captures that creeping horror of the suburban gothic]
Inventory - 3.75 stars [the aching unfolding of a pandemic through the lens of making an obsessive list of memories]
Mothers - 3 stars [this one was a bit disjointed on the plot events but that eerie undertone is consistently there]
Especially Heinous - 4.5 stars [it was so long and creepy and bewildering but I didn’t want to stop reading and the vividness of the imagery with just short paragraphs is going to keep me thinking about it for a long time]
Real Women Have Bodies - 2.75 stars [I loved the concept of this one but the execution left something to be desired]
Eight Bites - 4.25 stars [the main character and this delicate confused sadness that permeated the whole story almost made me want to cry]
The Resident - 3.25 stars [gorgeous imagery and vibes and such a creepy look into an anxious traumatized mind. the ending was a little off]
Difficult At Parties - 3 stars [a little too vague]
Carmen Maria Machado is so good at setting the perfect spooky eerie but beautiful almost comforting atmosphere and her language is exquisite. However often the stories suffer from a little too much unexplained vagueness and untied loose ends that make them feel less like cohesive short stories and more like unfinished musings/exercises in mood setting. Good thing I love a good mood setting and don’t need too much plot to enjoy a piece of writing.
Inventory - 3.75 stars [the aching unfolding of a pandemic through the lens of making an obsessive list of memories]
Mothers - 3 stars [this one was a bit disjointed on the plot events but that eerie undertone is consistently there]
Especially Heinous - 4.5 stars [it was so long and creepy and bewildering but I didn’t want to stop reading and the vividness of the imagery with just short paragraphs is going to keep me thinking about it for a long time]
Real Women Have Bodies - 2.75 stars [I loved the concept of this one but the execution left something to be desired]
Eight Bites - 4.25 stars [the main character and this delicate confused sadness that permeated the whole story almost made me want to cry]
The Resident - 3.25 stars [gorgeous imagery and vibes and such a creepy look into an anxious traumatized mind. the ending was a little off]
Difficult At Parties - 3 stars [a little too vague]
Carmen Maria Machado is so good at setting the perfect spooky eerie but beautiful almost comforting atmosphere and her language is exquisite. However often the stories suffer from a little too much unexplained vagueness and untied loose ends that make them feel less like cohesive short stories and more like unfinished musings/exercises in mood setting. Good thing I love a good mood setting and don’t need too much plot to enjoy a piece of writing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy