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

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It's hard to put into words just how striking Carmen Maria Machado's writing is. I read In The Dream House at the start of the year & was left bereft yet craving more. I wanted to immediately dive into Her Body & Other Parties but waited a few months as I wanted to appreciate it in its own right & in its entirety. 
 
What I found in the pages behind the striking cover was another world of brilliance which captured my imagination fully & left me wondering with every carefully chosen word. 
 
As with any collection of short stories some will have more resonance than others with every reader but overall I found that even if I didn't necessarily 'enjoy' each short story while reading, every single one left me pondering for quite some time after. The perfect example of this was Especially Heinous which felt almost a little bit tedious at times as I was going through the individual episodes, but eventually unfurled into a creepy & oppressive portrayal of the indeed tedious, relentless & pervasive acts of violence against women. 
 
In all honesty there isn’t a story within the collection that didn’t leave some kind of a mark on me or didn’t leave me sitting struck & deep in thought but some of my favourites which really struck a chord with their brutality & honesty were The Husband Stitch, Inventory, Real Women Have Bodies, The Resident & Difficult At Parties. 
 
The whole book is bursting full of so many moments and quotes to relish, digest and just linger on that I’ll definitely be buying a physical copy to reread and devour again and again. I rarely buy books due to fortunately receiving ARCs & having the use of a fantastic library system but I need, not even just want, to have a copy of Her Body & Other Parties on my shelf to return to. 
 
Carmen Maria Machado is a writer like no other & Her Body & Other Parties conveys her innate ability to write pieces which are visceral, haunting, brutal & deeply thought-provoking. 
 
Powerful, surreal and simply stunning. 
 
(It is a book I want to recommend to everyone but due to its dark thematic nature & at times perplexing story arcs I can admit it may not be for everyone so I’ve included TW in comments & happy to chat about these if you’re considering reading it.) 
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