Scan barcode
A review by dramaqueentears
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Carmen Maria Machado tells the story of her abusive same-sex relationship. She tells it in small snippets that come together and put the whole picture in perspective. While I enjoyed reading about her experience, it was the format that captivated me. Machado calls her ex “the woman in the dream house.” Most of the abuse takes place in the “dream house,” so each essay snippet is written like this: “Dream House in Deja Vu,” with Deja Vu being the name of the essay.
She makes a lot of interesting connections between past written accounts of abusive lesbian relationships. Butch women are easier for society to cast as abusers. If you’re a woman of color in an abusive same-sex relationship, you can forget about any kind of public empathy. She speaks of Debra Reid of the Framingham Eight and how she was criminalized harder for defending herself against her partner because she was a Black lesbian. It was bone chilling how the rest of the Framingham Eight were allowed to move on in society while Debra Reid was never allowed the same freedom. Cis hetero people have no problem believing queer women to be capable of being abusers while queer women turn their backs on victims because they can’t tolerate the “bad press.” There is a lot to think about in between the pages of fear, love, and devastation that Machado describes about her ex.
Also Machado did something genius. The Choose Your Adventure chapter was impeccable. I can’t recommend this enough.
She makes a lot of interesting connections between past written accounts of abusive lesbian relationships. Butch women are easier for society to cast as abusers. If you’re a woman of color in an abusive same-sex relationship, you can forget about any kind of public empathy. She speaks of Debra Reid of the Framingham Eight and how she was criminalized harder for defending herself against her partner because she was a Black lesbian. It was bone chilling how the rest of the Framingham Eight were allowed to move on in society while Debra Reid was never allowed the same freedom. Cis hetero people have no problem believing queer women to be capable of being abusers while queer women turn their backs on victims because they can’t tolerate the “bad press.” There is a lot to think about in between the pages of fear, love, and devastation that Machado describes about her ex.
Also Machado did something genius. The Choose Your Adventure chapter was impeccable. I can’t recommend this enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit