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A review by travelseatsreads
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
In The Dream House is a spectacular, gut wrenching look at the wildly underreported epidemic of abuse within queer relationships. Carmen has created something so special by using this memoir to tell her story but also the story of so many others left without that voice.
Each chapter is short, succinct and perfectly formed. Machado uses many literary devices throughout the book to convey some of the darker moments, such as Bildungsroman, Chekhov's Gun, Schrödinger’s Cat and a comedy of errors. One of the moments which really took my breath away and truly conveyed the hopeless, suffocating nature of their relationship was the Choose Your Own Adventure section. Her writing style, language and pacing makes this book feel suitably claustrophobic and you can feel every single emotion seep from the pages.
Not alone just a breath taking memoir, this books stands out as an ice-breaker, a starting point hopefully to open those conversations about the abuse and violence which occurs within queer relationships and is often swept under the carpet. Just because something isn't widely spoken about does not mean it is not happening daily.
This is an absolute must read for everyone and I know already it will be one of my top reads for 2022. Thank you Carmen Maria Machado for sharing your story.
Each chapter is short, succinct and perfectly formed. Machado uses many literary devices throughout the book to convey some of the darker moments, such as Bildungsroman, Chekhov's Gun, Schrödinger’s Cat and a comedy of errors. One of the moments which really took my breath away and truly conveyed the hopeless, suffocating nature of their relationship was the Choose Your Own Adventure section. Her writing style, language and pacing makes this book feel suitably claustrophobic and you can feel every single emotion seep from the pages.
Not alone just a breath taking memoir, this books stands out as an ice-breaker, a starting point hopefully to open those conversations about the abuse and violence which occurs within queer relationships and is often swept under the carpet. Just because something isn't widely spoken about does not mean it is not happening daily.
This is an absolute must read for everyone and I know already it will be one of my top reads for 2022. Thank you Carmen Maria Machado for sharing your story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship