Scan barcode
A review by manureads
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
”I realize the world will continue to turn, even with no people on it. Maybe it will go a little faster.”
This is a unique book with provocative stories that explore the different, violent ways women’s bodies are treated. I really enjoyed the mix of supernatural, gothic and horror. Each story really made you think and invited you to come up with your own interpretations of the message. However, like in many collections the quality is at times uneven and some stories were too abstract and a bit too confusing for my taste, e.g the ending of Mothers.
My favorite stories were Inventory, Eight Bites and The Resident. My least favorite was Especially Heinous because I felt it dragged on for a bit too long.
The highlight of this stunning collection is the excellent writing! The poetic and visceral language really enhanced the ethereal feeling in every story. Machado’s writing voice is very recognizable already in her debut and it’s amazing to see how she perfected it in her later work In the Dream House.
This is a unique book with provocative stories that explore the different, violent ways women’s bodies are treated. I really enjoyed the mix of supernatural, gothic and horror. Each story really made you think and invited you to come up with your own interpretations of the message. However, like in many collections the quality is at times uneven and some stories were too abstract and a bit too confusing for my taste, e.g the ending of Mothers.
My favorite stories were Inventory, Eight Bites and The Resident. My least favorite was Especially Heinous because I felt it dragged on for a bit too long.
The highlight of this stunning collection is the excellent writing! The poetic and visceral language really enhanced the ethereal feeling in every story. Machado’s writing voice is very recognizable already in her debut and it’s amazing to see how she perfected it in her later work In the Dream House.