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A review by ahsensbooks
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
“we can’t stop living. which means we have to live, which means we are alive, which means we are humans and we are human: some of us are unkind and some of us are confused and some of us sleep with the wrong people and some of us make bad decisions and some of us are murderers. and it sounds terrible but it is, in fact, freeing: the idea that queer does not equal good or pure or right. It is simply a state of being—”
it is really hard to articulate my thoughts on this book and i need to say that it’s not her experiences that i gave 5 stars, but the way she created a beautifully written memoir out of them. because when it comes to rating memoirs i don’t think anybody’s life has less value than others.
in this memoir machado shares her experiences being in an abusive same-sex relationship which is usually unseen, ignored and not discussed as much as it should be. while doing that she also points out the society’s unrealistic expectations towards queer people and queer relationships, demanding them to be perfect. you may think, bad relationships happen all the time, what is so unique about this book. what makes it a great reading experience for me was how brave she was to talk about it and by how personal she was willing to get. i was dumbfounded and some of her experiences resonated with me in such emotional ways. in addition to that, her writing style was so lyrical, so raw and powerful not only it made me keep reading it despite the heavy feeling in my chest, i also felt educated on an important matter.
if you’re willing to read this book i advise you to check out trigger warnings beforehand.
it is really hard to articulate my thoughts on this book and i need to say that it’s not her experiences that i gave 5 stars, but the way she created a beautifully written memoir out of them. because when it comes to rating memoirs i don’t think anybody’s life has less value than others.
in this memoir machado shares her experiences being in an abusive same-sex relationship which is usually unseen, ignored and not discussed as much as it should be. while doing that she also points out the society’s unrealistic expectations towards queer people and queer relationships, demanding them to be perfect. you may think, bad relationships happen all the time, what is so unique about this book. what makes it a great reading experience for me was how brave she was to talk about it and by how personal she was willing to get. i was dumbfounded and some of her experiences resonated with me in such emotional ways. in addition to that, her writing style was so lyrical, so raw and powerful not only it made me keep reading it despite the heavy feeling in my chest, i also felt educated on an important matter.
if you’re willing to read this book i advise you to check out trigger warnings beforehand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting