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

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

4.5

Wowww this was really impressive writing! Whilst I didn't personally connect to every story in the collection, they all had deep worlds which could have easily been published as stand alone novels. The stories together, though  are powerful in their telling of women and their bodies - their own relationship with their bodies, in relation to men, women, mothers, children, partners, the world and its violence against women.

My favourite story was the Law and Order: SVU retelling. The format of an episode-by-episode rehashing of an existing TV through the same episode names for 12 'seasons' was such a unique way to tell a story about violence against women and lacking agency. 
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