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A review by melmoony
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
A haunting and terrible tale about domestic abuse. Machado writes about her own experience being in a queer relationship and going through the ups of falling in love and finding who she really is juxtaposed with the downs of being gaslighted and abused. It read like a fever dream, each chapter a disjointed exploration of “the dream house.” I’ve never read a memoir like this and is the only book I’ve read of hers, yet you can tell she is a poet because of the lyrical style of her prose. I cannot say I enjoyed it in a true sense, but I think her writing is lyrical, her voice is unique, and that more discussions about same-sex domestic abuse and across all relationship types should be had.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse