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A review by bisexualwentworth
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
5.0
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I feel weird about rating nonfiction, but I'm giving this book five stars anyway because I loved it so much.
I know this won't be for everyone. If you don't like experimental writing or you're not already familiar with queer theory or queer history to some extent, this book isn't a great starting point.
But if you know that you like those things and you want an examination of queer abuse—specifically abusive sapphic relationships and the archival silence that surrounds them—you should definitely read this book.
Certain chapters felt like crawling into my own brain if I'd lived different experiences, which was very surreal.
Carmen Maria Machado was already a favorite author for me after Her Body and Other Parties, but she's even more of one now. I love what she does with her writing, and I can't wait to read more of it.
2023 REREAD THOUGHTS:
This hurts now. When I read this the first time, a lot of stuff resonated, but mostly I found it brilliant on the level of structure. I thought it was doing brilliant and important work. I still do, for sure, but now I’ve been in an abusive queer relationship, and reading this was very very painful. I’m honestly not sure why I did this to myself. Hopefully, maybe, it will help. We’ll see.
I feel weird about rating nonfiction, but I'm giving this book five stars anyway because I loved it so much.
I know this won't be for everyone. If you don't like experimental writing or you're not already familiar with queer theory or queer history to some extent, this book isn't a great starting point.
But if you know that you like those things and you want an examination of queer abuse—specifically abusive sapphic relationships and the archival silence that surrounds them—you should definitely read this book.
Certain chapters felt like crawling into my own brain if I'd lived different experiences, which was very surreal.
Carmen Maria Machado was already a favorite author for me after Her Body and Other Parties, but she's even more of one now. I love what she does with her writing, and I can't wait to read more of it.
2023 REREAD THOUGHTS:
This hurts now. When I read this the first time, a lot of stuff resonated, but mostly I found it brilliant on the level of structure. I thought it was doing brilliant and important work. I still do, for sure, but now I’ve been in an abusive queer relationship, and reading this was very very painful. I’m honestly not sure why I did this to myself. Hopefully, maybe, it will help. We’ll see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Homophobia, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Death, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury