In the Dream House

Wow! I was expecting to enjoy (not quite the right word, given how harrowing the subject matter, but also Machado's prose is so shamelessly pleasurable) In The Dream House, having loved most of Her Body And Other Parties, but I was still taken aback by how breathtakingly confident and assured and effective it is. The kaleidoscope of genres employed sharpen and refract Machado's point rather than obfuscating it, and both her wide and playful frame of reference and her detailed research are worn lightly. The employment of stylistic tricks like the folklore type footnotes and the Choose Your Own Adventure (!!!) chapter are both devastating and wildly enjoyable to witness. Recommended, unequivocally.

I think this is the first memoir of its kind and it is incredibly clever. Interspersing the narrative of a queer relationship with domestic violence and utilizing other forms of metaphor such a fairytales, horror and pop culture references, this novel is captivating throughout.
Carmen speak about important subject matter that is at times difficult to read, however the writing keeps you invested, as does the other elements woven in. I actually loved the way that it was told in fragments, as someone that prefers shorter chapters this was even better.
I highly recommend reading this powerful novel and I hope it wins lots of awards.

The story - abuse in a queer relationship - is something I have never read before and it's something I needed to read. I didn't know what to expect and I got the unexpected. The form is unexpected and extraordinary shifting from the second person, sliding through genres - from fairy tale to choose your own adventure to what feels like an academic textbook. By writing her story she has made it real, she refuses for it to be erased. And her dedication - If you need this book, it is for you - tells you exactly why she wrote it. Everyone should read this book. Right now.

My first read for #nonfictionnovember was Carmen Maria Machado's phenomenal memoir about same sex domestic abuse In The Dream House. Thanks to @serpentstail for the advance copy.

Nightmarish and fragmented, In The Dream House uses an innovative form exploring Machado's former abusive relationship through folklore, popular culture, and legal history, repeatedly trying to find a way to make sense of the incomprehensible reality that the woman who said she loved her also waged a campaign of terror against her. Machado talks about wanting to bring hidden abuse into the light, challenging the tempting idea that lesbian relationships are utopias (something that I've always struggled with), and the pressure to be a perfect model minority and not reveal anything that lets the queer side down.

She writes beautifully about the difficulties of escaping, the degradation of self, and the psychological traps of domestic abuse, and while this all sounds grim as hell its also a thought-provoking, powerful read by a brilliant author. While described as a memoir it often reads more like Mercado's fantastical short stories, and was a perfect companion to Kirsty Logan's Things We Say In The Dark in it's magical realist exploration of the horrors of intimate relationships.

CW for emotional, verbal, psychological, sexual and physical abuse

A frank, innovative and deeply moving memoir of domestic abuse in a same-sex relationship.

Machado writes with intelligence, warmth and wit on a troubling subject, and she gives a means of expression to those who struggle to put their experience into words.

The memoir’s chapters, some of them no more than vignettes, take the form of different literary genres. A storyteller of exceptional talent, Machado relates her own story to novels, folklore and popular culture, so that we understand. She explains her narrative choices: from the second person point of view, and the avoidance of cliché (it flattens the impact of a thought or experience), right through to the neat ending. Her examination of story theory reveals that the stories we tell ourselves explain who we are.

Meticulously researched and referenced, In the Dream House stands as a testament to all whose verbal, emotional, psychological and physical abuse at the hands of their partner has been swallowed by history.

An important and remarkable work.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher, Serpent's Tail, for the ARC.