In the Dream House ★★★★★

In the Dream House (Click Here To Buy)

★★★★★

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado is a memoir about queer domestic violence.

I read this as an ebook on loan from the library.

From a plot driven point, Machado leads us through the meet-cute of a new woman who she begins to date, said woman’s subsequent decent into role of abuser, and Machado’s honest and vulnerable experience of the abuse.

The way this story is told from a literary stand point, however, is unlike quite anything I’ve read. Machado’s prose edges on lyrical, weaving a poetic and brutal tapestry. She names each chapter as a rendition of some form of the Dream House, and the styles and genres of each chapter can differ wildly. The book is written in second person, naming herself as you, bringing the reader into the experience in an even more intimate way. This is a story about and not about a house; it’s fragments and glimpses of a relationship built on control and power from the perspective of the woman without any, which inherently gives her back her own power. Queer domestic abuse is something that isn’t talked about much, but Machado has made space for that to happen.

Machado has also written a short story collection titled, Her Body and Other Parties, and I will definitely be reading that.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and looking for support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233)

If you liked In The Dream House, I also recommend Rose Madder by Stephen King, Sisters by Daisy Johnson, Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor, and Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot.

Happy reading,

Ms.Bjork