Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

13 reviews

veeples's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

The beautiful, dreamy prode Machado employs is a brilliant and sharp contrast to the devastation that she experiences. It reads like poetry, though it’s not. It’s fluid and heartbreaking and gorgeous, and I am so glad to have read it. If you are a queer person, and even if you’re not, I think it’s a valuable read as a narrative that describes a mentally and emotionally abusive relationship and how its just as harmful as a physically abusive one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Biphobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Dementia, Car accident, and Body shaming

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense fast-paced

5.0

Machado has such a poetic way of writing prose, which is one of my favorite things about reading her work. This memoir is written like no other I've encountered, and it's easy to understand why: in telling sharing her own experience of domestic abuse, Machado is pushing against cultural notions that women cannot hurt each other, that abuse only comes from men, and if queer women admit their queer women partners have hurt them, then they're damaging the community's reputation. In the Dream House does an excellent job grappling with All Of That and more. I've read many stories that feature abuse (both nonfiction and fiction) and none have so radically changed my perception of it as this book has.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Cursing, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body shaming, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Homophobia

Minor: Dementia, Death, and Physical abuse

literally_mint's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Biphobia, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Cancer, Abandonment, Vomit, Alcohol, Rape, Dementia, Hate crime, and Fatphobia

rainbowcerberus's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Dementia

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Confinement, Grief, Homophobia, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Rape

Minor: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Animal death, Car accident, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Eating disorder, Vomit, Murder, and Medical content

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

3.5

This book deals with an extremely important topic that needs to be voiced and discussed. That said, as a piece of work itself, I liked it so-so. 

I did not get along with the narrative structure, I found the rapid-fire succession of chapters (supposed to show different genres and narrative styles) too much disjointed and confusing. The writing style is a bit too much experimental for me.

I liked much more the chapters that were "essay-like", exploring queer history and theory. However, I think that this mixing of informative chapters together with more literary and elaborately written ones was a bit jarring, it felt like two different books mashed up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Abandonment, Mental illness, Sexism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Gun violence, Medical content, Drug abuse, Torture, Cursing, Car accident, Biphobia, Sexual assault, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Bullying, Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Dementia

hannibanani29's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Drug use, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Biphobia, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Dementia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

jurizprudence's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

“ . . . you can be hurt by people who look just like you. Not only can it happen, it probably will, because the world is full of hurt people who hurt people.”

so beautifully-written, brutal in its honesty, and heartbreaking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Biphobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Alcohol, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Minor: Racism, Classism, Bullying, Confinement, Dementia, and Pregnancy

cianarae's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I read this entire book in one sitting and could not put it down. It’s beautiful, tragic, splintered, poetic, visceral, unique. I loved the references to movies and books throughout that really gave context to the author’s thoughts and experiences. I want to share this book with everyone I know!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Sexism

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Dementia, and Infidelity

saintsunshine's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

Deeply engaging and often emotionally challenging, Carmen Maria Machado has crafted a wholely unique memoir in In the Dream House. Machado places her story of domestic abuse amid historical and cultural contexts that often ignores queer women. Dream House is as informative as it is personal, and I deeply enjoyed it. Though difficult to get through at times, Machado's poignant memoir will likely become a classic in the genre in years to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Homophobia, Drug use, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Fire/Fire injury