Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

92 reviews

bridge_enginerd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Vomit

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

Any book that makes me cry on public transportation is a definite 5 stars. This was so incredibly written and the unique way Machado chose to frame her memoir was brilliantly executed. With books that deal with a specific traumatic experience/theme, I always hope that resources for readers to access help are included and I was disappointed when that wasn't the case here. Despite the difficult content, I highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Lesbophobia

Minor: Vomit and Alcohol

artisticpie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, and Vomit

mbzoller's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

This was so well executed with the fragmented prose. I was blow away by Machado's ability to say so much without detailing explicitly the events. She was so adept at making the reader remember an image, phrase, or scenario that was called back for extra effect.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Gaslighting

cait808's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

carmen maria machado is one of my favorite wordsmiths; i've read this masterpiece like 5 times already and each read begets a new revelation. 

you pull this book from the shelf because reading it feels like peeling back a juicy scab. i return it, pride of place, because the familiar itch of my skin knitting back together feels even better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Pedophilia

cheerstochels's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement, Fatphobia, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Car accident, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

its_eel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Gaslighting

tenderbench's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Vomit

wardenred's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

Places are never just places in a piece of writing. If they are, the author has failed. Setting is not inert. It is activated by point of view.

This was a really difficult read for me, mostly because of the subject matter. The other did an excellent job conveying how it feels to be living in an abusive relationship: the visceral lack of safety, the walking on eggshells, the losing touch with what's real about your own self. This is a prime example of why memoirs as a genre fascinate me: I can't imagine how brave a person must be to write about these experiences so candidly. 

The narrative isn't quite linear, just like both the recovery from this sort of trauma and the trajectories of  getting into this sort of situations are never quite linear. The whole book reads almost as a collection of essays or journal entries, but they do form a complete story of a terrible, awful, no good relationship. There are a lot of metaphors and similes here, and the prose is flowery and lush; in some ways, all of that provides a kind of barrier between what's being described and the reader, but in other ways, it makes the subject matter hit harder.  

I don't expect to ever re-read this book, because getting exposed to some things once is perfectly enough, but I believe it will live rent-free in my head for a while. Especially the part about fantasizing about death because you forget just leaving is possible. Or the cockroaches in the clock. Or that poor snail. Or the phone that call that wasn't, after all, a break-up. Or, or, or.

And I've also written out a number of quotes, because damn, the prose here is so unfairly beautiful, with those perfectly placed words, and the rhythm, and the alliterations. I wish I was capable of crafting sentences like that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

hannahbanana98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment