A review by katlouisee
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

challenging dark reflective sad tense

2.5

I didn't particularly enjoy the writing style, but my frustrations with it must not distract from the fact that queer domestic abuse isn't talked about enough. This was a heavy read, but it got me to confront the side of queerness that is not joyful and was a harsh reminder that abuse can come in all forms - nobody is excused or safe. I also found the nuance of generational abuse interesting -
it's implied fhat the woman in the dream house's childhood likely informed her own abusive behaviour,
and it was interesting to see her grapple with that, even briefly. 

There's no doubt that Machado is a skilled writer, and her words were carefully selected in this memoir, but I can't help feeling like I didn't get to know her other than in the context of her extremely toxic relationship. It felt a little too well-crafted, almost as though it was trying to make itself a seminal text (especially when it brought up the ocxasional queer theorist or stat). Not saying it isn't, but to me, the style sometimes obscured the subject matter seemingly for the sake of being artsy. I really hope I'm not diminishing Machado's story here - I'm fortunate enough not to have shared her experience, so can only assume how disorientating, dehumanising, and hurtful this relationship was for her. I'm not sure how much her stylistic choices were trying to emulate being broken down by a loved one or how much of it was the product of studying an MFA, though. 
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