A review by dargan18
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

4.0

I listened to the audiobook version of this, which is read by the author. It was mesmerizing. A story of a relationship that starts off wonderful and then develops into psychological and emotional abuse, it reads (or ... listens?) like a thriller. In between recounting her story, the author also reflects on abuse within the lesbian community, and why it is often glossed over, ignored or silenced by both those inside and outside the community. There is a persistent idea that only men can abuse women. Many simply don't believe that women can be abusive, or that emotional abuse is a thing. Those inside the community often want to silence it because they don't want to give the world any more reasons to vilify lesbians. Machado argues that true acceptance means letting everyone be full, complex humans -- not always villains, not always perfect heros.