In the Dream House
Author: Carmen Maria Machado
Published by: Serpent’s Tail
Pages: 283
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★★★★
Published by: Serpent’s Tail
Pages: 283
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★★★★
Engrossing and wildly innovative, In the Dream House traces Carmen Maria Machado’s relationship with a charismatic but volatile woman. Struggling to make sense of her harrowing experience, each chapter uses a different narrative lens, as she holds events up to the light and examines them from different angles. She casts a critical eye over legal proceedings, critical eye over legal proceedings, fairy tales, Disney villains and more, infusing everything with her characteristic wit, playfulness and openness.
The result is a wrenching, riveting book that explodes our ideas about what a memoir can do and be.
The result is a wrenching, riveting book that explodes our ideas about what a memoir can do and be.
My thoughts:
I just finished In the Dream House as the selected reading choice for a monthly book club I attend in Bath. Having previously read the author’s collection of short stories, Her Body and Other Parties, I was keen to get started and curious to know more about Machado’s life. I soon found myself transfixed, flying through most of this book in one evening. It was also a fascinating one to discuss during the book group, with many of us commenting on the sheer power of Machado’s voice. I read the physical book, but several of the book club members had listened to the audiobook, which is actually read aloud by the author herself.
In this extraordinarily candid and highly inventive memoir, Carmen Maria Machado tackles the dark and difficult subject of her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. The book itself takes a refreshingly inventive form. Each short chapter examines its content through a lens - or places it in a room - that is summarised by a heading: “Dream House as Confession,” “Dream House as Not a Metaphor,” “Dream House as Newton’s Apple.”
The first element that makes In the Dream House so inventive is that most of it is written in the second person. Most of the story takes place in a beautiful small house in Bloomington, Indiana, where Machado and her nameless girlfriend start living together shortly after they meet. They are young and in love. But darkness is hiding in every well-lit corner of their house, and it comes out constantly to remind Machado of a devastating truth: "Fantasy is, I think, the defining cliché of female queerness."
While most memoirs adhere to a somewhat predictable structure, In the Dream House creates its own set of rules and breaks away from all established formats. Instead of Machado's life, it focuses on the arc of the relationship. This format makes the book read almost like fiction or even a collection of diary entries. It also makes it very difficult to put down. I found myself constantly thinking ‘just one or two more chapters.’ After all, some of the sections consist of simply one or two lines.
The writing is accessible and engaging and provides insights into an abusive lesbian relationship from different angles. Machado is strong and grows stronger throughout the relationship, but she understands that everything she builds is at the mercy of others. I was held utterly rapt by her words and observations.
I found this in the memoir/autobiography section of my local bookshop, but honestly In the Dream House is difficult to categorise. Machado blurs the lines between memoir and essay. Daring, chilling, and unlike anything else I’ve read, In the Dream House is raw and difficult to read at times, but it is an important book, discussing a very underreported issue.
On its surface, the book recounts a psychologically abusive relationship that marked Machado's life in many ways. However, just below the surface, the narrative continually shapeshifts and at times becomes a play, an academic look at female queerness in mainstream media, and a sharp deconstruction of the mechanisms of psychological abuse. It's raw and reflective, and the use of exploring trauma through tropes is so imaginative.
This book is devastating and should probably come with various trigger warnings in terms of its content. Whilst not necessarily a very fun ride, I felt it was a gift to read.
Overall reaction:
I just finished In the Dream House as the selected reading choice for a monthly book club I attend in Bath. Having previously read the author’s collection of short stories, Her Body and Other Parties, I was keen to get started and curious to know more about Machado’s life. I soon found myself transfixed, flying through most of this book in one evening. It was also a fascinating one to discuss during the book group, with many of us commenting on the sheer power of Machado’s voice. I read the physical book, but several of the book club members had listened to the audiobook, which is actually read aloud by the author herself.
In this extraordinarily candid and highly inventive memoir, Carmen Maria Machado tackles the dark and difficult subject of her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. The book itself takes a refreshingly inventive form. Each short chapter examines its content through a lens - or places it in a room - that is summarised by a heading: “Dream House as Confession,” “Dream House as Not a Metaphor,” “Dream House as Newton’s Apple.”
The first element that makes In the Dream House so inventive is that most of it is written in the second person. Most of the story takes place in a beautiful small house in Bloomington, Indiana, where Machado and her nameless girlfriend start living together shortly after they meet. They are young and in love. But darkness is hiding in every well-lit corner of their house, and it comes out constantly to remind Machado of a devastating truth: "Fantasy is, I think, the defining cliché of female queerness."
While most memoirs adhere to a somewhat predictable structure, In the Dream House creates its own set of rules and breaks away from all established formats. Instead of Machado's life, it focuses on the arc of the relationship. This format makes the book read almost like fiction or even a collection of diary entries. It also makes it very difficult to put down. I found myself constantly thinking ‘just one or two more chapters.’ After all, some of the sections consist of simply one or two lines.
The writing is accessible and engaging and provides insights into an abusive lesbian relationship from different angles. Machado is strong and grows stronger throughout the relationship, but she understands that everything she builds is at the mercy of others. I was held utterly rapt by her words and observations.
I found this in the memoir/autobiography section of my local bookshop, but honestly In the Dream House is difficult to categorise. Machado blurs the lines between memoir and essay. Daring, chilling, and unlike anything else I’ve read, In the Dream House is raw and difficult to read at times, but it is an important book, discussing a very underreported issue.
On its surface, the book recounts a psychologically abusive relationship that marked Machado's life in many ways. However, just below the surface, the narrative continually shapeshifts and at times becomes a play, an academic look at female queerness in mainstream media, and a sharp deconstruction of the mechanisms of psychological abuse. It's raw and reflective, and the use of exploring trauma through tropes is so imaginative.
This book is devastating and should probably come with various trigger warnings in terms of its content. Whilst not necessarily a very fun ride, I felt it was a gift to read.
Overall reaction: