In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado 


Trigger Warnings: Body-shaming, domestic abuse/intimate partner violence, suicidal ideation

It’s been months since I first read In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado and it’s safe to say I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Macho is a queer woman and In the Dream House is a memoir in which she recounts the story of a relationship she had with another queer woman. An extremely toxic relationship with Macho was psychologically and emotionally abused by her partner. As this is absolutely central to the story I advise caution and hope that everyone takes care of themself if they choose to read or pass on this book. 

What led In the Dream House to take its place as my favorite book of all time is the absolutely brilliant writing style. The title of each chapter follows the same formula: “Dream House as” followed by a word or two that frame the way the story will be told for that chapter. Examples include “Dream House as World Building,” “Dream House as Unreliable Narrator” and one of my personal favorites: “Dream House as Queer Villainy.” Some chapters are told in the second-person while others are told in the third-person. Some tell the reader about specific encounters with Machado’s ex partner while others turn into cultural critique or explorations of queer or feminist theory. This complex style of storytelling always keeps the reader on their toes and I found it incredibly engaging to read. Another bonus is that the chapters are very short. Some are only a few sentences and the longest span only a few pages. 

    The story itself is horribly hard to read sometimes due to its content but still I couldn’t bring myself to put the book down. Every time I look back over my annotations I am struck by just how genius it is. I would go into more detail but I find that often the best way to go into a book is with little knowledge and I would advise that people do exactly that for this memoir. All I can say is that please, if you are sure the content won’t be triggering for you, read In the Dream House. This book and Carmen Maria Machado deserve all the credit and fans in the world. 

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