There is something desperate about the house; like a ghost trying to make itself known but can't, and so it just flops facedown on the carpet, wheezing and smelling like mold.
In The Dream House
by Carmen Maria Machado
Genre: Autobiographical
About: An author's intimate examination of a past relationship she had with an emotionally abusive woman. The segments read like walking into a conversation, have a dream-like quality and become part of a wider context about lesbian relationships and domestic abuse.
The Good
This was so damn smart. A couple of stand-out sections, for me, were The Dream House as Idiom and The Dream House as Five Lights, but the overall effect of the book was stunning to read. I loved the writing; from the very unique narrative structure, to the descriptions that pull on memory as though they were my own. The issues raised in the book are so well expressed and Machado provides plenty of subtext that shocks and fascinates. I was engaged with both the story element of the events in the dream house as well as the wider context outside of Machado's experiences. The book is personal and intimate and all so very human.
The Bad
The disjointed nature of the novel is what makes it great, but does also work against the story in some moments. Because Machado shares so much with the reader, you feel like you know her, but then details will be thrown in that remind you that you are only seeing a glimpse into her life. We find out Machado's has a therapist towards the end (but it's told in a way as if she's been seeing one the entire time), and a house fire is mentioned in such a random, aside kind of way that it almost feels like a metaphor. These gaps that black out important events or developments in her life distanced me from Machado in a novel that really aims to bring the reader right there with her, literally pulling us in with second person.
The Somewhat Iffy
I liked the switch from first to second person most of the time but it did sometimes read strangely. There's one moment where it switches mid-sentence (page 105). And I understand the need to add in references (a lot of them were very interesting) but, like the switch in perspectives, it did disrupt the flow of reading at times.
Overall
A wildly clever and intimately personal autobiography. I need to buy my own copy just to annotate the crap out of it. Totally original, a read that stays with you.
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