Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

I've been a longtime fan of Machado's. It's really gratifying to start to see universal praise for her work.

This is a hell of a collection. 'Especially Heinous' is the centerpiece, in my eyes.

This book is as rich as foie gras. I am truly staggered by this woman’s perspective and voice. The only complaint I have is that this is her debut collection and we don’t have a rich backlog of her work to feast upon.

I just couldn't get into it, I gave it a good shot. I don't know a lot of the underlying stories like the ribbon one and never have seen SVU so it was hard for me to follow. I am trying to branch out and read more and this is too far of a reach for me at this point. And it was a lot more sexual than I realized it was going to be. I thought it was going to be more of a horror book because that's how a review put it out to be. I lot of times I felt like I was reading a same sex Fabio book that's much better written, intelligent, and with a darker story line.

I was so disappointed in this book. I was sold on reading this book after reading raving reviews about it. Unfortunately, this book did not pull me in as I had expected. It is a collection of short stories. While I appreciate her attempt at conveying the violence women's bodies endure, I felt it was not executed well. The longest story is so tedious and boring that I had to put it down half way through and haven't picked it up since.

Only a couple of decent stories; the longest one is the most unbearable.

A lot of handwaved "just go with it" - uses the Stephen King tradition of introducing a monster or dark force without any explanation of where it came from.

Two of the stories are just fan fiction: one gratuitously erotic and one clumsily surreal.

Was not surprised to learn that this author also writes erotica. Graphic sex seems to be substituted for deeper meaning and content.

HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES is the hotly anticipated debut story collection from acclaimed writer Carmen Maria Machado, and this lyric masterpiece exceeds expectations.

Machado writes with an awakened awareness of women’s experiences that carries throughout. The stories span space, style and scope, but are unified by a vicious, vindicating consciousness of how women manifest in the world, and what the world can do to women.

In one story, a woman recounts her life through her intimate experiences with others as a growing plague steadily consumes humankind, the urgency mounting. In another, a woman takes a not-altogether-unfamiliar measure to lose weight, to loose herself of what it means to carry weight on a woman’s body, and gains a presence she cannot be rid of. In the novella “Especially Heinous,” a narrative unfolds in the shape of police procedural episode summaries, the toll of dead girls mounting, detectives proceeding, haunted by victims who can’t rest and the selves who are borne from persistent trauma.

The measure of these stories is simply next level; there is no denying her evident expertise. Machado bends genres to her will, understanding the usual rhythms of fiction, memoir, criticism, lyric poetry, satire, sadness, identity and sex so well that she composes them into something fresh and alive in every story. She renders dark reality through the fantastic, and vice versa, elucidating levity and absurdity within the heaviness of some insurmountable truths.

These stories are at once apocalyptic, timeless and brutally timely. Within these pieces, Machado delivers fairy tales that are newly understood and uniquely imagined. They are merciless in their prescience, hearken to the gothic and pre-gothic origins of magic, and are rooted in the brutality of womanhood.

These stories explore what it means to be alive, but they do not approach this how you might think they will. They will seem familiar in surprising places. They invent, give voice and breathe life into stories that existed, but need to be told the way Machado tells them.

HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES has been selected as a finalist for the National Book Award in the Fiction category. Do not miss this bitingly clever, astonishing work.

Reviewed by Maya Gittelman

I see I have read the same book as the positive reviews, but honestly don't understand how this book has received the press and ratings it has. It was almost unreadable for me. It's not that it is too challenging. Not that I am not smart enough. It's one of those books that is so bad people feel like maybe it's just something no one understands... oh it's challenging- must be good. I really don't get it. There wasn't a single story that was readable.

Reading this caused me to try think about what actually makes a "good short story". Like most people I don't read many short stories. I've read quite a few that I like (especially Haruki Murakami's short stories) but often they just feel like they don't have enough time to build up anything that really registers with me as a reader.

The first few stories were promising -- Investory was actually my favorite. But then, as quite a few other reviewers have noted, I hit the Law & Order story. It was a chore to get through. It took me several days. I'd read a few pages and that would sap all my desire to keep reading. Then I'd wait a day or two, come back to it, and try again. It felt too much like a "writing exercise" or a personal challenge that you'd set yourself. It doesn't help that it is, by far, the longest story in the book. By the time I finally (finally!) made it through any remaining excitement I had about the rest of the book was gone. I read a few more stories but it felt more like a duty to be executed (Must. Finish. Book.) that something joyous and exhilarating.

If you give this book a try, remember that short stories can be read in any order. Skip the Law & Order one and read it last.

Machado is just a very good writer. These are the first stories I have read by her. I’m not sure I was prepared for the dark tone of the stories, leavened as they are by humor and surrealism. Once I adjusted a little bit, I was hooked.

Her writing is very personal and idiosyncratic in a good way. It’s hard to classify her stories — the tone is realist, but she adds an extra, surreal dimension to everything she touches. If she reminds me of anyone, it’s the Ray Bradbury of The Illustrated Man — that same anchor laid in reality but venturing off into another reality built on impressions and personal meaning. She has cited Bradbury as an influence.

The book contains eight stories. Many explore the difficulties of relationships.. Machado has obviously lived an unconventional life. Her characters experience ecstatic highs of love and sex, but there are always clouds lingering somewhere. They also experience abusive relationships.

Other stories, including one of my favorites, The Resident, explore what it’s like to be different and the difficulties of navigating “normal” human interactions and social situations when you are inescapably different — your reactions, your feelings out of harmony with the expectations of others and with the kinds of regularities that make our lives together harmonious.

I was left thinking, after reading The Resident, and also the final story in the book, Difficult at Parties, that we maintain harmony at a price. When everything is harmonious, little happens. Discord is eventful. We need that to make life interesting, and to inject creativity into both our individual and our social lives. There’s a price to pay either way.

Machado also just has a talent, and I’m sure a hard-won skill, at making words do things they weren’t necessarily designed to do. A couple of examples show what I mean — from The Husband Stitch: “Stories can sense happiness and snuff it out like a candle.” The fun of a sentence like that is, I think, not in sticking a meaning on it — a good sentence like that one stops you in your tracks, to think of all the things it could mean and not settle on any one.

In Especially Heinous, a story that takes off at a right angle from the popular television show Law and Order: SVU, she writes, “‘Mercy’: The gunman lets all of the hostages go, including himself.” The surprise at the end of the sentence jolts you way from what you expected and gives you something new to think about.

There were a number of sentences in the stories that I marked or even copied into notes on the book because they do exactly that — they pull you out of what you expect to hear and think, and give you that something new.

This is way more than entertainment. Machado won’t let you just go on the way you always did.

Sometimes you come to a book because you have heard so much about it that it becomes impossible to avoid. I often try to do so anyway, until the hype dies down and I can actually enjoy it naturally, without ridiculous expectations. I do the same for movies, which is why I still refuse to watch Easy A. The same was happening with Her Body And Other Parties, only that I was intrigued by its premise that I still went for it. As a consequence I had pretty high expectations of Machado, and she managed to meet each and every single one of them. Thanks to Serpent's Tail and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this collection. There is simply no other way of putting it. What I adore about short story collections is how they allow authors the space to explore different topics, writing styles etc. while uniting them under a single theme or idea. Her Body and Other Parties does this beautifully. From the very first story, Machado turns a sharp eye to the female body and all that affects it. Growing up female often means that you grow up torn, constantly questioning and doubting your body and how it looks. Why is your hair like that? Why are your legs not thinner? How dare you wear a bikini if you're not skinny? What I myself have realised over time is that it takes very long before you actually come to appreciate your body, its strength and power. In Her Body and Other Parties Machado looks at the female body from different angles, at its ability to create life, to feel love and lust, to be used and abused, to house a fragile mind. She truly does something unique here and I will be returning to this collection often.

The stories in Her Body and Other Parties are stunning. From the first tale, 'The Husband Stitch', Machado drags you into the world of women's bodies and the tales these tell. In a sense 'The Husband Stitch' is the best example of that, as the narrator chronicles her life with her husband and the mystery of the ribbon around her neck, while relating tales she has heard of other women. There is a mystical suspense to the story which consistently leaves the reader with a sense of unease and fear, yet also a desperate desire to know, to look into the darkness and confront what you find there. This feeling continues throughout all the stories, whether it's the tragically lyrical 'Mothers' or the horrifying 'Eight Bites'.The collection's last story, 'Difficult at Parties' is a perfect finale for Her Body and Other Parties, combining Machado's clear-eyed observations, a sense of lurking unease, and a revelation that feels like a punch in the throat.

Carmen Maria Machado weaves magic with her words in Her Body and Other Parties. Usually I don't like it when blurbs draw connections between new authors and well-established "Greats" because it sets unfair and impossible expectations. In this case, however, those comparisons are completely justified. I was struck by how much the spirit of Her Body and Other Parties did indeed remind me of Angela Carter. Not because of its theme or topics, but because of the bravado and inventiveness with which Machado writes. These stories are a tour-de-force, each taking a different approach, working with a different style, and yet bringing home its point with a gentle forcefulness. You have a story like 'The Husband Stitch' which is filled with little asides, instructing readers how to "perform" certain emotions and events in case they're reading the story out loud. There is 'Especially Heinous', one of my personal favourites, which reads like an episode guide for Law & Order: SVU but with completely new and wildly outrageous stories. 'The Resident' feels like a psychological thriller, while 'Inventory' configures itself both as a memoir of relationships as well as a dystopian story. And throughout it all Machado's writing is sharp and precise, ranging between beautifully descriptive and provocatively uncanny.

Her Body and Other Stories has so much to offer to a reader willing to dive in, no holds barred. Each story will throw up a different question to which there is perhaps no immediate answer. But that is what good books are supposed to do, make you wonder and doubt, reassess and discover. Her Body and Other Stories will make an incredible addition to anyone's bookshelf!

I loved Her Body and Other Parties and for once think that the hype is completely justified. There are not enough words to praise this collection and what it tries to do. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to be surprised and shocked, engaged and horrified, provoked and soothed. GO READ THIS BOOK!

This is another book off my Wronged Women list - women who have been part of the #metoo movement. Specifically the ones that have come out against Junot Diaz and Sherman Alexie, but I hope to expand it to others as well. Her Body and Other Parties is a collection of eight surreal stories. Magical Realism is probably the best categorization for them, as they're not really fantasy. Real World stories with a touch of magic, or events that we're not sure whether they could be magic or are just in the narrator's head.

The Husband Stitch is the first story, and it's a retelling of an old children's story that I recently saw being discussed on Twitter - the one with the woman who had a green ribbon tied around her neck. Her husband always wanted to ask about it, but she refused to answer any questions about it, and wouldn't let him touch it until she was on her deathbed. In Machado's version, it isn't just the narrator that has one. Every woman does. It's different colors, in different places, but it's still never talked about. I think she means it as a metaphor for trauma. It works well.

Eight Bites is a particularly haunting piece about self-hate, body acceptance, and peer pressure. It's probably my second favorite story after The Husband Stitch.

The only one I didn't love was Especially Heinous. It was written as episode synopses of a television show, and it was interesting, but it just went on too long.

All of the stories are written well, though, and each one makes a different point. I think this would make an amazing Book Club book, because I'd love to discuss the meanings of the stories with other people. Other women, specifically. It would definitely be a great book for discussion.

Like almost any collection of short stories, Mr. Machado’s book is a mixed bag; however, most of the stories here are strong. Some I would even consider great.

A couple of the stories I recall reading in other places before. In particular, the lead story, “The Husband Stich” is a fascinating, eerie tale that I had not forgotten and was pleased to read again. I also love the next story “Inventory”. I really like post-apocalyptic tales and this one is excellent: subtle, serious, and moving.

I nearly lost my way with the only story I did not like, “Especially Heinous”, a riff on Law & Order: SVU, that I cannot claim to understand or enjoy. Plus, it just went on and on. I might have given up here but the next story was the title story and its story of fading women was one of the most powerful in the book.

Ms. Machado is very skilled at bringing out women’s experiences in ways I have not seen before in fiction. I wouldn’t say she has a light touch, but she creates a lot of shading and depth, often by creating strange plots that somehow work. The head of the woman in “The Husband Stitch”, the transparency of the women in “Her Body and Other Parties”, or the almost subliminal command in “Eight Bites”, for example, show real penetration into women’s psyches with clever metaphors. She also has incredible skill in writing about sex, which often makes for poor passages in prose. Here, however, she succeeds for the most part.

It is unfortunate that the writing and reading of short stories has become uncommon in the modern world of literature. Even I seem generally to get my fix from periodicals rather than collections these days, which is unfortunate since there are some very good collections out there. This is certainly one.

I'm giving this two stars because it was the author's blunt and captivating writing style in the first story that made me purchase the book. But I'm sorry to say that even by the end of the first story I was kind of over it. The rest of the book was too gimmicky for me, and repetitive in its themes - in the particular way that it explored the female condition. I think the second story was basically a list of sexual experiences. It was repetitive and uninteresting and I couldn't get through it. There were two stories that talked about some imaginary epidemic - one in which women's bodies were disappearing. I couldn't get through either of those. And I found the famous SVU story too gimmicky - I couldn't get through it. Returned the book.

These are fantasy influenced short stories, I said I would widen out and I have, but maybe its me that is not giving this a fair review, however, I am writing this review looking it as to how the story is told, the writing and the aim behind them.

Yep, I was way out of my comfort zone. These are unsettling, exotic erotic beautiful and sometimes disturbing stories.

-----It goes way down into violence though which I found stomach churning awful.

The stories were told OK but I felt at most times not good as a short story

I love weird fiction and I love short stories and I love literature with a feminist slant, so this collection was 100% for me. Machado’s writing is just beautiful and the prose in every piece stands out so strongly. There were only a couple pieces that fell flat for me, the rest of the collection was fairly hard-hitting. I definitely recommend this to everyone, but warn that there are a lot of sensitive topics tackled, so anyone with triggers should proceed with caution.

My rating for each story:

Her Body and Other Parties ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Inventory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mothers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Especially Heinous ⭐️⭐️
Real Women Have Bodies ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Eight Bites ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Resident ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Difficult at Parties ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I actually had to double-check my math, because it turns out that these scores averaged out to 4.75 stars. I guess the two-star story threw me off. I’m rounding down to 4 because it just doesn’t feel like a five-star collection to me. There was just… something missing. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It’s just not quite there for me yet. I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for future works of Machado’s.

3.5

This collection of eclectic, genre-leaping tales highlights different aspects of the feminine experience through vehicles that span the narrative gamut—from a post-apocalypse background to a maddening walk through a cop procedural. As with most collection of stories, some will resonant more than others, depending on your mood and taste. As even the most “straightforward” of offerings were intricate thought pieces on the plight of women and the feminine condition, the more abstract ones could come across as a bit self-indulgent or wearisome. While I did enjoy all the stories to varying degrees, only a few had any real emotional resonance with me and even then, it was a bit flat. The stories all address big important issues and many seem to be structured to make the reader feel big important emotions, but in the execution, sometimes they just range hollow for me. Overall, it was an enjoyable, interesting set of stories that are worth the read. For me, there was just a link missing between what the author wanted me to experience and what I actually did.

I particularly want to mention "Real Women Have Bodies" as a story which has stuck in my mind. The idea of a virus that causes women to fade away, then have no hope of existence except to become part of commercial goods, has a clear metaphorical use but is also told as a horrifying tale in itself.

"Inventory" and "Especially Heinous" use an apparently banal framework to hang an eerie backstory. In "Inventory", a woman enumerates her lifetime sexual encounters; through her offhand details the reader slowly starts to realise the plague which is destroying civilisation. "Especially Heinous" is told through the bizarre medium of (fictional) episode summaries of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit".

"Mothers" affected me most. The narrator, recovering from an abusive cis lesbian relationship, finds herself literally holding the baby they inexplicably conceived. The story switches deftly between her fantasies of the perfect future she'd imagined with her abuser, and the chaotic present with the baby-- a present which grows ever more unreliably narrated as her trauma and depression increase. The story reminded me of The Yellow Wallpaper.

And "The Husband Stitch" and "Eight Bites": well, you can read them for yourself online and I don't need to add any more to the praise they've already received!

If you're not a regular reader of short stories, particularly weird ones, particularly weird ones at the cutting edge of gender and sexuality, bear this in mind: the magic in these stories does not have one real-world analog but rather many. A green ribbon worn by a woman, which she does not allow her husband to touch, might be her privacy, her autonomy, her queerness, or all of the above--it also might just be part of a story that haunted a girl's childhood. The same goes for girls whose bodies are turning, inexorably, into dresses, for the dopplegangers who haunt alternate versions of Law & Order, forever seeking murdered girls, and for the women who, in undergoing bariatric surgery, become haunted by something (else) that they've lost. These complex stories, conveyed in simple language, are never one thing, as queer in their execution as they are in their subject matter, and they plumb the many ways that the female body is subject to violence, whether sexual, physical, or psychic. An absolutely haunting collection.

An absolutely stunning collection from an author whose work has appeared only in the format of short fiction, the stories I found in this book were horrible, beautiful, bloody, and sincere. Every story seems to embody the feminine voice with an authenticity that feels unparalleled in much fiction, and thematically addresses the horror of the feminine's anxieties surrounding body image, fidelity, sculpting oneself into what lovers want and need, violence, desire, and so much more. The pieces do not fit into any genre as far as I can tell, each story occasionally weaving between romance, science fiction, magical realism, and postmodern recontextualization pieces. I really enjoyed this book, and immediately sent links to their original place in Granta or other online journals where they were originally published to friends and relatives. Each perfectly-executed piece seemed to speak to me, my humanity, and some aspect of the women I love, that I wanted to share Machado's brilliance with everyone I know. Truly a genuine collection of dream-portraits of what it means to exist.

I wanted to like this book but after reading the first story (which is basically a rewrite of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) I found the rest either boring or confusing. Most of these short stories just drop you in the middle something, lacking a beginning or end. The potential for these stories are there because they are good ideas...but they fell flat for me. I wouldn't be interested in reading this author again.

I usually wait to find a book at a used bookstore. I have even driven across the country looking for books on my TBR list. This book was not one of those books. I learned of the author via Twitter and then of her debut book. The reviews were good, but the hype was even better. People were debating whether it was science fiction or fantasy, talking about how unconventional it was and whether it qualified at literary fiction. (I don't even know what that means.) All of this being said, I knew I had to get right away. It couldn't wait. Something was telling me to buy it and start reading it that very night. So I did, and I'm glad for it.

Machado breaks the rules and doesn't care, and it works. Her stories read like a modern-day Gabriel Garcia Marquez that take place in the US instead of Latin America. Her stories are magical, mysterious, and erotic.

The best thing about this book is that I got it from the library so I didn't feel guilty about abandoning it halfway through. Like many others, I enjoyed the first story and felt it went downhill rapidly thereafter. To me the stories were an exercise in form delivering the bleakly disturbing messages about women mentioned by other reviewers. Obviously some readers could see beyond this, but then again I'm also the person who thinks the majority of abstract art is all form without heart or meaning.

I heard about this book on Fresh Air, and was intrigued by Machado's take on fairy tales, stories, and exploring even more fantastical and feminist angles. This book delivered, and I loved some of the stories - the first one in particular, and also the Law & Order SVU novella (laughed out loud a few times at the absurdity).

My biggest complaint was the ending of some of the stories - so oblique, as if ending in a question mark, rather than a hard ending. Maybe that's my personal preference, but I felt like some of the stories were more experiments than finished products. Like the story about the writer going on The Retreat.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to those who like offbeat, fantastical, and feminist literature.

Pick any reason to read Carmen Maria Machado’s collection of short stories titled, Her Body and Other Parties, but read it. If you’re a man, Machado considers us a different species, and she may well be right. If you’re a woman, Machado articulates a variety of topics relating to women that will either resonate or clash with your views and experiences. If you enjoy finely written prose, Machado provides that in every story. If you are comfortable with post-modern literature, Machado’s experiments here will interest you. I added this book to my reading list because it was a National Book Award finalist. Having read it, I understand why.

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

OH LORD WHAT A WONDROUS CONCOCTION OF EVERYTHING GOOD AND EVIL AND BEAUTIFUL AND UGLY!

The awesome content of this book almost impossible to describe!

Horror feminism undertones M/F and F/F romance

I BET YOU this book is like nothing you have ever read!

Its not a light read in any way or form but if you like dark mind bending stories told in a very unique way with a very distinct writing style...

YOU WILL ADORE THIS BOOK!

The voice so extraordinarily intelligent and imaginative and the topics are so "HELL YES!” worthy! In your face, so you cannot ignore them! A feminist gem!

This review is for the HighBridge audio book version of this work, which I received as part of the LibraryThing Early Reader's program.

I have never heard or read short stories like these before. I listened in my car, is as my custom, but often found myself so disquieted by what was happening, or going to happen, that I had to turn off the CD player. Ominous, fantastic, erotic, disturbing, and, occasionally, playful, these are, in a word, haunting stories. This collection is full of tormented women, but is the torment purely internal or are there external forces at work? That's left to our imagination.

When I was 13 I read Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber' and became absolutely obsessed. To this day it is one of my favorite books, and I tore through this website and books stores looking for something similar, never quite finding it. This is the book i was looking for, ten years late and no less gratefully received.

I was not at all surprised that Angela Carter is listed as one of Machado's influences--she puts you in her characters' skin with rich detail, explores issues of bodily autonomy/choice/change, and inhabits nameless female characters in a way that feels archetypal and deeply personal at the same time, in much the same way Carter did. Even though Carter is still one of my favorite author, Machado's writing is far more focused and polished. Honestly, this book took me forever to read cause, as an aspiring writer, i wanted to eat my fingers with envy after every page, she's just so darn good with words. Machado is bisexual and i'd be remiss if i didn't touch on that here, as queer relationships are incorporated in many of these stories and, as a feminist work, the way she casually deep dives into those relationships, the way most feminist fiction focuses on heterosexual relationships, is refreshing and organic.

All around, as a short story collection it's pretty easy to get through, the stories are distinctive, the writing is stunning, and i can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

A wide variety of creative and intriguing stories that kept me consistently engaged. One is about a ladies struggle to connect with people at an artists colony. Another reveals the author's observations about every episode in a television.series. Although (in real life) the author lives with her female husband sexuality is not a major component in these short stories. It there is a theme I would see it as how a person must struggle for
acceptance no matter what their situation and this theme is universal and one that all readers should identify with. A very well written book.

I usually love short story anthologies but this one was hard to get into and I know it’s because I listened on audio. Only one narrator for all the stories and my mind was drifting the whole time. The most interesting was the first, the one about Law & Order SVU and the one about women being sewn into dresses but I know none of the names for the stories. I’ll probably buy the physical book to reread I’ll know I’ll enjoy it more that way.

Do you ever start a book and only after a sentence or two know whether or not you're going to like the writing? That happened to me when I started this collection. I thought I would love the writing, and I definitely did. I enjoyed all the stories too (even the bizarre SVU one), my favorite of which is The Resident.

I really enjoyed reading this collection of short stories. As with any collection, I don’t generally enjoy all the stories, and that was true for this collection, as well. There were a couple stories that just didn’t grab me, but that was just fine, because the others were AMAZING! I was instantly sucked into the writing style of Machado – just wow! This woman could literally write down a list of vegetables and I would keep reading just to absorb her words. Her stories read quickly and her characters were interesting.
I won’t spoil the stories here by talking about them, but be prepared to be a little confused with some of them in the beginning. Don’t give up, keep reading!

I enjoy reading short story compilations, and this one did not disappoint. The writing is beautiful, the stories, even the weird and super twisty ones (Law & Order, y'all), were riveting, and legit emotions were wrought. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Machado.

this was absolutely riveting and I am recommending it to every person I know. it is gripping, poignant, difficult, and touching. I felt things I never knew before, feelings I could never voice, and desires I echoed. It may be the book I give everyone for Christmas now

I was excited to read this collection of short stories after hearing a review on NPR. While I admired the author's inventiveness with the unconventional story structures, I found them tedious and at times pretentious. The much lauded "The Husband Stitch" was a long-winded riff on the wonderfully creepy "The Green Ribbon", with a few jarring stage directions thrown in for no good reason. "Especially Heinous", encapsulating 12 seasons of Law&Order SVU was simply unnecessary. I liked the dark, sinister undertone to the cataloging of sexual partners in "Inventory", but viral plagues have been done many times over in a more compelling manner. As other reviewers have noted, this acclaimed collection was simply disappointing.

I read this while my wife was recovering from appendicitis. It was a lovely way to pass the time, filled with thought provoking, yet somehow familiar women. The prose was that tricky mix of needing to read it twice and feeling so sated upon comprehension. Can't wait for more of this author's singular voice.

This book is unlike anything else I've read, in the best way. It's beautiful, haunting, disquieting and has these incredibly perfectly spot on moments describing being a woman in the world, in a metaphorical way. I cannot recommend it enough. This is queer feminist horror at its best.

A wonderful short story collection. Each one was rich and imaginative, with supernatural elements that leaned toward the unsettling. But I appreciated how each protagonist took ownership of their lives despite their circumstances.

And I loved the sex scenes in the stories! Not many writers can write good, sensual scenes but Ms. Machado has the magic touch.

This collection is a bit grim for me, and the pacing of most of the stories felt dreadfully slow. The only story I truly LOVED was Inventory. I read a few more after that, couldn’t get through the SVU story, and lightly skimmed the final two. Disappointing, since I’d heard so many amazing things.

A fabulous debut -- the next big step in feminist literature. Lovely, lucid prose. I want to buy this for everyone I know. If you like fiction that's a little bit off-kilter/scary, witchy/queer, you have to read this! <3

I found out about this author via the Junot Diaz affair, and I read it hoping to find a powerful Latina voice but this entire book reeks of a pretentious MFA writer of color trying desperately to climb the Latino latter to success. I had a worse time trying to read this than The Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, which is also terrible. Where is the Garcia Marquez? Where is the Gloria Anzaldua? I want something original, and I am tired of these pretentious writers winning awards for well-wrought nothingness that moves nobody.

Wow. So let me start off my saying that I read this book about a month ago. I liked it, found the stories eerie and slightly strange but still enjoyable. The author’s most popular story (and in my opinion, best out of the collection) is the first one, “The Husband Stitch”. Fast forward to today, and I came across an article in Buzzfeed talking about a creepy story in a 1985 children’s book :
In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories: Reillustrated Edition (I Can Read Level 2)

HOLY CRAP. The author took the few sentences of this story and obviously wrote more, but it is the EXACT same plot in her story, even down to the color of the damn ribbon. If it’s one thing I cannot stand, it’s people who copy other’s work and pass it off as their own, even if it’s a children’s book! Shame on you, Carmen Machado.