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Carmen Maria Machado

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In the Dream House: A Memoir Kindle Edition

by Carmen Maria Machado (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

7,263 ratings

Editors' pick Best Biographies & Memoirs

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Lambda Literary AwardWinner, 2020
The Publishing Triangle AwardWinner, 2020
Stonewall Book AwardWinner, 2020

A revolutionary memoir about domestic abuse by the award-winning author of Her Body and Other Parties

In the Dream House is Carmen Maria Machado’s engrossing and wildly innovative account of a relationship gone bad, and a bold dissection of the mechanisms and cultural representations of psychological abuse. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing relationship with a charismatic but volatile woman, Machado struggles to make sense of how what happened to her shaped the person she was becoming.

And it’s that struggle that gives the book its original structure: each chapter is driven by its own narrative trope—the haunted house, erotica, the bildungsroman—through which Machado holds the events up to the light and examines them from different angles. She looks back at her religious adolescence, unpacks the stereotype of lesbian relationships as safe and utopian, and widens the view with essayistic explorations of the history and reality of abuse in queer relationships.

Machado’s dire narrative is leavened with her characteristic wit, playfulness, and openness to inquiry. She casts a critical eye over legal proceedings, fairy tales, Star Trek, and Disney villains, as well as iconic works of film and fiction. The result is a wrenching, riveting book that explodes our ideas about what a memoir can do and be.

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Praise for In the Dream House:

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Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of November 2019: The shattering memoir In the Dream House from Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties) pivots around the small house in Bloomington, Indiana, that Machado’s girlfriend moves into shortly after they meet. This cozy domestic abode soon turns into a harrowing locus of emotional abuse. Short chapter after short chapter initially seem like pieces from five different puzzles as Machado describes the lead up to the relationship, the months of attacks, and the roller-coaster aftermath. But the ultimate picture Machado builds is brave and bold. Machado’s raw language and vulnerability unveils the deep confusion and pain from abuse that falls outside traditional expectations. At the same time, Machado puts her own strengths on display as she refuses to adhere to a memoir’s customary (and comfortable) structure. This isn’t a book for everyone. The cover design alone might give the prospective reader a hint as to the style of the journey ahead. But those who read In the Dream House will likely never forget it. —Adrian Liang, Amazon Book Review

Review

“Merge the house and the woman―watch the woman experience her own body as a haunted house, a place of sudden, inexplicable terrors―and you are reading the blazingly talented Carmen Maria Machado.”―Parul Sehgal, The New York Times

“Breathtakingly inventive. . . . Machado’s writing, with its heat and precise command of tone, has always had a sentient quality. But what makes In the Dream House a particularly self-aware structure―which is to say, a true haunted house―is the intimation that it is critiquing itself in real time. . . . Here and in her short stories, Machado subjects the contemporary world to the logic of dreaming.”―Katy Waldman, The New Yorker

“If there are no new stories, only new ways to tell them, Carmen Maria Machado has found a way to do exactly that, ingeniously, in Dream House ― a book that manages to break open nearly everything we think we know about abuse memoirs. . . . The result is a gorgeously kaleidoscopic feat ― not just of literature but of pure, uncut humanity.”―Entertainment Weekly

“Machado rejects standard memoir conventions in favor of short discursive chapters. . . . The result is a thoroughly engrossing, sometimes enraging must-read.”―BuzzFeed

“Daringly structured and ruthlessly inquisitive. . . . The heart of this history is clear, deeply felt, and powerful. A fiercely honest, imaginatively written, and necessary memoir from one our great young writers.”―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Machado is able to captivate the reader while telling a brutally honest narrative of abuse.”―Marie Claire

“Forget everything you think you know about memoir when reading Carmen Maria Machado's brilliant, twisting, provocative entry in the genre.”―NYLON

“In the Dream House is proof, a nod towards justice, however nebulous or impossible that idea might be, as it sounds out against gatekeepers, archival erasures, and silence, articulating the possibility of queerness against the grain of singularity.”―Frieze

“A groundbreaking memoir in terms of both form and content. . . . Get ready for Machado to take you on several breakneck cross-country trips of the soul.”―The Observer

“Machado has written an affecting, chilling memoir about domestic abuse.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“[Machado’s] writing exhibits all of the formal precision of her fiction, and the book draws the reader deep into the varied rooms of the haunted house of the past. Highly recommended.”―Booklist, starred review

“Absolutely remarkable. . . . What makes this book truly exceptional is how Machado creates an archive where, shamefully, there is none.”―Roxane Gay

“Wrought with alarming premonition, propulsive rhythm, and a trove of folkloric archetypes, Machado’s genre-crushing memoir is a meditation on the eclipse of knowledge and intuition by the narcotic light of a destructive bond that feels like love.”―Melissa Broder

“It’s a testament to Carmen Maria Machado’s abilities that a memoir as harrowing as In the Dream House can also be so energizing to read, so propulsive.”―Kevin Brockmeier

“Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir about being trapped in a love relationship that turns nasty and shameful is unflinchingly honest. . . . In the Dream House affirms that Machado is one of the most talented young writers of our day.”―Lillian Faderman

“Carmen Maria Machado has re-imagined the memoir genre, creating a work of art both breathtakingly inventive and urgently true. In the Dream House is crucial queer testimony. I’ve never read a book like it.”―Alex Marzano-Lesnevich

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07TQHVNJH
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Graywolf Press
Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 5, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5.0 MB
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 265 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1644451021
Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #27,533 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #5 in LGBTQ+ Biographies & Memoirs
- #8 in LGBTQ+ Biographies (Books)
- #27 in General Gender Studies

Customer Reviews:
7,263 ratings

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Carmen Maria Machado

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Carmen Maria Machado's debut short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties, was a finalist for the National Book Award and the winner of the Bard Fiction Prize, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, the Brooklyn Public Library Literature Prize, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize. In 2018, the New York Times listed Her Body and Other Parties as a member of "The New Vanguard," one of "15 remarkable books by women that are shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century."

Her essays, fiction, and criticism have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, Harper’s Bazaar, Tin House, VQR, Conjunctions, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, The Believer, Guernica, Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Guggenheim Foundation, Michener-Copernicus Foundation, Elizabeth George Foundation, CINTAS Foundation, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Millay Colony for the Arts. She is the Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Philadelphia with her wife.

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Customers find this memoir captivatingly well-written and uniquely told, with one review noting how the author uses second-person narration to convey dark memories. The book is stunningly insightful and thought-provoking, with one customer highlighting how it explains domestic abuse in queer relationships. Customers describe it as riveting, honest, and real, with one review noting how it makes the experience more relatable. Customers appreciate its creativity, with one describing it as genre-defying.

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Writing quality Storytelling Thought provoking Sensitivity to lgbtq issues Creativity Enthralling Pacing Authenticity

79 customers mention "Writing quality"72 positive7 negative

Customers praise the writing style of the memoir, describing it as captivating and poetic, with the author being a brilliant wordsmith who uses various styles throughout the book.

"Bought this book for school, gave some interesting perspectives! A decent read." Read more

"...read a Machado book before, though I am familiar with her experimental style of writing...." Read more

"...There was no protective layer. The book is printed well. It was bought as a gift." Read more

"Carmen Maria Machado is a creative genius. There is no other author like her...." Read more

67 customers mention "Storytelling"55 positive12 negative

Customers praise the memoir's storytelling, describing it as a beautifully constructed, uniquely told narrative that is incredibly relatable and brings many emotions to life.

"This book was fantastic! Honestly an incredible story and very real...." Read more

"...The darkest memories are brilliantly conveyed in second person and through varying lens. Most of them literary devices...." Read more

"...The braids and woven thematic elements are strong and carry throughout, keeping with a consistent pace and tone...." Read more

"...I loved the references to pop culture and history. I loved the vulnerability. This was fantastic and raw" Read more

42 customers mention "Thought provoking"37 positive5 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, describing it as stunningly insightful and inspiring, with one customer noting how it provides domestic insights worth remembering.

"...She doesn't go on and on. We get snippets, glimpses of a life that we can easily piece together, and, more importantly, relate to...." Read more

"...is so well written, the style not just creative but cleverly reflecting the topic of the book, and the narrator's voice so likable, that it's a..." Read more

"This is a riveting account of the writer's relationship as a grad student with another grad student...." Read more

"...You can tell that the author really dug into her past - her strengths, weaknesses, insecurities - to offer us this raw and vulnerable look at some..." Read more

17 customers mention "Sensitivity to lgbtq issues"17 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's sensitivity to LGBTQ issues, particularly how it explains domestic abuse in queer relationships, and one customer notes how it transcends gender and sexual preferences.

"I loved this book. Not only because it shows the real reality of abuse and how hard it can be to deal with these sort of situations, especially when..." Read more

"...So very needed in the lesbian community yet rarely talked about. I wanted to pull out lines to react to here but there are simply too many...." Read more

"A chilling tale expertly told of the interior life of love, abuse, and the search for truth...." Read more

"...The book explores psychological abuse within the context of a lesbian/queer relationship and takes the black and white thinking associated with..." Read more

13 customers mention "Creativity"10 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the creativity of the book, describing it as unique and genre-defying, with one customer noting how it makes the genre new.

"This is one of the most unique and beautifully written memoirs I have ever read...." Read more

"...writing this memoir, has managed to piece them (and herself) together in an innovative and fully realized way...." Read more

"...I found it very relatable, riveting, and unique." Read more

"...Lots is dopey stylistic choices as well that scream “look at me and my fancy writing.” If Raymond Carver didn’t need it you don’t either...." Read more

12 customers mention "Enthralling"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enthralling, with one describing it as a psychedelic journey through the heart.

"...by the structure and 2nd person, but in a way this makes the experience more real. More true...." Read more

"In The Dream House is an enthralling, addictive read...." Read more

"...It's still haunting me! This is a psychedelic journey through the heart, psyche and mind exploring the ups/downs of intimacy and the..." Read more

"...while interesting and beautifully written, i mainly wanted to read the author’s story so i found that slightly annoying. other than that, great book" Read more

11 customers mention "Pacing"8 positive3 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book riveting and honest, with one customer noting its tightly woven narrative.

"...Heart-wrenchingly accurate, raw, and powerful, this book does things that other memoirs only wish they could accomplish...." Read more

"...- her strengths, weaknesses, insecurities - to offer us this raw and vulnerable look at some of the darkest parts of humanity...." Read more

"...This book is messy in the way that trauma is messy. This book is messy in the way that healing is messy...." Read more

"this was heavy... and yet so raw and honest and hauntingly good to read...." Read more

10 customers mention "Authenticity"10 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the authenticity of the memoir, with one noting how it accurately represents the author's experience.

"This book was fantastic! Honestly an incredible story and very real...." Read more

"...More true. And the accomplishment, I think, is for any one person to read this and be able to know that, for sure, they are not alone." Read more

"...Heart-wrenchingly accurate, raw, and powerful, this book does things that other memoirs only wish they could accomplish...." Read more

"...us who have can finally add a book to our shelves that accurately represents our experience, or even use it as a resource to suggest to others who..." Read more

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J. Morrison
Great summer read!
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Loved this book!

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De'Asia Renee
Good book. Full Price for Used Product
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This book was fantastic! Honestly an incredible story and very real. I think people can’t understand the way a non-physically abusive relationship can really feel, and this author captures that fantastically.

I only removed a star because the hardcover book (even though I paid $26 for it and it came shrink wrapped) was used… I was very surprised to see someone else’s silver, sparkly underlining in the book. It’s upsetting because I hateee writing in books I love and because I could’ve bought a used version for a cheaper price. So beware that the seller is taking used products, re-wrapping them, and charging you top dollar :)
I bought both the hard and soft cover, gifted the soft.

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De'Asia Renee

Good book. Full Price for Used Product

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2025
This book was fantastic! Honestly an incredible story and very real. I think people can’t understand the way a non-physically abusive relationship can really feel, and this author captures that fantastically.

I only removed a star because the hardcover book (even though I paid $26 for it and it came shrink wrapped) was used… I was very surprised to see someone else’s silver, sparkly underlining in the book. It’s upsetting because I hateee writing in books I love and because I could’ve bought a used version for a cheaper price. So beware that the seller is taking used products, re-wrapping them, and charging you top dollar :)
I bought both the hard and soft cover, gifted the soft.

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grace Seal
Interesting book
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Bought this book for school, gave some interesting perspectives! A decent read.

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College student
The shortest chapter in the book was the most powerful
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I have never read a Machado book before, though I am familiar with her experimental style of writing. Her collection of short experiences to tell her heartbreaking tale had me seeing life with a new perspective. I will say that in the book I found Carmen's character to be a bit unbelievable in the first 40 pages, however as I went on I drastically altered my opinion. Later in the book she has a "choose your own adventure" section that I was skeptical about, however it worked so well I would not be surprised if more authors began construction sections in their books this way. In the shortest chapter, the author writes once sentence. this sentence had me staring at this page for five minutes, wishing she was wrong and thinking about my own experiences until I realized how right she was. Amazing work, love her, love the transparency, and I love the vulnerability she has the courage to show.

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2 people found this helpful

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Anastasia Chirkova
Terrible packaging of the parcel.
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
The book arrived wrinkled. The parcel was packed only in thin packaging. There was no protective layer. The book is printed well. It was bought as a gift.

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Anastasia Chirkova

Terrible packaging of the parcel.

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025
The book arrived wrinkled. The parcel was packed only in thin packaging. There was no protective layer. The book is printed well. It was bought as a gift.

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Tyson
YES YES YES!!!
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2019
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
A 1000x better than expected, and I expected nothing short of holy scripture.

Months earlier I stumbled upon the description and knew this book would be monumental. As early reviews crept in, my anticipation grew. I had my Kindle fully charged and stayed up until midnight so I could start reading the second it released. By 2am I was 30% done. A few marathon readings later, I reached the last page with breathless finality. The result? Monumental doesn't even begin to cover it.

The funny thing, it's not monumental because of what happens. Bad relationships happen all the time. Abusive relationships, mental and/or physical, happen all the time. It's talked about less in queer relationships, that's true, and Machado does a great job pointing that out, but I doubt anybody will be dumbfounded by what they read. They will be surprised, however, that there's someone brave enough to talk about it, and by how personal she's willing to get. They will be surprised by how she structures it.

The structure really is what makes this a masterpiece. It's not just the experience, it's the delivery. The darkest memories are brilliantly conveyed in second person and through varying lens. Most of them literary devices. Machado recounts her life through the eyes of Chekhov's Gun, Choose Your Own Adventure, Haunted House, Erotica, Plot Twist, and dozens more. Each section is short and precise. Never a wasted word. For those uncomfortable reading about abuse, she doesn't take it too far either. This isn't battered woman porn. She doesn't go on and on. We get snippets, glimpses of a life that we can easily piece together, and, more importantly, relate to.

What she accomplishes for the queer community specifically, I think, is breaking the ice. After hard-fought battles for marriage equality, there's this unspoken rule that gay relationships must work. If they don't, people will point and say I told you so. By extension, rights may be taken away. Obviously that's not the only factor that kept Machado in her relationship. It may not even be in the Top 10, but it is a shadow that hovers over the scene. She points to lesbian stereotypes as well. Society expects men to be abusive, but two women? Their relationship should be a utopia, right? These stereotypes, this ice, is something she clearly wants to break apart. And she succeeds tremendously.

Of course you don't have to be queer to recognize this is a master work of memoir and creative non-fiction. It is a testament that all experiences, however ordinary or unique, should be shared. Perhaps the most powerful aspect of the book is the relentless honesty. She veils it slightly by the structure and 2nd person, but in a way this makes the experience more real. More true. And the accomplishment, I think, is for any one person to read this and be able to know that, for sure, they are not alone.

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53 people found this helpful

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Dess
Insightful
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I loved this book. Not only because it shows the real reality of abuse and how hard it can be to deal with these sort of situations, especially when you care about someone. But it also highlights the humanity of lgbtq that I think society is really iffy about. it’s strange, how wlw or lgbtq as a whole is only ever perceived in such black and whiteness that we forget that at the end of the day, were all still human. Some of us are bad, and some of us are good. Point blank period. And this is a perfect example of how just because someone fits into one group, does not mean that they cannot also belong to multiple other groups.

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Amazon Customer
Author genius
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Carmen Maria Machado is a creative genius. There is no other author like her. I praise and allow you, for sharing your story and the way you've chosen to do so. Keep raising voices, we're stronger together ♀️💪🏼💕

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Jari-chan
Ergreifend
Reviewed in Germany on January 19, 2021
Verified Purchase

Diesem Buch wünsche ich jede Menge Leset und Lesrrinnen. Möge es jenen helfen, die in derselben Situation sind, und auch deren Angehörigen. Es braucht Mut, um über solch intime und schmerzhafte Erfahrungen zu sprechen - gut also dass Carmen Machado es wagt.

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Marta B.
This book changed me.
Reviewed in Spain on December 2, 2020
Verified Purchase
I feel like this memoir has the perfect balance between reader-friendliness and depth of content. As I was reading it, I felt like my brain was exploding. The book combines the author's narrative about her experience in a toxic same-sex relationship with some theoretical perspectives on queerness. It is truly fascinating.

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ana sofía
me gustó!!
Reviewed in Mexico on July 9, 2024
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
llegó rápido y en perfectas condiciones!! muy buen libro

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Giulia
Perfeito
Reviewed in Brazil on July 2, 2021
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Um dos melhores livros escritos na humanidade.

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Elsie Granthier
I can honestly say that Machado is one of the most talented authors that I’ve encountered.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
READ THIS IF... you like memoir, lyrical prose, and aren’t afraid to read about difficult topics.

THE STORY... Carmen narrates her experience of an abusive same sex relationship.

I WAS... intrigued by this memoir, as I loved Carmen’s short story collection enough to dedicate a chapter of my dissertation to it, and I wanted to see how her writing style translated to nonfiction. Her writing retained its beauty, and blended seamlessly with her ideas, and the academic sources that she cited. It was illuminating to learn more about the history of domestic abuse, and by placing this within her story Carmen made this so much more meaningful.

One of my favourite chapters discussed the concept of queer villainy, and Carmen perfectly summed up the problem with marking all queer villains as harmful stereotypes by saying ‘when we refuse wrongdoing for a group of people, we refuse their humanity.’ Each chapter had a, for lack of a better term, mic drop moment - where I either learnt something, or another layer of the story was revealed. I loved this book, and I can honestly say that Carmen Maria Machado is one of the most talented authors that I’ve encountered.

It goes without saying that this book dealt with very serious topics and was genuinely upsetting - I would advise caution if depiction of abusive relationships could trigger or upset you. However, if this is something you feel able to read, you will not regret picking it up.

NOW... I would recommend this to everyone - it’s so relevant, so beautifully written, and so emotive. I definitely want to re-read Carmen’s short story collection ‘Her Body and Other Parties’, and I need to get my hands on her comic book series ‘The Low, Low Woods’.

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Good book. Full Price for Used Product

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Terrible packaging of the parcel.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Ergreifend

5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed me.

5.0 out of 5 stars me gustó!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfeito

5.0 out of 5 stars I can honestly say that Machado is one of the most talented authors that I’ve encountered.

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Ergreifend

This book changed me.

me gustó!!

Perfeito

I can honestly say that Machado is one of the most talented authors that I’ve encountered.