The book details Machado's emotionally, mentally, and physically abusive relationship with another woman while studying for her MFA at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in Iowa City, Iowa. It is predominantly a second-person narrative, with Machado referring to her victimized self as "you".[6] Machado utilizes a different narrative trope for each chapter.[7] The author never directly names her abuser and only refers to her as "the woman in the dream house".
Plot summary
In the Dream House begins with Carmen Maria Machado's living situation in Iowa City prior to her meeting the Dream House woman. Carmen shares a small two-bedroom apartment with her roommates John and Laura.
In the first chapter, Machado reflects on her childhood years and tells a story about her time in grade school. Machado then elaborates on experiences in her childhood and environment while growing up. She goes on to discuss instances with her previous lovers, leading up to meeting and falling in love with "the woman in the dream house" who domestically abused her.
Main characters
Carmen Maria Machado: Machado is the person the text is centered on. The book is told from her perspective as she recounts her memories of her relationship.
The "woman in the dream house": This woman is Machado’s ex-girlfriend in the book. Throughout the work, the woman in the dream house abuses Machado; however, she is never directly named.
Val Howlett: Both Carmen Maria Machado and Val Howlett dated the woman who provoked the memoir In The Dream House. At first, the woman dated both Machado and Howlett. Eventually, the woman broke up with Howlett to pursue a monogamous relationship with Machado. After Machado and the "woman in the dream house" broke up, Machado got in touch with Howlett and the two later got married in 2017.
Reception
Reviews
According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on forty-four critic reviews: thirty-two "rave" and twelve "positive".[8] In Books in the Media, the book received a (4.80 out of 5) based on six critic reviews.[9] In January/February 2020 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a (4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a summary stating, "The author, the NPR critic asserts, "learns to navigate her own sexuality and her writing while making sure she understands the place she occupies in a world that has always tried to erase women like her. This book makes that erasure impossible".[10][11]
Kirkus Reviews gave the book a rave review, calling it a "fiercely honest, imaginatively written, and necessary memoir from one of our great young writers."[12] Similarly, Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, calling it "an affecting, chilling memoir about domestic abuse."[6]Parul Sehgal of The New York Times also praised the book, writing, "There is something anxious, and very intriguing, in the degree of experimentation in this memoir, in its elaborately titivated sentences, its thicket of citations."[13]
Awards and honors
Booklist included In the Dream House on their list of the best adult books of 2019.[14]
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