In the Dream House
Memoirs: I typically don’t read them, but I just finished one. Introducing…In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. (Introduction probably not needed for many of you bibliophiles.)
If you tend toward memoirs, why do you read them? Is it to get the inside scoop on someone’s life (i.e. politician, celebrity, etc.)? Do you read them to learn about a certain demographic/time period (i.e. Educated)? Or do you see them as clever methods for storytelling?
I will be honest: I struggled, content-wise, with this book. In the Dream House chronicles the author’s relationship with her abusive girlfriend, and I couldn’t help but read it from the perspective of a mother, thinking constantly about the author’s parents and what they might feel reading it. Heartbreaking. Just…too much – and I write that with the acknowledgement that I can relegate it to something I can choose not to engage with. (And by the way, lesbian domestic abuse is, indeed, a “thing,” and that is actually one of the main points of the book.)
This book is sly, however. The cover of my copy touts its “page turner of psychological suspense” status. It is, and that’s what kept me hanging on. It is written in short fragments; the “Dream House” referenced in the title is an artificial (or not?) construct that allows Machado to revisit this relationship (as well as other moments in her life that have shaped her) all while “building” an inventive way to share her story. You know, kind of a “medium is the message” type thing. I’ve never read anything quite so intricately clever.
I put down the book feeling sad (although, yes, hope prevails!), but grateful – at the very least – for an exploration of a relatively hidden topic via a truly original format. So, why read this particular memoir? If you’re a writer, read In the Dream House as the ultimate teaching text. If you’re human (um, I think that is all of you except for the supermodel bots), read it for the aforementioned as well as a gauge of how your heart’s doing.
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