Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

by Carmen Maria Machado

In this electric and provocative debut, Carmen Maria Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies. A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store's prom dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in the bravura novella 'Especially Heinous,' Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a show naively assumeded had shown it all, generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgangers, ghosts, and girls with bells for eyes.

• ISBN10: 155597788X
• ISBN13: 9781555977887
• Publish Date: 3 October 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Graywolf Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 248
• Language: English

Reviews

[mayavswords]

I think this just did not settle with my mood very well... DNFed at about 30% perhaps because of the heavy content of the short stories...this book does not hold back at all in showing the horrors afflicted on the female body as psyche, and I'm not sure if it aroused some form of dysphoria within me (as a nonbinary person) or what, but it made me sad. However, it is cleverly written and formatted, though I often times found myself wondering if I truly understood the meaning of the story or if this story simply brought me much contemplation and emotional stress.

[Veronica 🦦]

C- | Yeah, no. I would give this book a higher grade, but unfortunately, I did not have fun reading it.

Unfortunately, while I enjoyed “The Husband Stitch”, “Inventory”, “Mothers”, "Real Women Have Bodies”, and "Eight Bites”, the only one I truly enjoyed to the point where I would reread it is “The Husband Stitch”. The first short in this book was the best one and it just inched down hill from there. Unfortunately, it bottomed out for “Especially Heinous” and only just inched it’s way back up a little with "Real Women Have Bodies”, and "Eight Bites”.

I can’t deny the fact that this book is visceral, haunting, and provocative. It is definitely one of those books that forces you to look inside, think and understand. I liked how it explores the various ways that women and our bodies are treated by men and society as a whole. I can’t deny that Machado’s writing is stunning with imagery that will make your skin crawl.

But “Especially Heinous” ruined this book for me. And, okay, that’s one short story. However this short dragged on and on and on. I had thought of skipping it altogether, but I foolishly thought, “It’s going to get better.” I should have listened to instinct because the more I read, the more annoyed I became. By the end of “Especially Heinous,” I was just utterly exhausted.

I did my best to keep an open mind for the rest of the stories, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care. The only reason why I continued the book was because it’s such a short book and it would have been ridiculous to DNF it when I was already 60-something% of the way in.

I wanted it to be so much more. The potential was there to have something great. But it just missed the mark.

I spent more time trying to reread passages in the later shorts just to try and unconfuse myself because I was just confused. Could the burn-out I’ve been feeling with the quarantine and the stressful semester have made things worse? Maybe.

But whatever the case, I just did not enjoy this book. I don’t mind books that challenge me and force me to think. However, this book just went over my head most of the time and it frustrated me. The confusion added with the fact that I felt like this book missed the mark in achieving its potential lowers the grade to a C-/2.5 stars.

Now, the big question: should you avoid this book despite the low rating I’m giving? No. My review of this book is entirely based on the emotions I felt reading this book and unfortunately, they were not good ones. Again, I can’t deny that the writing was poignant and I think Machado did a great job trying to explore what men and society do to women and our bodies as a whole, I could not get past the utter boredom and frustration I felt from “Especially Heinous” and going forward.

Do I think other people might enjoy this book? Absolutely. If you are looking for a feminist literary fiction book with those moments of horror and you don’t mind pausing to try and interpret what you just read, then this is a book for you. If you’re curious about the book and want to give it a shot, then I highly suggest borrowing it from the library or from a friend if they have a copy.

[jamiereadthis]

I’m finally throwing in the towel on this one. The first two stories are good, and then the drop-off in quality and ability to hold my attention is steep. Beautiful MFA writing is still MFA writing.