'In The Dream House' Invents A New Form Of Memoir To Convey A Haunting Nightmare
Under Carmen Maria Machado's narrative of a psychologically abusive relationship lies an academic view of female queerness, a play, a choose your own adventure book, a look at the mechanisms of abuse.
Carmen Maria Machado's In the Dream House is the most innovative memoir I've ever read.
On its surface, the book recounts a psychologically abusive relationship that marked Machado's life in many ways. However, just below the surface, the narrative continually shapeshifts and at times becomes a play, an academic look at female queerness in mainstream media, a choose your own adventure book, and a sharp deconstruction of the mechanisms of psychological abuse. That said, the total is more than the sum of its is the kind of book that burrows under the reader's skin while simultaneously forcing her to inhabit the body of the writer.
