Join us for our Reading the Rainbow book group on Thursday, September 15 at 6 PM to discuss In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado. Come in person to the Auditorium at the Central Branch in New Albany or join online via Zoom – get more info and register here!
In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado (2019), 247 pages.
ebook and eAudiobook through Indiana Digital Library on Libby
eAudiobook through hoopla
How does a person best process trauma, especially trauma that is usually ignored, dismissed, or overlooked? In this memoir, Machado uses the conceit of a “Dream House” to examine from all angles a past abusive romantic relationship she had with another woman. Both women were in MFA programs at the time, and Machado tells her own story in a series of vignettes on different themes, both literary and pop cultural – “Dream House as Perpetual Motion Machine,” “Dream House as Bildungsroman,” “Dream House as Choose-Your-Own-Adventure,” etc.
Machado also attempts to place her relationship within the context of abusive lesbian relationships throughout history, despite the “archival silence” that has resulted from a lack of preservation of such stories. Even with the frequent erasure of all kinds of domestic abuse, Machado points out the stereotypical denial that a lesbian relationship specifically could be anything but idyllic and even enumerates the doubtful and uncertain reactions of friends and classmates which bears this out. She also admits her hesitation in naming her abuse in fear that doing so would confirm the worst bigoted ideas about same-sex relationships. Through her lyrical writing, Machado is constantly pulling apart, analyzing, qualifying, questioning, and resisting coming to a neat conclusion about the abuse she suffered and its consequences.
Similar reads by other Latinx/Latine authors for Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15):
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories by Mariana Enriquez (2021), 187 pages. (ebook on Libby)
Mean by Myriam Gurba (2017), 175 pages. (available from other Indiana libraries through SRCS) (ebook on Libby) (ebook on hoopla)
The Rock Eaters: Stories by Brenda Peynado (2021), 276 pages.
Other suggested reads:
Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son by Richie Jackson (2020), 158 pages. (ebook on Libby) (eAudiobook on Libby) (ebook on hoopla) (eAudiobook on hoopla)
Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller (2019), 357 pages. (ebook on Libby) (eAudiobook on Libby)
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh (2018), 288 pages. (ebook on Libby) (eAudiobook on Libby)
-Teresa Moulton, Public Service Leader
