Comments (29)

What did you think about this title?
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Mar 26, 2024
This haunting, experimental collection of short stories about women and the things they go through is challenging but thought-provoking. I love Machado’s effortlessly beautiful writing, even in a horror context.
Nov 14, 2023feelspecial101 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Women experience the toughest lives out of all. Whether it’s motherhood or pleasuring others, it’s never easy. Throughout this novel, the author presents several stories about journeys and conflicts women deal with. FYI, there are a few…
Nov 14, 2023santa_sangre rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
These were fun short stories but none of them really intrigued me besides the SVU one was crazy
Mar 22, 2023JCLAllisonM rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I liked some of the stories in this collection more than others, but overall they are strange, moving, and expertly written.
Dec 22, 2022jillybee72 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The stories are all great, but “ESPECIALLY HEINOUS 272 Views of Law & Order: SVU” might be my favorite short story I ever read.
Aug 22, 2022IndyPL_ShainaS rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Some of these stories I loved wildly [The Husband Stitch, Inventory, The Resident]. Some of them left a little to be desired, the culmination of their conceit lacking [Real Women Have Bodies, Difficult At Parties]. One of them I happily…
Dec 22, 2021Kimthereadingqueen rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Wow. Machado writes on her own level (far above the rest of us) and shies away from nothing. She uses allegory, metaphor, myth, folklore, fable, phantasmagoria, and her heady imagination to express the experiences of women, the limits…
Jul 26, 2021harshtai rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Some of these stories are simultaneously hot and repulsive in a way that compliments a depressive episode and vodka in sweet soup (try it). Some of them are extremely cathartic if you are transitioning from hating men (as an idea) in a…
Dec 12, 2020saramarie rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
a really great selection of stories that showcase the full spectrum of womanhood & humanity! really great, read the whole thing in a few days because i couldn't put it down!
Oct 09, 2020ReadingAdviser_Sally rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
It's hard to describe this book. The best I can do is this- it's a thought inside a thought, a message inside a message, and a piece of art in the form of stories. It was confusing and yet enchantingly disturbing. It was a beautiful,…
Apr 16, 2020antonmv1 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Wonderful collection. "Especially Heinous" is one I love-hate, for some of the same reasons I've love-hated Law & Order SVU.
Jan 27, 2020abcedmillered rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Highly recommend this dark, intelligent, absurd, and sexy collection of short stories.
Dec 13, 2019Hillsboro_JeanineM rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The first story in "The Husband Stitch" is a reworking of "The Green Ribbon" by Washington Irving but was also retold in "In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories" so this may seem hauntingly familiar. All eight stories are different…
Oct 02, 2019jstalmer rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
It's as if Stephen King and Susan Sontag had a love child and then hired Henry Miller as the nanny. That love child then grew up and wrote these short stories. Machado is fearless. Every story, pretty much every damn moment, is…
Sep 13, 2019STPL_JessH rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
WOW. What a debut full of incredibly powerful tales. These stories are both reflexive and refractive: they change and morph sentence by sentence. I love the way Machado writes with a unique vision that challenges readers to think…
Jun 29, 2019OPL_DavidD rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Creepy, in a very human way. Machado looks at the experiences of women and uses it to tell horror stories about the violence inflicted against women. Parts of it can feel like the nightmares you swear are real the next day.
May 18, 2019
3.91
Jul 17, 2018Linyarai rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This book was intriguing enough that I finished it in under 24 hours, but overall I don't think I enjoyed it.
Jun 30, 2018njwillso rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I loved this book. Not only is it well written but had me guessing, and questioning the whole way through. Each story unique in its own way, playing on the curves of truth, fiction, and your own creative mind. Not at all what I expecting.…
Jun 21, 2018CaraMMcConnell rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
To echo what a lot of readers have said, this was a little hit or miss for me. The biggest miss was "Especially Heinous" (the Law & Order piece), which unfortunately was also the longest. One thing I did really appreciate was how…
Cynthia_N
Jun 11, 2018Cynthia_N rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I liked Machado's writing style. She definitely keeps you on your toes but this collection was mixed for me. I loved most of the stories but a few of them... SVU I'm looking at you... were really misses for me.
Jun 06, 2018OPL_AutumnH rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book is smarter than I am. I did not understand half of what I read, but I couldn't stop reading it all the same. The stories are super weird and definitely not for the timid, but they're also compelling and thought-provoking. My…
Mar 09, 2018Thebookwormbrittany rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I wanted to like this book, and don't get me wrong there were short stories I did enjoy. However that was only two or three. The rest were just a little abstract for my tastes. I did like the fact that there were diverse relationships.…
Mar 02, 2018jmart2812 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Really good, sexually charged, dark, weird fiction. Lots of interesting stories and ideas in this collection. A Must-Read. REALLY didn't like the law & order story, but everyone else seems to love it, and the other stories are amazing, so…
Jan 23, 2018kathylou rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
some very clever stories but way too much sex (a lot of it pretty sad too) for my taste. I like a little sex in a story but don't enjoy a short story collection that is pretty much just stories about sex.