This book has been on my reading list for years, but kept being pushed to the side. At a small market in December hosted by @woodbine.nyc, I saw Machado's other collection, Her Body and Other Parties, on the table of @milmundosnyc, and picked it up get it. The bookseller whipped out this hardcover edition and offered it to me for the price of the paperback, so of course I had to buy both and started In the Dream House immediately. I'd finished it by the end of the weekend.
This is one of those books that deserves every bit of hype it got, and then some. It's a memoir unlike anything I've ever read: oscillating from first to second person, from happy memory to sickening abuse, and from straightforward storytelling to intricate folklore references. I finished it and immediately felt spurred to write, which is my way of measuring that something really moved me. Suffice it to say, it's been a long time since something moved me so deeply.
If you are queer, if you are an artist, if you have experienced abuse, this book is for you. If you are none of the above, I'd still call this book an absolute must-read. It's quick. It's breathtaking. It's a memoir you won't forget.
