Read If: you want to get into LGBTQ+ authors as well as bipoc authors, you're healing from an abusive relationship (emotional or physical), you love breaking down genre and literary conventions.
There are so many positives to this book, including the way Machado chose to lay the story out. I think anyone, no matter gender or sex, can relate to at least one thing in In the Dream House if you've been in a relationship. Many of the stories are heartbreaking; many are recognizable, in more ways than one. Sometimes you're the narrator, sometimes you're the friend watching the narrator drown. The descriptions are beautiful and many of the segments put me right "in" the story.
The one downside is that about 3/4 of the way through I did start feeling as though some parts were a little over dramatic/self-indulgent. Essentially had the same feeling as the friend in the story: "Okay, this is obvious a shit situation. So let's stop now." But I guess in a way, that's a necessary part of the story as well. I had to put it down a few times toward the end of the book to take a break from the self-pity. I wish there had been a bit more self-reflection in the book, but overall it was a solid read.
Highly recommend Machado's short story collection, by the way.
