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In the Dream House

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In the Dream House
First edition cover
AuthorCarmen Maria Machado
Audio read byCarmen Maria Machado
Cover artistAlex Eckman-Lawn (art)
LanguageEnglish
SubjectDomestic violence
GenreMemoir
PublisherGraywolf Press
Publication date
November 5, 2019
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages264
Awards
ISBN9781644450031
Websitecarmenmariamachado.com/in-the-dream-house

In the Dream House is a memoir by Carmen Maria Machado. It was published on November 5, 2019, by Graywolf Press.[1][2][3][4][5]

The book was awarded the 2019 Bisexual Book Award, 2020 Judy Grahn Award, 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Nonfiction, and 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize. It was also longlisted for the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.

Background

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The book details Machado's emotionally, mentally, and physically abusive relationship with another woman while studying for her MFA at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in Iowa City, Iowa. It is predominantly a second-person narrative, with Machado referring to her victimized self as "you".[6] Machado utilizes a different narrative trope for each chapter.[7] The author never directly names her abuser and only refers to her as "the woman in the dream house".

Plot summary

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In the Dream House begins with Carmen Maria Machado's living situation in Iowa City prior to her meeting the Dream House woman. Carmen shares a small two-bedroom apartment with her roommates John and Laura.

In the first chapter, Machado reflects on her childhood years and tells a story about her time in grade school. Machado then elaborates on experiences in her childhood and environment while growing up. She goes on to discuss instances with her previous lovers, leading up to meeting and falling in love with "the woman in the dream house" who domestically abused her.

Main characters

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Carmen Maria Machado: Machado is the person the text is centered on. The book is told from her perspective as she recounts her memories of her relationship.

The "woman in the dream house": This woman is Machado’s ex-girlfriend in the book. Throughout the work, the woman in the dream house abuses Machado; however, she is never directly named.

Val Howlett: Both Carmen Maria Machado and Val Howlett dated the woman who provoked the memoir In The Dream House. At first, the woman dated both Machado and Howlett. Eventually, the woman broke up with Howlett to pursue a monogamous relationship with Machado. After Machado and the "woman in the dream house" broke up, Machado got in touch with Howlett and the two later got married in 2017.

Reception

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Reviews

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According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on forty-four critic reviews: thirty-two "rave" and twelve "positive".[8] In Books in the Media, the book received a (4.80 out of 5) based on six critic reviews.[9] In January/February 2020 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a (4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a summary stating, "The author, the NPR critic asserts, "learns to navigate her own sexuality and her writing while making sure she understands the place she occupies in a world that has always tried to erase women like her. This book makes that erasure impossible".[10][11]

Kirkus Reviews gave the book a rave review, calling it a "fiercely honest, imaginatively written, and necessary memoir from one of our great young writers."[12] Similarly, Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, calling it "an affecting, chilling memoir about domestic abuse."[6] Parul Sehgal of The New York Times also praised the book, writing, "There is something anxious, and very intriguing, in the degree of experimentation in this memoir, in its elaborately titivated sentences, its thicket of citations."[13]

Awards and honors

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Booklist included In the Dream House on their list of the best adult books of 2019.[14]

Awards for In the Dream House
Year Award Category Result Ref.
2019 Bisexual Book Award Biography and Memoir Won [15]
Goodreads Choice Award Memoir & Autobiography Nominated—12th [16]
2020 ALA Over the Rainbow Book List — Top 10 [17][18]
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence Nonfiction Longlisted [19][20]
BookTube Prize Nonfiction Finalist [21]
Goldie Award General Non-Fiction Won [22]
Heartland Booksellers Award Nonfiction Shortlisted [23]
Lambda Literary Award Nonfiction Won [24][25]
Publishing Triangle Awards Judy Grahn Award Won [26]
Reading Women Award Nonfiction Shortlisted [27]
Stonewall Book Award Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Honor [28]
William Saroyan International Prize for Writing Nonfiction Shortlisted [29]
2021 PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction — Longlisted [30][31]
Rathbones Folio Prize — Won [32][33]

References

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  1. ^ Canfield, David (November 5, 2019). "How Carmen Maria Machado wrote the best memoir of the year". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  2. ^ Reese, Hope (November 7, 2019). "'I Was Trapped Forever In This Present Tense': Carmen Maria Machado on Surviving Abuse". Longreads. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  3. ^ Garcia-Navarro, Lulu (November 3, 2019). "In The 'Dream House,' Carmen Maria Machado Recounts Nightmares". NPR. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  4. ^ Millares Young, Kristen (November 5, 2019). "Haunted by humiliation, Carmen Maria Machado breaks form to address domestic abuse". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  5. ^ Carothers, Vera (November 7, 2019). "Down to the Marrow: An Interview with Carmen Maria Machado". Columbia Journal. Columbia University. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Nonfiction Book Review: In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado". Publishers Weekly. August 8, 2019. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  7. ^ "In the Dream House | Graywolf Press". www.graywolfpress.org. Archived from the original on 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  8. ^ "In the Dream House". Book Marks. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  9. ^ "In the Dream House: A Memoir Reviews". Books in the Media. Archived from the original on 27 Sep 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  10. ^ "In the Dream House". Bookmarks. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  11. ^ "In the Dream House". Bibliosurf (in French). 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  12. ^ "In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado". Kirkus Reviews. July 8, 2019. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  13. ^ Sehgal, Parul (October 29, 2019). "'In the Dream House' Recounts an Abusive Relationship Using Dozens of Genres". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  14. ^ "Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2019". Booklist. 2020-01-01. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  15. ^ "2019 Bisexual Book Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2020-06-22. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  16. ^ "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Memoir & Autobiography!". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2023-11-04. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  17. ^ "2020 Over the Rainbow Book List features 70 titles for adult readers". American Library Association. 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  18. ^ "Over the Rainbow: 2020". Booklist. 2020-03-15. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  19. ^ "2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals Longlist". Locus Online. October 1, 2019. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  20. ^ "Longlist | Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence". American Library Association. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  21. ^ "2020 Nonfiction". 2024 BOOKTUBE PRIZE. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  22. ^ "2020 Goldie Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2020-07-20. Archived from the original on 2024-04-11. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  23. ^ "Awards: Heartland Booksellers Finalists". Shelf Awareness. 2020-09-08. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  24. ^ Aviles, Gwen (2021-06-01). "Lambda Literary announces 25 winning books for annual Lammy Awards". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  25. ^ "32nd Annual Lambda Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2020-06-01. Archived from the original on 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  26. ^ "Awards: Triangle, Wolff Translator's Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2020-05-04. Archived from the original on 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  27. ^ Reading Women (2020-11-18). "Announcing Reading Women's 2020 Nonfiction Award Shortlist". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  28. ^ ""How We Fight for Our Lives" and "Cantoras" win 2020 Stonewall Adult Awards". American Library Association. 2020-01-29. Archived from the original on 2023-12-23. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  29. ^ "Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Jennifer Croft awarded the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing by Stanford Libraries | Libraries". library.stanford.edu. 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  30. ^ "Announcing the 2021 PEN America Literary Awards Longlists". PEN America. 2020-12-22. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  31. ^ "PEN America Literary Awards Longlist". Locus Online. 2020-12-23. Archived from the original on 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  32. ^ Flood, Alison (March 24, 2021). "Carmen Maria Machado wins Rathbones Folio prize for queer abuse memoir". The Guardian. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  33. ^ "Awards: NBCC and Rathbones Folio Winners; Dylan Thomas and Stella Shortlists". Shelf Awareness. 2021-03-26. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
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