Just finished Her Body and Other Parties

Submitted by IndigoBlueBird t3_110lqq2 in books

If you’re looking for something that’s sapphic and ambitious with elements of horror, this will fit the bill. As a whole, the writing in this was great, but some stories were much stronger than others.

The first two stories, The Husband Stitch and Inventory, were the two strongest. I loved how the first one felt like a grown-up, feminist version of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The second one, a story of a woman recounting her past lovers as the world falls to a pandemic, felt eerily prescient considering this book was written in 2017.

Other stories, particularly Mothers and Eight Bites, just didn’t work for me. Mothers felt needlessly confusing and a bit dull if I’m being honest. Maybe it went over my head, but the long descriptions of food just weren’t interesting. I’m not really sure what it was trying to say. The horror element of Eight Bites wasn’t visceral enough for me, and I just didn’t connect with the story.

“Especially Heinous” is by far the most ambitious and divisive of the lot. I started out kind of irritated by it, but by the end of the 60 pages I was hooked. One of the most creative stories I’ve ever read. I think if it were shorter, more people would like it.

My biggest issue with the book is that the endings often felt frustratingly obscure. After pages and pages of tension building up, it sometimes felt like it disappeared over the edge of a cliff, if that makes sense. Definitely the kind of book that warrants discussion and maybe a reread.

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BookishBitching t1_j89n2hd wrote

I had to stop after Husband Stitch because three months later it's still haunting me on a daily basis, so I'm afraid of what the rest will do to me, lmao. I'll pick it back up now that you've reminded me, only bc I'm curious if 8 Bites will hit different for me (history of disordered eating thanks to female family members).

The visceral nature of Husband Stitch, especially the part about how he impeded on her crush on the art model in a creepy way, hit so hard that I actually gasped.

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mireailles t1_j89p5si wrote

Yeah this.

The Husband Stitch was well done but very visceral. I plan on picking Her Body back up later.

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One_Garden_6275 t1_j8b0i7i wrote

Yes this.

Reading The Husband Stitch while 8 months pregnant was extremely visceral and uncomfortable and I would not recommend. For weeks…months after I found myself fixated on it. I’d like to finish the other stories eventually but I dont think I could take it if they are all like that.

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lazylittlelady t1_j89mx0i wrote

You might enjoy Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez

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DevilsOfLoudun t1_j89u3qm wrote

Personally I didn't like this collection at all, the stories were too vague. A good short story should still have a beginning and an end, but these started in the middle and ended when the author felt like she should stop writing. And the more experimental stories didn't work at all. I haven't picked up her famous memoir yet because I disliked her writing here so much.

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IndigoBlueBird OP t1_j8a2yvc wrote

The vagueness was definitely a sticking point for me. I don’t necessarily want to be hit over the head with the point, but for some of these I was kind of left wondering what the ultimate message was. I think that just might be her style though

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Bazinator1975 t1_j8kp1dn wrote

Art (of any genre) has no "shoulds" or "shouldn'ts".

Consumers of art--in this case, readers--have their preferences, and an author may or may not meet those preferences to one degree or another.

But where a narrative starts and ends, and whatever closure (if any) a story has, is entirely the choice of the person creating it.

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saucemaking t1_j8a1jak wrote

Her memoir isn't any better. I've read through all her stuff that I could find and ended up disliking her on top of her writing, she comes across as whiny and incredibly insecure. And repeatedly fails at proper endings or even a point.

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thewallflower0707 t1_j8afxlq wrote

It’s my favourite short story book, and your review has made me want to read it again.

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karmiccookie t1_j8bnhi3 wrote

Me too. It's been a year or so since I read it, but I think about it pretty often. Now I'm itching to pick it up again

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JamJamsAndBeddyBye t1_j8afuea wrote

I read this a few years ago. I ended up putting it down for a few months after reading “Especially Heinous.” Im not a book club type of person but I went looking for people to talk to about that story because it took over my brain for weeks and weeks. I ended up finishing the book eventually but pretty much all the other stories pale compared to that one.

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BlindStargazer t1_j8cmuy8 wrote

Yesterday I saw an edition of Carmilla edited by Carmen Maria Machado and bought it, I didn't quite like Her Body and Other Parties but I still felt creeped by it.

I also recommend Mariana Enriquez and Maria Fernanda Ampuero, especially Cockfight, it gave me nightmares.

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D_is_for_Doomsayer t1_j8a08j1 wrote

Amazing short stories, wonderful abandonment of genre boundaries.

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ImprovementNo2585 t1_j8c0n0x wrote

I read the Husband Stitch during a very intense bout of PMS/period pain and it was quite an experience...

Especially Heinous is still one of the best things I've ever read. Like you, it took me a couple of pages but after that other stories felt boring and safe lmao

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dommingdarcy t1_j8arrgl wrote

I just picked this up! Really excited.

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pussycatzzzzz t1_j8aw4j9 wrote

Agreed! I really enjoyed it. The only story I wasnt really into was the one where she was sick during some sort of art residency. I just did not really get it and found it quite boring and weird.

You should check out "Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century" its also short stories! I'm enjoying it so far and it reminds me of this book.

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IndigoBlueBird OP t1_j8bzir7 wrote

That one fell somewhere in the middle for me. I loved the build-up of subtle dread throughout — I could feel myself getting more and more nervous as the MC lost her mind. But I didn’t like how abruptly it ended, and the whole Girl Scout part was a bit murky

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stinkysoph t1_j8bhrb9 wrote

this is one of my favorite books and favorite short story collections. it’s so weird and visceral and just awesome. i love her memoir too!

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mayor_of_funville t1_j8dt7qz wrote

I just finished this up this weekend too. I agree with you that the first two stories were the strongest, but the rest fell mostly flat to me. The Resident had some redeemable qualities but fell off a cliff at the end.

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Itchy-Lingonberry-84 t1_j8du4xd wrote

I loved this collection so much, but as others said, some of it can be emotionally visceral. I’ve picked up In The Dream House, but haven’t started it because I’m afraid of being emotionally wrecked again lol.

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Four_beastlings t1_j8a4ea3 wrote

I have to ask if The Husband Stitch has any twist or if it is just a portrayal of the practice, because I find it happening too often that someone writes about a real, documented thing as if it was some obscure urban legand.

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IndigoBlueBird OP t1_j8a4zkr wrote

It’s implied that it happens to the MC, but it’s not really the focal point of the story. The “urban legend” aspects of that story are actual urban legends you might hear around a campfire

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Four_beastlings t1_j8a799y wrote

Ah, thanks. I was afraid the whole story was "sex was painful after childbirth and then I found out they had given me the husband stitch". If it's something more elaborate than that, like "my husband asked and here are the repercussions" I would love to read it.

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IndigoBlueBird OP t1_j8ajs2b wrote

The story is about the subtle and not so subtle harm women experience under the patriarchy, even at the hands of “good guys.” Like your own husband asking for a husband stitch. It follows a woman through her whole adult life

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Four_beastlings t1_j8akpdy wrote

Well. That's sort of what I mean. I know The Yellow Wallpaper is considered horror, per instance, but I see it as historical. Kinda same with The Handmaid's Tale (novel, not tv show). If it's going to be about a woman living what some people might consider a normal life I'd rather not expose myself to it.

I don't know why, but grape and torture are easier on me that things that I know happen every day and are considered routine like genital mutilation.

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IndigoBlueBird OP t1_j8bivn8 wrote

I would consider the story literary gothic fiction with supernatural elements. Idk if that helps you, but don’t read it if you don’t want to

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