This book deals with a heavy subject, an abusive lesbian relationship, and its aftermath. I had been intimated by its contents and unsure if I would read it. But I loved Machado's short story collection, and when I picked this book up I was surprised by how small it was, just under 250 pages. I was also surprised and delighted to discover that it is written as a series of essays with footnotes. I am easily drawn in by the whimsy of footnotes, and the structure intrigued me. Then the book sucked me under its spell and I read the whole thing in under two days. The writing is extraordinary, shifting tenses, shifting format from memoir to literary analysis to history to fairy tale. It is amazing that a book about a claustrophobic, fear-laden relationship should be so easy and enjoyable to read. It called to mind another book that I waited a long time to start and then ultimately loved, Know My Name by Chanel Miller. Both of these illuminate a terrible experience and pull back the layers of shame and secrecy to present it as it was in the clearest, most concise form. So there will be a record; so that others who experienced similar will know they are not alone; to open up space for conversation and understanding. But in many ways In the Dream House is nothing like Know My Name because its formatting is so central and its many references so interwoven with the memoir passages. These pieces reminded me of These Are Loved Letters by Ames Hawkins and Dead Collections by Isaac Fellmen, two book which mix ephemera and epistolary portions into the body of the prose text. What I am trying to say is that In the Dream House is a fascinating, captivating, and at times heartbreaking book which I will be thinking about for a long time.

Some quotes that stuck out to me:
"Memoir is, at its core, an act of resurrection. Memoirists re-create the past, reconstruct dialogue. They summon meaning from events that have long been dormant. They brain the clay of memory and essay and fact and perception together, smash them into a ball, roll them flat. They manipulate time; resuscitate the dead. They put themselves, and others, into necessary context."

"Putting language to something for which you have no language is no easy feat."