Pretty Green Ribbons and Campfire Stories - Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado unravels the life and mind of a woman. A mother, a child, a lover, a wife, we hear from them all. I found this collection of short stories while in San Francisco at a bookstore called City Lights. Immediately drawn to the title, reading the back and all that encompassed the book had me hooked: "psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism [...] Earthy and otherwordly, antic and sexy, queer and caustic, comic and deadly serious." Her women are unapologetically sexual and will love whom they choose. But, before I get ahead of myself, a friendly note that there will be no spoilers to the ending of the stories themselves, but I will discuss some of them in more detail so keep that in mind as no description is provided for them when purchasing the collection.

When I began (and finished) the first story, "The Husband Stitch," I was reminded of "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. This reaction occurred again upon reading "Real Women Have Bodies." However, Machado had something Vonnegut did not: the voice of the ballerina. Machado ties all the pieces together with a constant theme: We are women, and we are watching, listening, feeling, and remembering everything around us and we will not be silenced even when we are dead or, in your eyes, forgettable.

Machado's focus on memory throughout the stories brought out a writing style I feel has not yet been seen in mainstream writing if at all. One particular story, "Especially Heinous," details "227 Views of Law and Order: SVU" which plays on memory in a unique way. The story lays out each episode title of twelve seasons and then writes a short description and/or quote from the episode. At first, I felt she was pulling one or the other (or both) to which she felt matched the title. Then it slowly became micro-fiction pieces that happened to flow together perfectly. I don't know if she was giving herself a micro-fiction challenge at the time she wrote this story or if she was re-imagining the episodes how she wished they played out, but I know this is one of the main stories I would love to discuss with her if I ever got to pick her mind on her work. I have never read anything like it and it was brilliant.

I debated describing each story for this review and why it is so important to modern fiction, but I also don't want to give anything further away. With that in mind, indulge me in listening about the last story, a story that resonated so deep within me that towards the last page I almost couldn't read through the tears. "Difficult at Parties" constantly talks about the elephant in the room without actually talking about the elephant in the room. We all know what it is, we all silently understand what happened, but no one ever says it. No one ever talks about it. We see the man trying to work out how to help but helpless in being able to do so. We see through her eyes and inside her mind that her body has changed as well as her thoughts. She fights to regain control and her strength was inspiring.

If you could see into the minds around you, even if it meant seeing their darkness, would you do it? Is there something about living through the darkness that gives us the ability to see it in others? Do we begin to pay more attention to the little details, the night sky or the possibility of another stranger seeing you without your permission, only once we've felt like we've missed something terribly important that changed our lives?

If you couldn't tell by my comments on the stories, I am in love with Machado's collection. This is something I will continue to reread over and over again until I can no longer read.

I have retyped this last sentence several times as my words fall flat trying to describe the impact this piece of work has had on me. I can only hope that the review I have presented will encourage you as the wonderful reader you are to dive in, even if you're unsure how you should feel about the madwoman in the attic.



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