In the Dream House

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".

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. We see little hints of the abuse to come, but it is all overshadowed by their blossoming relationship. In chapter 2, red flags ramp up with Machado often being accused of not caring about her girlfriend and accounts of the verbal and psychological abuse Machado was subjected to. We also see more essay-like segments that examine historical context for domestic violence, especially in WLW (women loving women) relationships. In chapter 3, Machado tries to justify the abuse she is suffering as her and the woman in the dream house fall into a cycle of screaming fits that often include the woman in the dream house throwing things at Machado. In chapter 4, the woman in the dream house leaves Machado for another woman but soon after, the two sleep together for the final time and Machado considers rekindling their relationship. Luckily,she is pulled out of this way of thinking and instead healthily begins to grieve the relationship. In the last chapter, Machado is now removed completely from the relationship and begins dating her ex girlfriend’s ex girlfriend, whom she later marries. The book ends with Machado becoming the woman she is now, no longer confined to what the woman in the dream house wanted her to be.

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.

Reviews

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."^[8] 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."^[9]

Awards and honors

Booklist included In the Dream House on their list of the best adult books of 2019.^[10]

More information Year, Award ...

Awards for In the Dream House

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2019	Bisexual Book Award	Biography and Memoir	Won	[11]
	Goodreads Choice Award	Memoir & Autobiography	Nominated—12th	[12]
2020	ALA Over the Rainbow Book List	—	Top 10	[13][14]
	Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence	Nonfiction	Longlisted	[15][16]
	BookTube Prize	Nonfiction	Finalist	[17]
	Goldie Award	General Non-Fiction	Won	[18]
	Heartland Booksellers Award	Nonfiction	Shortlisted	[19]
	Lambda Literary Award	Nonfiction	Won	[20][21]
	Publishing Triangle Awards	Judy Grahn Award	Won	[22]
	Reading Women Award	Nonfiction	Shortlisted	[23]
	Stonewall Book Award	Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award	Honor	[24]
	William Saroyan International Prize for Writing	Nonfiction	Shortlisted	[25]
2021	PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction	—	Longlisted	[26][27]
	Rathbones Folio Prize/The Writers' Prize	—	Won	[28][29]

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