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.
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

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". Machado utilizes a different narrative trope for each chapter. The author never directly names her abuser and only refers to her as "the woman in the dream house".

Plot summary

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

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

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." Similarly, Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, calling it "an affecting, chilling memoir about domestic abuse." 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."

Awards and honors

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

Year	Award	Category	Result
2019	Bisexual Book Award	Biography and Memoir	Won
2019	Goodreads Choice Award	Memoir & Autobiography
2020	ALA Over the Rainbow Book List	—
2020	Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence	Nonfiction
2020	BookTube Prize	Nonfiction
2020	Goldie Award	General Non-Fiction	Won
2020	Heartland Booksellers Award	Nonfiction
2020	Lambda Literary Award	Nonfiction	Won
2020	Publishing Triangle Awards	Judy Grahn Award	Won
2020	Reading Women Award	Nonfiction
2020	Stonewall Book Award	Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award
2020	William Saroyan [International Prize for Writing]	Nonfiction
2021	PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction	—
2021	Rathbones Folio Prize	—	Won