My Body, Herself

by Carmen Maria Machado, Saskia Maarleveld (Narrator)

A woman learns that death is not the loneliest thing.

Time: 13 minutes

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Speculative Fiction

1 pages, Audiobook

First published September 1, 2016

About the author

Carmen Maria Machado's debut short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties, was a finalist for the National Book Award, the Kirkus Prize, LA Times Book Prize Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, and the winner of the Bard Fiction Prize, the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize, and the Crawford Award. In 2018, the New York Times listed Her Body and Other Parties as a member of "The New Vanguard," one of "15 remarkable books by women that are shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century."

Her essays, fiction, and criticism have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, Tin House, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, The Believer, Guernica, Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Michener-Copernicus Foundation, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the CINTAS Foundation, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Millay Colony for the Arts. She is the Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Philadelphia with her wife.

Reviews

[Verónica Fleitas Solich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected much more because what I read from the author fascinated me, however I don't have too much to say about this work.
I had to admit that short stories aren't my favorite so don't take my opinion too much into account.
It was ok and not much else.

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Body, Herself by Carmen Maria Machado

1.5 stars

This was not the best short story in the world. In fact, I don't care for it all that much, but I did like the ending which is why it's not a 1-star read for me. The writing is strong, but has a tendency to be weak in leaning towards the concept of being so sophisticated that there has to be an aura of not telling you what's going on. This kind of writing is prevalent with magical realism and I enjoy magical realism, but I'm not sure it works for a horror short story. Or at least not this one. I think this one is worth giving a shot.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 1
Whimsical Writing Scale: 1.5
Plotastic Scale: 1.5

Cover Thoughts: Ghastly.

[Kelly⁷ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was pretty normal but the narrator... ugh, such a good voice they have for a horror story!

[Marc D. ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5 estrellas.

Nope.

[Nai | Libros con(té) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mucha metáfora y analogía que me pasaron por arriba de la cabeza sdkjhgkjd, probablemente no estaba en el humor de leer esto ya que vengo leyendo terror y fantasía oscura con los demás relatos de esta antología/podcast. Dicho esto, este relato no es terror, es realismo mágico con mucho surrealismo.
La idea me gustó, al igual que la narración, pero evidentemente esperaba otra cosa porque, de nuevo, está en una antología de terror.

CW: muerte, abuso.

[isconnorevenhere · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't get it. My first hint at understanding (possibly rape related) was when I flicked through the other reviews on here... too little, too late, though.

Edit. I just read it again (actually read the words, this time). I still have no clue what it means, though she was almost certainly hiding in the cave from a boy to whom she'd refused her body. It's actually an incredibly written piece, which can be missed in audio form, so I'm guessing the meaning is simply beyond my personal grasp. She can have another star.

[Madhurabharatula Pranav Rohit Kasinath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whew. That was weird. And, frankly speaking pretty awful. It has surrealism, and obviously seems to be very feminist in its tone but what does it actually accomplish? My feeling while listening to this story was overwhelming confusion and a sense of profound disconnect from the narrator. I have heard a lot of good things about Carmen Maria Machado but this is definitely not a good advertisement for her work.
This story is also an example of the pitfalls of confusing your theme with your plot. I understand feminism is a necessary strong theme but a theme cannot substitute for a plot, and the resolution of a theme cannot substitute for the resolution of a plot point, even if your literature aims to be surrealist.
Caveat: I am not a fan of surrealist literature so maybe this story was just not for me.

[saiha · Rating 5 out of 5]

another banger from carmen maria machado. thank you CWRI20002 for having this on your reading list. the LMS didn't have this as a PDF so i had to read it on a website and obviously you cannot annotate or highlight on a website so i copy-pasted all the cool phrases from this short story that i liked onto a google doc. safe to say i was very liberal with my copy-pasting.
here is a snippet from the short story because, in good conscience, i cannot leave this review and not share a little bit of the absolute poetry of this author:

(In death, despair tastes like a soft, watery fruit you desperately want to eat, even though the surface is dotted with mould.)

also content warning: allusions to SA

[dreamgirlreading · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the strongest work from this author. I suggest anyone who maybe almost loves this short story and can see the potential in Machado's writing style to check out more of her books.
“If they chase you, you don’t have to run. You can fight back. But you can run too. There’s nothing wrong with running. You can chase or be chased. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things. I feel stupid because I know so little. This is the only real thing I know and yet I don’t know it at all. It’s your choice, I clarify. It’s always your choice. Choice sounds a lot like chase, but they are very different.”

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like the atmosphere, the point of view of our narrator, and how things turn out for both "my body" and "herself". Though I don't understand why the passage of "herself" masturbating and "my body" getting some of that feedback, more than any other feedback her bones got, was necessary to the story. The end liberation was rather satisfying as well, and had me curious about what it means for they who chased. But I do also feel something was lacking by it being so short.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not sure what to think of this one. It can have so many connotations that I guess thats really why I liked it. It made me wonder and think. I have the opinion it was about a girl who was possibly raped or at least chase by a guy. And this her feeling of a split personality, feeling numb but alive but dead inside. I imagine her finally deciding to come back into the real world of life and it’s her climbing out of her depression. It was an audiobook that I had downloaded for free and must admit the narrator did a great job. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have read it.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Body, Herself is the sort of short story that can easily create a love/hate relationship. On the one hand, it was wonderfully written. On the other hand, it can get pretty dark and surreal. It's atmospheric and will certainly make the readers think, which I think was at least half the point.

TW: Death, rape (referenced/hinted at)

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

the writing is very descriptive and magical. the author LOVES using similes; she compares everything under the sun

But like what actually happened cause Idk


*listening to a bunch of free short horror audiobooks from the “Come Join Us By The Fire” anthology while on the road. Surprised by the production of these with pretty good narrators and background noises

[jessica o. ❦]

I’m not going to give it a star rating since it is so short. I have committed to reading each and every one of Machado’s creative offerings, and this was worth the few minutes it took to complete. This is a story where the quality would greatly improve if it was much longer. In its current state, it’s more of an Allegory of the Cave/Frankenstein retelling.

[Hart_D (ajibooks)]

The surface narrative of this short story didn't really work for me, and I also don't much like the writing style. But I can see the whole thing as a metaphor, and I do admire that underlying story. It's an interesting piece of writing, and it might be a good choice for a group discussion.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surreal, I enjoyed it. I think the open-endedness of it all is what I liked the most, as well as the unique interpretation of the experience of death.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the narrator but other than that I spent the entire time wondering what would happen and then it ended.

[cheryl]

5/10: not sure if the death is literal or a metaphor for the feelings felt after an unwanted sexual encounter. very surreal.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, sad, real,and great writing.



CW: Rape

[Kendra Raptor · Rating 1 out of 5]

🌟Slight sexual content

It was well written, and thats just about it - for me. I listened to it 2 times and both times, I didnt get much out of it.

[Don Voorhees · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange little story told by a dead girl rotting in a cave for years.

[LaPassion · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars, I got chills at the multiple meanings this story could take. The twists of a tale so short make no sense. I will be looking further into this author.

[Caden · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not bad, I just didn’t care.
Really want to check out this authors other works tho!!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I downloaded this audiobook for free. I listened to this twice and still didn't quite "get it," if she had died and was then being reborn or if she was coming to terms with an assault and was being reborn to herself? It was too vague for me, I think.

[K Morlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Interesting short audible story