Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Spend April with Carmen Maria Machado’s haunting Her Body and Other Parties

The Vox Book Club’s April pick is a ferociously smart set of short stories that read like fairy tales for the 21st century.

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Left, Graywolf. Right, Art Streiber.
Constance Grady
Constance Grady is a senior correspondent on the Culture team for Vox, where since 2016 she has covered books, publishing, gender, celebrity analysis, and theater.

The Vox Book Club is linking to Bookshop.org to support local and independent booksellers.

Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties is one of those books you just never stop thinking about. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I first picked it up five years ago — which is why it’s the Vox Book Club’s pick for April 2022.

Eerie and unsettling, this short story collection has the dark beauty of an Angela Carter fairy tale and an animating force that’s all Machado’s own. In stories that riff on urban legends, dystopian fiction, and Law & Order: SVU, Machado returns again and again to the fleshy, porous, unbounded bodies of her heroines — and to all the other parties who feel entitled to them.

Join the Vox Book Club as we spend April exploring Her Body and Other Parties. At the end of the month, we’ll meet Machado live on Zoom, and you can RSVP here. In the meantime, subscribe to the Vox Book Club newsletter to make sure you don’t miss anything.

The full Vox Book Club schedule for April 2022

Friday, April 15: Discussion post on Her Body and Other Parties published to Vox.com

Thursday, April 28, 5 pm ET: Virtual live event with author Carmen Maria Machado. Reader questions are encouraged!

More in Culture

Life
What is an aging face supposed to look like?What is an aging face supposed to look like?
Life

When bodies and appearances are malleable, what does that mean for the person underneath?

By Allie Volpe
Video
What would J.R.R. Tolkien think of Palantir?What would J.R.R. Tolkien think of Palantir?
Play
Video

How The Lord of the Rings lore helps explain the mysterious tech company.

By Benjamin Stephen
Climate
The climate crisis is coming for your groceriesThe climate crisis is coming for your groceries
Climate

Extreme heat is already wiping out soy, coffee, berries, and Christmas trees. Farm animals and humans are suffering too.

By Ayurella Horn-Muller
Future Perfect
The surprisingly strong case for feeling great about your coffee habitThe surprisingly strong case for feeling great about your coffee habit
Future Perfect

Your morning coffee is one of modern life’s underrated miracles.

By Bryan Walsh
Good Medicine
Do health influencers actually know what they’re talking about?Do health influencers actually know what they’re talking about?
Good Medicine

Most health influencers don’t have real credentials — but they are more influential than ever.

By Dylan Scott
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North