Maika reviewed Carmilla by Carmen Maria Machado
Review of 'Carmilla' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Even if you’ve read Carmilla before, which I had, a few times, you’ve never experienced it like this. Carmen Maria Machado edited the story itself and wrote the introduction for this edition of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s OG gothic vampire novella. But saying that belies the significance of what she’s done with this story, which is so much more than editing. Her touch was light, but so very thoughtful. Her footnotes are spare, but damn, they matter. When all is said and done, between the intro and the editing, Machado actually, well, mended this queer tale, which isn’t something I realized I needed until I started reading this edition. She magicked it into the version of my dreams that I didn’t know I’d been dreaming of since I first read it years ago. Such a gift.
Machado also agreed to a Perfectly Normal Interview about her edition of Carmilla for …
Even if you’ve read Carmilla before, which I had, a few times, you’ve never experienced it like this. Carmen Maria Machado edited the story itself and wrote the introduction for this edition of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s OG gothic vampire novella. But saying that belies the significance of what she’s done with this story, which is so much more than editing. Her touch was light, but so very thoughtful. Her footnotes are spare, but damn, they matter. When all is said and done, between the intro and the editing, Machado actually, well, mended this queer tale, which isn’t something I realized I needed until I started reading this edition. She magicked it into the version of my dreams that I didn’t know I’d been dreaming of since I first read it years ago. Such a gift.
Machado also agreed to a Perfectly Normal Interview about her edition of Carmilla for Electric Literature, which immediately became one of my all-time favorite interviews. Really, I wish this interview could’ve been published in the back of the novella, because the two belong together, just like Veronika and Marcia: electricliterature.com/carmen-maria-machado-carmilla-lefanu-vampire-interview/
