Critical reviews for the short story collection were extremely positive. The review aggregator website Book Marks notes that the collection received "rave" reviews.[11]
Parul Sehgal of The New York Times wrote, "It's a wild thing, this book, covered in sequins and scales, blazing with the influence of fabulists from Angela Carter to Kelly Link and Helen Oyeyemi, and borrowing from science fiction, queer theory and horror."[12] A review in Slate said, "In eight searingly original stories, Machado uses the literary techniques of horror and science fiction to expose the truth about our modern parables: that they're as grotesque and enchanting as any classic fairy tale."[13]
Novelist Kathleen Rooney, writing in the Chicago Tribune, wrote, "In her twistedly original and thrilling debut short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blends both the terrifying and the horrible into a psychologically realistic and darkly comic mixture."[14]
An NPR review also compared her to Angela Carter, and concluded, "Machado seems to answer: The world makes madwomen, and the least you can do is make sure the attic is your own."[15]
Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Ellie Robbins described Machado's collection as "that hallowed thing: an example of almost preposterous talent that also encapsulates something vital but previously diffuse about the moment."[16] Robbins concluded her review by praising the author, "In 'Her Body and Other Parties,' Machado reveals just how original, subversive, proud and joyful it can be to write from deep in the gut, even — especially — if the gut has been bruised."[16]
