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Summary: Sleek shove
Review: It's not exactly a novel novel. It's incredibly perverse, but it works.
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Summary: freaks are people too
Review: This story is so sad, and so well-written. It's not the freakish nature of the characters that breaks your heart, it's the way they are just like you & me. What kid hasn't grown up to the harsh facts of reality, watching their parents go from godlike perfect beings to vulnerable, diminished human beings? Who hasn't felt the humiliation of watching a parent be defeated by a run-in with some petty authority?The relationships between the siblings (aside from the incest, maybe) are just the same as those of any bunch of kids; there are jealousies, there are fistfights, there is a fierce love that rings so true for me. You may beat the stuffing out of your sibling, say you hate them, try to kill them, but heaven help the outsider who tries to do the same. Finally, we come to the mother love--the generations of Lil, Oly, and Miranda. Each mother & daughter relationship is so different, but has some threads in common. I have read & re-read this book several times. Each time I identify with a different character, depending on where I am in my own life. This book talks about the human condition. Well written, gorgeous words.
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Summary: Turns the concept of "normal" upside down
Review: This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. Nor is this book about anything even approaching a normal family. Art and Lil set about to create a freak show of a family, and they succeed mightily, only they lose control when Arty, the boy with flippers for limbs, takes over in his Machevelian manner. Arty manipulates his audience, and his family, and starts something of a cult that can best be described as bizarre and macabre. What is even more macabre is the devotion he instills in Oly, the narrator and albino dwarf, and in Chick, the seemingly normal boy with mysterious telekinetic powers that he uses in service to Arty's cult. Only one of the Siamese twins seems immune to Arty's control, and she pays for it. Boy, does she pay for it.
The story doesn't end with Arty, though, but with Miss Lick, who engages in her own cult of fleshly sacrifice. Only she goes after Oly's daughter, whose disfigurement becomes something of a sexual turn-on, and Oly doesn't want Miranda to lose it. How that gets worked out is a little lame, but suspenseful nonetheless. Overall a good read.
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Summary: Can't put it down, can't pick it up!
Review: I loved the way that it showed the most vile and contemptious personalities in a true to life light. You may find yourself comparing the personalities of the characters with your own experiences. Kathrine Dunn's main character tells a tale that can disgust you at times and you want to forget you even started the book, but you will have to finish. It catches you up in a world from a place so close that you may feel you are actually experiencing it inside the tent.
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Summary: So close, and yet . . .
Review: This is a very overwrought book, full of danger, deformity, deep secrets, and outright sibling war. Something strange, frightening, or disgusting happens to someone in every chapter - almost on every page - but the effect is unexpectedly flat. I was left with the feeling this book hadn't earned the emotional reaction it was trying for. I woul suggest _The Wasp Factory_ by Iain M. Banks instead. Using a smaller canvas, he paints a sharper picture.
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Summary: Underrated Hidden Genius!
Review: In the highly saturated realm of fiction, this book is a refreshing and welcome change from cliche storylines. With her satirically presented view of "family values" and the deeper resentments of sibling and parent/child relations, Ms. Dunn has singlehandedly addressed the taboo of dysfunction from the perspective of those already looked upon as freaks. Even in the occasional slower parts of the book, the anticipation of "what could possibly happen next?" holds you to turning the pages. Try it!
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Summary: An amazing success in literature
Review: Wow. This has to be one of the best books I have ever read. Never have I been so shocked and riveted as when I read Geek Love. Katherine Dunn has explored the dark, the dirty, the freakish, and the obscene in such a way that makes these qualities seem almost beautiful. Centered around a family of circusfolk who breed children with genetic defects in order to draw crowds, Geek Love will draw you into those parts of this world that you are used to pretending don't exist. This is truly fearless writing; Dunn took a chance and she succeeded. Dunn exemplifies key aspects of human nature in her characters. Most interesting is Arturo, a young boy who is raised as a sideshow oddity like his siblings. Arturo functions as an eye that watches and observes how us humans work. He is in a perfect position to do this, as he is not really a member of "normal" society. His reflections and, ultimately,his actions, shed light on those parts of life that we usually shove out of our minds. This is truly a beautiful novel.
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Summary: Talk about freaky-deaky!
Review: A couple who work in the carnival deliberately has a clutch of children, all deformed circus freaks. Geek Love is populated by a dark and wild bunch of characters, written with a wry style that explores our culture's standard of beauty and what's okay.
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Summary: a piece of art
Review: This book is a beautiful piece of art. A unique story with thoroughly developed characters and plot. This is not a run-of-the mill book, but that is what kept me turning the pages. This book put her as my # 2 favorite author behind Chuck Palahnuik.
Rating:
Summary: a piece of art
Review: This book is a beautiful piece of art. Great descriptions of totally unusual characters. The story centers around a family of sideshow freaks. The mother intentionally ingested chemicals to produce the deformities in the offspring---if that sounds intriguing--you find this out in the first 2 pages and it gets stranger from there.
After reading this, I've tried to find more of her work, but unfortunately most bookstores don't carry her stuff (i guess i'll have to get it here). A unique, thought provoking read.
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