Geek Love : A Novel

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Summary: Extraordinary Beings Experiencing Ordinary Feelings
Review: This is the story of a carnival family who, in order to save the carnival, give birth to manufacured "freaks" by ingesting drugs and arsenic. It is the story of these "freaks" that is amazing, sad, horrifying and funny. I was repulsed when I first began reading this book, but became mesmerized with the turning of each page. I couldn't put this book down and I kept wondering how it would end. It takes a great imagination to write such a vivid book. Katherine Dunn has written a wonderful, horrific book that will disgust and horrify you as well as make you laugh out loud. The "freaks" in the story are wonderfully crafted and you feel for each of them. They are just extraordinary beings experiencing ordinary feelings of love, hate, anger and jealousy in an unusual setting. I would highly recommend this book for someone who is looking for something unusual to read and is willing to embrace the unexpected.

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Summary: Dunn Offers a Worldview ... a bit too human for most?
Review: To say that there's a lot going on in this book would be a vast understatement. Although I haven't decided whether or not to say, "I love this book!" when recommending it to people certainly doesn't stop me from recommending it.

I suppose the most enjoyable part of reading Geek Love, for me, was that it seems the most successful articulation of the completeness of one worldview. Confused? Well, I merely think that the novel is probably closer to the way Katherine Dunn actually thinks about the world, than most writers would ever be able to properly explicate. However, as most of us know, each of our respective world views is filled with contradictions, antithetical statements and idiosyncratic stances that don't seem to quite fit in anywhere.

Now, Katherine Dunn has certainly not been sabotaged by indecision anywhere near as much as the bible. Certain themes shine, uncompromising, throughout the brunt of the book. Subverted ideas of beauty, normality and relative freakishness, overlie traditional notions of the nuclear family, courtship, love and tradition.

Dunn depicts an eccentric circus family wherein parents, Aloysius and Lil Binewski, repeatedly spike Lil's pregnancies "with illicit and prescription drugs, insecticides, and eventually radioisotopes." Each child is a veritable "rose" in the happily cultivated garden of Al's creative dreaming. Although the setup may seem unnecessarily esoteric, its use as a functional metaphor and fictional tool is perfectly appropriate for Dunn's game plan.

The book begins with a quaint view of the nuclear family followed by its quick subversion by physical descriptions of each child: Artie, endowed with flippers in place of limbs; Elly and Iphy, Siamese twins; hunch-backed albino, Oly (the narrator); and Chick, the telekinetic "norm." From here, the book goes on to playfully subvert ideas on social hierarchies, beauty, "normality" and religion, leaving the reader to focus on the unifying commonality of all pieces of the novel. That is, the completely subjective design of all things social. Dunn forces the reader, over and over again, to question that which is most always taken for granted. She questions "natural beauty," "natural normality," human nature.

However, one would be mistaken to think that all current social benchmarks are thrown out in Geek Love. Rather, beneath all of Dunn's playful subversion and conscientious objection to the idea of human "nature," lies an in-depth look at the sociology of leaders and their followers. In addition, she looks at which leaders are more honorable, which have better reasons for doing what they do, and, in the end, who is rewarded for their respective values. Using the narrator, Oly, as a barometer for character strength, value and virtue, Katherine Dunn pits the merciless and manipulative Arty against the reclusive but virtuous Miss Lick.

In the end, who is left, and who has been rewarded, does not offer the reader any solace as to Dunn's feelings toward either character. However, the ending does allow Dunn's flexible, sometimes antithetical worldview to live on in Oly's only daughter, Miranda. It is up to her, and up to the reader, both of whom the novel has been written for, to decipher Dunn's intentions. We must reconcile what is true and what is virtuous from Dunn's subtle themes and immodest plotlines. And, despite Dunn's meandering values and thematic statements, she has given us all the tools to accomplish that in Geek Love.

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Summary: Freaks and Geeks and Power and Control
Review: Step right up, ladies and gents, boys and girls! Enter the magical, mystifying, miraculous world of fantastical freaks and gruesome geeks- people, creatures, whose imperfections are not hidden within the caverns of the mind but are displayed in their daily countenance, in the bend of their beastly bodies. Open your eyes and your minds to the Geek Love of the Binewskis.

Katherine Dunn presents the members of the Binewski family on the first page as a starling satire of the "nuclear family." The mother and father with children sitting at their feet are actually parents who have used radioactive substances to turn their children into "freaks:" Siamese twins, an armless, legless boy, and an albino midget. Already, Dunn produces a grotesque and vivid scene for the reader. The author winds a path through both present and past. In the present, Olympia Binewski is now Olympia McGurk and lives alone in an apartment, anonymously watching her daughter, Miranda, tolerating her mother and working at a radio station. Oly is drawn into Miranda's life when she is asked to pose for her medical drawings and discovers that Miss Lick, a shady disciple of Arty's, wants her to remove her tail (the only legacy of the Binewskis that Miranda has). The main goal of Oly in the present is to prevent this by killing Miss Lick. In the past sections, the Binewski family is the central focus: the fall of Al and the rise of Arty, Oly's own needs for love and belonging, Iphy and Elly's power plays with Arty, the role of Chick, the seemingly perfect and yet most bizarre Binewski, and their relationships. To me, the themes appeared to center around the roles of power in love and the nature of healthy vs. unhealthy love.

In several interviews, Dunn has said that the concept of cults weighed heavily on her mind throughout the writing of this novel, especially in light of the Jonestown Massacre. This theme is readily apparent in the "Peace, Isolation, and Purity" followers (PIPs) of Arty. Looking at the actions of the followers and the commands of Arty, it is clear that Dunn has produced an intriguing and well thought out case study. However, Arty's cult is in no way the most interesting part of the novel dramatically or thematically. Reading the book, I found myself drawn to other themes centering on power relationships within the familial relationships more than a look at cults in general. Though the idea of power and love are a part of cults and the nature of the PIPs, the majority of this theme seemed centered around the Binewski family relationships. Dunn skillfully spins the relationships of Oly and Arty, Arty and Iphy, Iphy and Elly, and so on, cultivating a solid framework for this theme.

Many of her dramatic choices seem to serve merely to shock the reader, rather than evoke a thematic idea. For example, the Chute, which is an exhibit of the Binewski children too freakish to survive, seems to be there for extra characterization of Lily or further evidence that the Binewskis are a perversion of the concept of the nuclear family. Geek Love, a strange and mystical journey, takes the reader into Katherine Dunn's freakshow of power and control. The most frightening parts of this book are not the Chute, with Maple, Fist, and Leona waiting for the next ticket-holder, or the fantabulous Ask Arturo. The scariest aspect is that relationships and power structures function just as in the book as they do daily in the real world. Katherine Dunn recognizes that cult leaders, fanatical religious leaders, community leaders, and anyone else who has been put in a position of power is in a very delicate spot. However, Dunn may have been more successful with themes of power in personal relationships. This novel is certainly a vivid, continuous dream with interesting thematic concerns, which might have been better developed.

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Summary: Geeks Freaks and Consentual Mutilation
Review: Katherine Dunn's Geek Love is the strange story of a family of carnival freaks and the outrageous events that shaped their lives. Or at least that is what it seems to be at a glance. But within this incredibly odd package is a notably complex take on a fairly commonplace issue. The slimy innards of Geek Love paint a portrait of the American beauty standard, from its corporate origins to its suburban realization, but flipped completely upside down. The "ugly" (the freaks) being the picture of beauty, and the "beautiful" or "average" looking (the norms) being at least boring and often repulsive. The story is told from the perspective of Olympia Bineswski (or Oly, for short), the second youngest of five children in the carnival family. Mom ("Crystal" Lil Binewski) and dad (Al Binewski) run the carnival (in the beginning anyway), but they are not freaks, they are "norms" (the books term for non-freaks). But the pair set out to have unique and beautiful children that will thrive in a carnival atmosphere. Or, in other words, Lil takes various drugs and the like in order to cause deformities in their children, making them freaks. And, needless to say, their unorthodox methods of pre-nandal care do, indeed, cause their children to be freaks, including(in order of birth) a boy with flippers for limbs (Arty), Siamese Twins (Elly and Iphy), an albino, hunchback, dwarf girl (Oly, our narrator) and a boy with seemingly boundless telekinetic powers (Fortunato or The Chick). There are also several miscarriages, which are kept in jars and displayed in one of the carnival trailers.

Now, I think it is a good time to mention that this book may not be as enjoyable for those to whom moral flexibility does not come so easily. Much of the dramatization in this novel most certainly goes against traditional, American morals, and its statement about the beauty standard is decidedly non-traditional as well. But for those who can endure the culture shock, I found that this book makes an eloquently moral point about beauty and self worth.

I found this message to be one of pride in one's own personal beauty, no matter where it may fall on a beauty standard. But there are definitely some inconsistencies, and the end is puzzling (to say the least) and, I thought, a bit of a letdown. Geek Love has an inherent message about beauty though, and it is communicated throughout, by means subtle and blunt.

Overall, I thought that it was an entertaining story, masterfully woven with the threads of symbolism around a compelling theme. It definitely faltered here and there, but the deviations were not major enough to throw me completely out of the book. So, if you are looking for a take on beauty that is miles from Cosmo, check out Geek Love.

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Summary: Geek Love: Captivating and Thought Provoking
Review: This novel is one of the most interesting I've read in quite a while. The mere basis of the story was enough to throw me out of my comfort zone and demand that I pay close attention to the intricacies of the plot. That may suggest that this novel may not be attractive as a pleasure read, however, it flows beautifully and maintains a sense of suspense that won't allow you to put it down. This book amazed me with its humor and emotion and its in-depth look at the dichotomy between uniqueness and normalcy. I was told, when I asked what the premise of the novel was, that it was about "circus freaks." I was not misled. This novel follows the Binewski family of the Carnival Fabulon-a traveling family of genetically engineered freaks. You'll feel as if you're walking through a house of mirrors at a carnival, which may be exactly what Katherine Dunn intended upon writing Geek Love. The eccentricities of this family have no end, and this makes their escapades intriguing to follow, though, I should mention, some with weaker stomachs may want to steer clear. The main character, Olympia Binewski McGurk, begins the novel as a middle-aged woman watching her supposedly orphaned daughter from afar, not willing to reveal her parenthood. As the novel progresses, Olympia reveals in her memories her past of being the 2nd youngest of the Binewski family in their traveling freak show and the reader begins to understand why Olympia is so secretive. The Binewski family exploits their novelties just as supermodels of today exploit their beauty-however, the parallel is of almost startling opposites. This hunger for uniqueness is seen in sibling rivalry and cult-like followings. When do they become unique enough? This concept continues in Olympia's present day life and the parallels between the carnival atmosphere and the atmosphere of the normal, everyday city that Olympia lives in are almost haunting. This novel is very complex, battling between both the present and past of Olympia's life. I fully enjoyed every moment of reading this novel; not only were the themes chillingly intense and realistic, but it was humorous and interesting-how often do you get to read a novel that thrusts you right into the heart of a circus side-show? I think this is a novel that will allow itself to be read as a reader chooses to read it: taken for face value as an attention-grabbing piece of fiction, or as a novel which has underlying themes that can be seen in everyday life. Whether you read this for fun or to learn how humans' strife for originality leads to destruction, I would definitely recommend it. It keeps you on your seat and is completely entertaining with its obscurity. If nothing else, read it to be fully impressed with the characters that Katherine Dunn has created and their absurd complexities. The world of the Carnival Fabulon and the captivating characters-a hunchback midget narrator, a limb-less glorified cult-leader, and Siamese twins who play duets on the piano to gather crowds-is a great achievement on Dunn's behalf.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended for fans of the fantastic
Review: Before making any false assumptions about the content of this book on the basis of its title, understand that this is not a story about holding hands with a fellow outcast by the fluorescent light of a library desk lamp. The geeks in this novel are of the traditional type: carnival performers who bite the heads off of live animals - chickens in particular. With that as an introduction, you are nearly prepared for type of material you will encounter in this book, but not quite.

Nothing could quite prepare you for the grotesque nature of this book (although I will try), where that which is desirable is that which is unconventional. The unrelenting freakishness of every episode, from the characters' appearance to their attitudes to their confrontations, maintains the reader's fascination throughout. As a novel in which all the main characters (and most of the peripheral characters) have some sort of physical abnormality or disfigurement, the book looks as if it is presenting itself as a parody of mainstream culture's focus on physical self-image. Certainly, Dunn draws some of the power to engage readers in her book from universally shared self-conscious feelings (good or bad) of normality in the presence of those who apparently are not. But there are other issues being represented in Dunn's work as well. The theme of an individual's internal identity conflict, between the desire to be recognized for one's individuality while simultaneously receiving a sense of acceptance or belonging, is dominant. Issues dealing with power relationships, child-parent relationships, and love relationships are also present.

Dunn sustains the grotesque sense of her book with the language she uses. The main character, Olympia, is often described in amphibious terms, and her emotions are compared to almost morbid personifications of her biology. Far more happens metaphorically in and to her body than lumps in the throat or butterflies in the stomach. The children frequently speak to each other in crass, derogatory terms, which is not an altogether unexpected occurrence, but portraying children who interact in this way rather than as sympathetic siblings adds to the book's detachment from traditional values. Plus, the Binewski father is casually, but shockingly (and it must be said, creatively) disrespectful of Biblical icons in his most emphatic speech. This works in support of the often indifferent, self-contained attitude that is prevalent among the characters, and also serves in support of an interesting commentary the book consistently seems to be making about organized religion. Dunn maintains the atmosphere of her book well by inserting these kinds of character commentaries and bizarre metaphors. By mixing them with valid emotions and concerns, warped in their evocation in the characters as they may be, she almost makes the reader believe that the concept of the novel is natural and that the situations existing therein could easily exist in our world. Least of all, she prepares the reader to be ready to accept the extraordinary.

Once you read about the Binewski family, you will not find it easy to forget them.

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Summary: Cults, geeks, love, freaks.
Review: Katherine Dunn's Geek Love has several thematic concerns, among them power in relationships, genetic manipulation, the concept of human self-image and body image, love, sex, and arguably a few more. Her principle thematic intention lies with a phenomenon that was receiving particularly widespread attention during the late 1970's and early 1980's when Geek Love was conceived and written. As Dunn herself states, when asked what inspired the novel in an interview I found in an online magazine, "I must say, the primary thrust of the book, for me, is the examination of cults." Following the novel's epilogue, Dunn includes a self-examination piece simply entitled "Katherine Dunn." In it she describes her reaction to the now infamous Jonestown Massacre, the mass cult suicide of the late 1970's. She states that the news of the incident "hit [her] like a bullet in the chest and [she] still wake[s] up shaking and sweating occasionally." Within the next year she conceived and began writing Geek Love, which follows the exploits of the Binewskis, a traveling carnival family that boasts several freak children, all of which were dreamed up and created through various prenatal poisoning methods by the Binewski parents, Crystal Lil and Al. The children are Olympia, an albino dwarf hunchback who is also the book's narrator, Arty, dubbed "Aqua Boy," born with flippers instead of limbs, Iphy and Elly, a set of Siamese twins who share a single set of legs, and Fortuanto, also known as Chick, who appears normal but has an extremely powerful telekinetic ability. The novel is split into two periods of time, the "present" chapters follow the exploits of Olympia as she tries to defend her daughter Miranda from the sick and twisted "hobby" of Miss Lick, a deranged woman who has created a kind of cult of women she intentionally deforms in order to make them sexually unappealing so they can better themselves through education and hard work. Miss Lick is after Miranda's tail (yes, an actual tail, she is a Binewski, after all...), which she believes men find sexually attractive. As part of her plan of attack, Olympia befriends Miss Lick, and during the course of this friendship admits to Olympia (whose true identity she knows nothing of) that the inception of her pastime was strongly influenced by a certain cult that existed years before, the Arturans. The Arturans are a cult that was created by Olympia's brother Arty, and it is the birth and life of this cult that is the principle focus of the "past" chapters of the book. Dunn creates one of contemporary fiction's most charismatic villains in Arty, who manipulates with great skill most of the characters and events that occur in the book, even some that he has no direct hand in, such as those of the present time. His cult preaches a grisly method of self-improvement, one of surgical removal of one's own limbs in order to achieve the so-called enlightenment that Arty has acquired through a life sans appendages. Dunn skillfully weaves a web of relationships driven by one party having power over another, be it through the cult mentality, or love, or even simple lust. The results are sometimes funny, often ironic, frequently sad, and ultimately...well, read the book to answer that one specifically, but for now let's just say exciting. I have read reviews that describe this book as a difficult read, but I did not find this to be the case. Dunn uses a clear, relatively simple prose style that is fast-paced despite the novel's length, and is never dull or tedious. For readers who are not easily offended or put off by somewhat shocking subject matter, there is something in this book to please all of them.

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Summary: The World of Carnival Freaks
Review: Katherine Dunn's third novel "Geek Love" succeeds in bringing our culture's gross obsession with beauty to light, through the story of the Binewski Carnival Fabulon. Although not every single dramatic choice in the novel furthers this thematic concern, I highly recommend it because the quality of the story makes the few thematic sacrifices worthwhile. The tale of the family of freaks is related through the main character, Oly, who Dunn follows through two realms of life - her past traveling with the carnival, and her relationship in the present with a daughter who, for most of the book, is unaware Oly is her mother. Oly is an albino hunchback dwarf, which according to her parents, doean't quite make her freakish enough for the big show. This honor is left to her brother Arty, who has flippers instead of limbs, and her siamese twin sisters Elly and Iphy. Dunn reveals early on that the children were created through specific combinations of drugs and radioisotopes during their mother's pregnancy. This helps lead one to Dunn's major thematic concern. The world of the Binewski Carnival Fabulon she's created is really an inverse portrait of the world we live in, in which anorexia, diet pills, cosmetic surgery, and heroin shiek are so omnipresent. In the carnival world, freakishness brings one power, not beauty. This is expressed dramatically through the Binewski parent's creation of their family, who purposefully genetically alter their kids, and come close to dumping an apparently normal child by the highway. It's expressed clearly through a scene in which a 'norm' shoots Arty after being disgusted by the mere sight of the family. It's also expressed through the cult headed by Arty, the numerous followers of which have all their limbs amputated in a slow, careful process. Arty's wild and captivating persona, much like the advertisements that flood our world, convincing us to look as beautiful as possible, is able to draw lost souls out of the audience looking for a something, settling on unneccesary surgery. As I mentioned, Dunn juggles two settings in the novel, the history of the carnival and Oly's new life. In a way, both build to their own climax point, but generally, the history sections serve the present-day sections, supplying the reader with some answers concerning Oly's actions. Oly loves her daughter Miranda, and although she's having difficulty being honest, wants nothing more in life than her daughter's well being. Miranda is approached by a lonely, wealthy older woman, Miss Lick, who indulges in the odd hobby of disfiguring beautiful women. In Miss Lick's opinion, she is helping the girls overcome the handicap of beauty, helping them to be more like her, saving them from the animal lust of men. Miranda happens to have a tail, a leftover from the glowing Binewski gene pool, and Miss Lick wants to have it removed. Oly, in order to stop the removal, befriends Miss Lick, who reveals all her secrets about changing women's lives through surgery. Oly's actions are a great aid to interpreting Dunn's major theme. Oly, raised in a world where freakishness rather than beauty brings power, will not stand to see her daughter's only connection to the Binewski family severed. Oly's love and protection of Miranda lead to an exciting finish. It's no chore to read through the few dramtic scenes which don't directly support the central theme, since all are lively and entertaining. I recommend "Geek Love" because it succeeds on both dramatic and thematic levels, raising the legitimate question of our society's focus on physical attractiveness, while telling the captivating tale of the lives of carnival freaks.

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Summary: A must for the morbidly curious...
Review: An avid reader with specific tastes, cut my teeth on VC Andrews and love vampire science fiction (Lumley) and serial killer suspense (Johanssen). This book HAS IT ALL, a sampling of all the things that make us stare and then feel guilty, then sneak another look. But the great part about the book is that - No one is going to catch you looking! As with all the books I love, I was sorry to turn the last page, but this was a great read for those who actually "see" the book unfold in their mind as if it's on a widescreen.

Rating:
Summary: A good book that doesn't reach its full potential
Review: I expected this book to be all kinds of greatness since the last book my friend recommended me was amazingly wonderful. Let me first say that this is a good book. Not in the sense that it was great, but it was good. It was certainly very well written. Most of the characters are very well developed. And the storyline is certainly intriguing. But it lacks a certain something that ties it all together to make it truly great. It just seemed like a lot of things that happened, and at the end of it I felt kind of dissapointed. I didn't really feel that feeling after you read an exceptionally good book.

This could be because of a few things. First, things happen without explanation. Especially towards the end. I never really understand the full motivation of the character's actions. Second, I couldn't relate to any of the characters. I thoguht they were INTERESTING. but i couldn't really sympathize for any of them. For instance, I was intrigued by Arty. But I didn't understand why he had to go to such extremes near the end of the novel. I learned early on what motivated Arty, but near the end, his actions made no sense at all to me. Arty didn't seem HUMAN to me. For the first half of the novel at least he felt HUMAN. Most of the other characters were the same way. Or I just totally didnt' agree with them. Or they made me angry.

And finally, I thought the ending was weak and contrived. Things just ended... KABOOM! Whatever.

I think it had the potential to be a great book but it missed on a lot of levels. The author kept concentrating on the twisted plot and on making weird scenes, but she kind of forgot to put the heart and feeling into it so that the things that happen actually mean something to the reader