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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
This book was sufficiently disturbing and sad for my taste. 4 stars.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Totally engrossing and totally disturbing. One of the best books I've ever read, and I'm still haunted by it.
Reread February 2025: As spectacular as the first go around. Not for normies.
One of the more unexpected great reads of recent times for me. Beautiful, traumatic, weird, dark, sweet and a truly thought provoking commentary on the way we perceive others through our familial upbringings. Profoundly strange in all the right ways.
One of the more unexpected great reads of recent times for me. Beautiful, traumatic, weird, dark, sweet and a truly thought provoking commentary on the way we perceive others through our familial upbringings. Profoundly strange in all the right ways.
Almost comically misleading name and cover- this book was a wild ride into circus freakishness and the darkest pits of humanity. I was so pulled into the story, the characters are so unique and the sometimes made-up circus language does a lot for building a complete and engaging world. One of the most disturbing books I'll probably ever read, and certainly one I'll be thinking about for a while.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Man— I loved this book. Really beautiful, twisted, depressing, but so full of life. Extremely bizarre, screwed up family (maybe the most I’ve read of in a book), but I love those freaks and geeks!
Probably the most disturbing book I have ever read. Probably won't ever reread but it was very compellingly written and very unsettling to read.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Rating my EXPERIENCE with this book: 4 out of 5 stars
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn follows the Binewski family, a traveling carnival troupe whose proprietors, Al and Lil, deliberately breed their children with genetic mutations to create a lineup of unique "attractions." Narrated by one of the siblings, Olympia, a hunchbacked albino dwarf, the novel explores decades of bonds, rivalries, and transformations within this deeply unconventional family.
Geek Love was the first Libby book I borrowed that required nearly the entire loan period to finish (it's due two days from the day I'm writing this). I mention this because I think the time it took me to read it is relevant to explaining my experience with the book.
It's not difficult to read due to dense or complex prose—quite the opposite. The writing is beautiful. And at 368 pages, it's not what I would call a "chonker." It also wasn't "challenging" for me in the way something like To Kill a Mockingbird was. So, what made it take so long? I'll try to explain. I've said this in a few reviews now: I enjoy books that harmoniously balance character and plot. Geek Love is foremost a character-focused novel, but it never felt like it meandered. It stays very present with its cast of characters, which kept me interested. At the same time, I could never read more than one or two chapters in a sitting.
Why? Well, I'm still trying to figure that out.
Let's cut to the chase: I liked this book a lot. I found it to be a vivid and visceral story that examines a spectrum of human behaviors and, for the most part, kept me curious and engaged. In terms of genre, it's a hard book to categorize. I've heard it called horror, which could apply, but it's not written in a way that aims to scare the reader (at least, that wasn't my experience).
So, coming back to why I couldn't read more than a chapter or two at a time, I'm not sure. The best I can come up with is that Geek Love delivers a lot, maybe even on a subconscious level, making processing the story feel like more work than the act of reading itself. Perhaps it lingers beneath thought after the fact. I'm still not sure, but I'll repeat: I liked this book, and I think anyone who enjoys unusual themes and characters in detailed, unique settings may enjoy it, too.
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn follows the Binewski family, a traveling carnival troupe whose proprietors, Al and Lil, deliberately breed their children with genetic mutations to create a lineup of unique "attractions." Narrated by one of the siblings, Olympia, a hunchbacked albino dwarf, the novel explores decades of bonds, rivalries, and transformations within this deeply unconventional family.
Geek Love was the first Libby book I borrowed that required nearly the entire loan period to finish (it's due two days from the day I'm writing this). I mention this because I think the time it took me to read it is relevant to explaining my experience with the book.
It's not difficult to read due to dense or complex prose—quite the opposite. The writing is beautiful. And at 368 pages, it's not what I would call a "chonker." It also wasn't "challenging" for me in the way something like To Kill a Mockingbird was. So, what made it take so long? I'll try to explain. I've said this in a few reviews now: I enjoy books that harmoniously balance character and plot. Geek Love is foremost a character-focused novel, but it never felt like it meandered. It stays very present with its cast of characters, which kept me interested. At the same time, I could never read more than one or two chapters in a sitting.
Why? Well, I'm still trying to figure that out.
Let's cut to the chase: I liked this book a lot. I found it to be a vivid and visceral story that examines a spectrum of human behaviors and, for the most part, kept me curious and engaged. In terms of genre, it's a hard book to categorize. I've heard it called horror, which could apply, but it's not written in a way that aims to scare the reader (at least, that wasn't my experience).
So, coming back to why I couldn't read more than a chapter or two at a time, I'm not sure. The best I can come up with is that Geek Love delivers a lot, maybe even on a subconscious level, making processing the story feel like more work than the act of reading itself. Perhaps it lingers beneath thought after the fact. I'm still not sure, but I'll repeat: I liked this book, and I think anyone who enjoys unusual themes and characters in detailed, unique settings may enjoy it, too.
Couldn’t really get into it but I tried and really wanted to