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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Highly interested in the experimentation of genetics and intentionally breeding circus acts. Less interested in disfigurement cults and incestuous telekinetic insemination.
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So, not only is it weird because it's about a family of freaks created purposefully by their carnie parents, but the personalities of said freaks are also freakish. I felt no empathy for Arty, the aqua boy who takes over the whole show, the weirdos who cut off their limbs one by one to be like him, the relatively personality-less siamese twins, the scuttlebutt albino hunchback dwarf narrator who can't get a show of her own at the carnival but is slavishly devoted to Arty, and the youngest brother who feels bad because he's told he's so normal when in fact he's got transcendental mental abilities. The whole story is bookended by the narrator's present-day tale of her daughter who has a tail and thinks she's an orphan.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Disturbing, cold, cursed. Took me forever because despite all the shock value I was still pretty bored throughout.
I may change my rating after thinking about this more. It was very well written and descriptive but often depressing with an element of “WTF did I just read?” thrown in for good measure.
One of my recent faves. A family of circus freaks, the kids bred by their parents (also freaks) to keep them in the business. A dark, well-written story.
4.5 because this book is so so great and the characters are genius and so well developed. you totally fall in love with olympia in the first chapter. so much so that you forget that she too is under Arty’s spell. the only thing i wished for was more description of some of the big moments in the book. i often wondered if i had missed something and has to flip back to the small sentence where the author reveals a huge event that occurred.
This was very unfortunate. I was quite excited about this book, it had so much promise. I only made it 20% thru and I did not have the will to go on. So disappointing.