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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Fabulous book. One of the only ones I've ever remembered reading that was beautiful and disturbing at the same time.
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was not at all what I thought it was gonna be. Pacing is all over the place, switches between spending so much time and soo many words on random unimportant or weird stuff, and then no time at all is given to what could be interesting. Plus Ollys die hard love and admiration for Arty makes no sense. Couldn’t finish it, I was bored and grossed out in ways I was not expecting
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A bit uneven, but maybe in a good way. Maybe the closest I can think of is Dogtooth. I’ve got to check out Dunn’s boxing writing.
This book is indescribable. Creepy and darkly insightful come to mind but that doesn't quite capture the essence of this terrific and terrible novel. It is depraved and yet there are chords that struck me deeply. These are the passages about children and how they must protect their parents from the mire of childhood thoughts and then Oly's all-encompassing fear once she becomes a parent.
Geek Love will stick with you long after the final page.
Geek Love will stick with you long after the final page.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol
You remember Spartina, right? What...? SPARTINA. The novel? You don't remember that one?
It's the book that beat out Geek Love for the National Book Award in 1989.
I don't have to read Spartina to know that was a regrettable mistake.
This is a novel that makes me wish Goodreads had been a thing in 1992 so that I could see what Yvng Mii thought of this novel at the time. It blew my mind, but how? Was I drawn in by its grotesquery? It's literal and metaphorical disfigurements? Was it the self-consuming family in isolation that got me?
Whatever it may have been, this book is better now than it was then. The characters are perfectly villainous and delicately misshapen. The plots and schemes are intricate and impossibly cruel. And the love is cleverly disguised, cupped in the palm and disposed of like family is just another game we play under the colored lights of the Midway.
And the reader--Christina Moore--is magnificent.
It's the book that beat out Geek Love for the National Book Award in 1989.
I don't have to read Spartina to know that was a regrettable mistake.
This is a novel that makes me wish Goodreads had been a thing in 1992 so that I could see what Yvng Mii thought of this novel at the time. It blew my mind, but how? Was I drawn in by its grotesquery? It's literal and metaphorical disfigurements? Was it the self-consuming family in isolation that got me?
Whatever it may have been, this book is better now than it was then. The characters are perfectly villainous and delicately misshapen. The plots and schemes are intricate and impossibly cruel. And the love is cleverly disguised, cupped in the palm and disposed of like family is just another game we play under the colored lights of the Midway.
And the reader--Christina Moore--is magnificent.
"Geek Love" is a dysfunctional family history, but turned up ten notches. It follows a family of circus performers, or "freaks," who not only eschew the normal, but develop a cult around celebrating their abnormalities and bringing others into their fold.
Dunn's premise, style, and characters are truly innovative. She builds tension delicately, delighting and revolting the reader at the same time with each new discovery. Such an enjoyable read.
Dunn's premise, style, and characters are truly innovative. She builds tension delicately, delighting and revolting the reader at the same time with each new discovery. Such an enjoyable read.