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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
4.5 stars. This deeply touched me AND revolted me all at once. I’ve never read anything like this ever in my life and I don’t think I ever will
A strange and fascinating set of characters that Dunn has brought to life remarkably well, suffers a little from the ending and the frame story. However, that doesn't diminish the fact that this right here is what I'm looking for from circus books. At times I felt a little sick in my stomach which doesn't happen very often. What I truly loved in this world of freaks, smell of popcorn, extremely vivid characters and nauseating scenarios, was that this is ultimately a tale about what it means to be human. It contemplates and challenges our society norms and how we're used to view it from a certain point of view. Do physically different people disgust us and do we want to marginalize them, because they remind us about our inner deformities?
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury
A good read overall and certainly an interesting idea for the basis of the novel. I found it somewhat hard to follow in places due to certain time skips but the overall plot was interesting. The novel is certainly thought-provoking and engrossing in places, yet in others I was bored.
I would recommend this if you like intellectual, gross, intriguing and down-right odd storytelling.
I would recommend this if you like intellectual, gross, intriguing and down-right odd storytelling.
This book made my skin crawl in all the best ways. Disgusting, weird, unnatural and slimy yet thoughtful, unique, laudable and fun. A wild tale of toxic family dynamics, mixed with sci-fi style mutations and cult personalities, this was a narrative full of twists and turns. I was never bored reading. The premise of it is completely fucked up and I can understand why a lot of people hate it or don’t finish it. Not for the faint of heart.
That being, If you’re looking for a read unlike anything else, that will make you say “what the fuck” but also “wow, that was thought provoking” and you don’t mind topics like incest and body mutalation, this is for you. I’d love to know how someone comes up with something like this.
That being, If you’re looking for a read unlike anything else, that will make you say “what the fuck” but also “wow, that was thought provoking” and you don’t mind topics like incest and body mutalation, this is for you. I’d love to know how someone comes up with something like this.
This is probably the weirdest book to ever be recommended to me by any therapist, but shouts out to my therapist for being like, "Oh, you like circus books too? Then you should read this one, it's my favorite!"
Girl. This book was bananas. This book was like watching a car accident happen, and all of the people who crawled out of the wreckage were assholes or just messed up people or both. The amount of times that I put the book down, said "what the fuck?" quietly to myself, and then picked it back up again, are too numerous to count.
I can't really give it more than 3 stars because I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, per se? Like I imagine going to a genuine circus of freaks would be like, it was more that I couldn't look away, and was both horrified and intrigued as it kept going. I will still be thinking about it, yes, but more along the lines of, "you won't believe this book I just read..."
Will see what my therapist has to say about it on Thursday when I tell her yes, I read it, and also, what makes this her favorite book, and is she okay, blink twice if you need help. 3 stars!
Girl. This book was bananas. This book was like watching a car accident happen, and all of the people who crawled out of the wreckage were assholes or just messed up people or both. The amount of times that I put the book down, said "what the fuck?" quietly to myself, and then picked it back up again, are too numerous to count.
I can't really give it more than 3 stars because I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, per se? Like I imagine going to a genuine circus of freaks would be like, it was more that I couldn't look away, and was both horrified and intrigued as it kept going. I will still be thinking about it, yes, but more along the lines of, "you won't believe this book I just read..."
Will see what my therapist has to say about it on Thursday when I tell her yes, I read it, and also, what makes this her favorite book, and is she okay, blink twice if you need help. 3 stars!
This gets two stars for being interesting, but it was the most odd book I have ever read. As it went on, it seemed like the disturbing mature got ramped up to absurd levels just in order to keep the reader interested. I understand it was impossible to keep up with such a strange premise, but some of the directions it went in are too weird to think about.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes