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A review by margyreads
Toad by Katherine Dunn
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Tired of thin people writing about how grotesque it is to exist as a fat person.
Dunn gives power to ugliness and outcasts and people living on the fringe, which I adore. It is, however, tender to always have fatness tied to otherness, like fat people can’t also be pretty and desirable and funny and gentle.
That major critique aside, I adore Dunn’s control of language, enjoyed the imagery, and am grateful we all are able to experience her work in new ways even after her death. This story was not quite as powerful as Geek Love, but was obviously influenced by Dunn’s life, and was the book she needed to write when she did. The introduction adds delightful depth to the book.
Dunn gives power to ugliness and outcasts and people living on the fringe, which I adore. It is, however, tender to always have fatness tied to otherness, like fat people can’t also be pretty and desirable and funny and gentle.
That major critique aside, I adore Dunn’s control of language, enjoyed the imagery, and am grateful we all are able to experience her work in new ways even after her death. This story was not quite as powerful as Geek Love, but was obviously influenced by Dunn’s life, and was the book she needed to write when she did. The introduction adds delightful depth to the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Animal death