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A review by miki_44
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75
This was an incredibly strange, dark little book. It’s a bit plotless, but I found myself getting lost in this weird family’s antics and hardships. The book is mostly the reader following the major life events and changes at the carnival for this family as they grow up, and coming to understand their relationships with each other, with ‘norms’, and with themselves. It discusses the way people with physical deformities are treated while subverting the expectations we have of them in the most extreme of ways.
There’s some specific plot points that I feel like I didn’t understand by the end of this that I’m not sure if I just missed or if they weren’t explained. (Miss Lick’s desire to remove Miranda’s tail for instance? Normally she causes deformities in people without them, so I didn’t understand this one. And also what caused the fire/explosion at the carnival?). I think the writing style is maybe partially why? Sometimes it’s so overwritten that I was just lost in the sauce, but I got used to to it and started to enjoy the style - there’s definitely some beautiful lines in here. Though that didn’t necessarily make it easier to follow at all times.
Solid read, I don’t think I can recommend this to the average reader, but if you’re down for a weird twisted book then definitely give it a go.
This was an incredibly strange, dark little book. It’s a bit plotless, but I found myself getting lost in this weird family’s antics and hardships. The book is mostly the reader following the major life events and changes at the carnival for this family as they grow up, and coming to understand their relationships with each other, with ‘norms’, and with themselves. It discusses the way people with physical deformities are treated while subverting the expectations we have of them in the most extreme of ways.
There’s some specific plot points that I feel like I didn’t understand by the end of this that I’m not sure if I just missed or if they weren’t explained.
Solid read, I don’t think I can recommend this to the average reader, but if you’re down for a weird twisted book then definitely give it a go.