Strange and wonderful novel full of interesting characters. This is one of the few books I've read several times. ( )

I am going to warn you now that this book is not an easy read. Not because of its choice of words or its style, but it will emotionally and mentally beat you up. I personally love books that make me feel, and this one runs the gamut from rage and disgust to sympathy and empathy. It definitely answers the age old question, “What do you do when your circus side show starts to lose popularity?” (Ok maybe YOU have never thought that, but I’m sure someone out there has), and this book’s answer is, “Breed your own, at what ever costs necessary.” And the Binewski family pays, and pays handsomely (pun intended).

Meet the Binewski family: Al and “Crystal” Lil run a circus… well they did, though over time the traveling circus has lost some appeal, and with exciting new acts being thought up all the time, they needed to think of something that no one could beat. Of all of the possible ideas they could have come up with, they decided that breeding their own freak show would be the most affordable, and likely the most crowd grabbing way to do so. “Crystal” Lil takes different drugs and radioactive materials during her pregnancies and the results are her five surviving children and menagerie of still born, but formaldehyde preserved less viable offspring. Read More ( )

Tried this one but I just couldn't get into it. I had a tough time getting into the story about a family of circus side show performers (carnies). I didn't find the characters to be very sympathetic just whiny and uninteresting. ( )

How do you review a book like this? There's an outrage on every page, and I mean that in only the most admiring sense. This vivid, surreal story features mutated individuals, but underneath all the lovely, diverting carnival atmosphere, is a scathing indictment on the Ameridcan focus on appearance. There are appalling, although true-to-life, events and consequences, but they're all seen from the inside out.

I don't know if Katherine Dunn has published anything else, but "Geek Love" secures her a place in my pantheon of amazing, awe-inspiring authors. ( )

Amazingingly imaginative. This book is both engrossing and disturbing. Just when you get used to it, the author ups the ante. And as freakish as it is, she makes it all seem kind of normal, too. A must-read for anyone who loves books. ( )