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Toad
A previously unpublished novel of the reflections of a deeply scarred and reclusive woman, from the cult icon Katherine Dunn, the author of Geek Love.
Sally Gunnar has withdrawn from the world. She spends her days alone at home, reading drugstore mysteries, polishing the doorknobs, waxing the floors. Her only companions are a vase of goldfish, a garden toad, and the door-to-door salesman who sells her cleaning supplies once a month. She broods over her deepest regrets: her blighted romances with self-important men, her lifelong struggle to feel at home in her own body, and her wayward early twenties, when she was a fish out of water among a group of eccentric, privileged young people at a liberal arts college. There was Sam, an unabashed collector of other people’s stories; Carlotta, a troubled free spirit; and Rennel, a self-obsessed philosophy student. Self-deprecating and sardonic, Sally recounts their misadventures, up to the tragedy that tore them apart.
Colorful, crass, and profound, Toad is Katherine Dunn’s ode to her time as a student at Reed College in the late 1960s. It is filled with the same mordant observations about the darkest aspects of human nature that made Geek Love a cult classic and Dunn a misfit hero. Daring and bizarre, Toad demonstrates her genius for black humor and her ecstatic celebration of the grotesque. Fifty-some years after it was written, Toad is a timely story about the ravages of womanhood and a powerful addition to the canon of feminist fiction.
Sally Gunnar has withdrawn from the world. She spends her days alone at home, reading drugstore mysteries, polishing the doorknobs, waxing the floors. Her only companions are a vase of goldfish, a garden toad, and the door-to-door salesman who sells her cleaning supplies once a month. She broods over her deepest regrets: her blighted romances with self-important men, her lifelong struggle to feel at home in her own body, and her wayward early twenties, when she was a fish out of water among a group of eccentric, privileged young people at a liberal arts college. There was Sam, an unabashed collector of other people’s stories; Carlotta, a troubled free spirit; and Rennel, a self-obsessed philosophy student. Self-deprecating and sardonic, Sally recounts their misadventures, up to the tragedy that tore them apart.
Colorful, crass, and profound, Toad is Katherine Dunn’s ode to her time as a student at Reed College in the late 1960s. It is filled with the same mordant observations about the darkest aspects of human nature that made Geek Love a cult classic and Dunn a misfit hero. Daring and bizarre, Toad demonstrates her genius for black humor and her ecstatic celebration of the grotesque. Fifty-some years after it was written, Toad is a timely story about the ravages of womanhood and a powerful addition to the canon of feminist fiction.
352 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2022
291 people are currently reading
9839 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Dunn
35 books1,554 followersKatherine Dunn was a novelist and boxing journalist who lived and worked in Oregon. She is the author of the three novels: Attic; Truck; and Geek Love. This, her most well-known work, was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Bram Stoker Prize for horror fiction. She also authored the essay collection One Ring Circus. She died in 2016.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 381 reviews
October 19, 2023
The novel is small in scope--we are in the mind of a single smart woman who observes everything, and has nothing--but it is a mind so full of wonder and intellectual meanderings and truth that it feels like an epic story. Every sentence gave me a zing--zing--zing! of surprise. Surprising precision of thought. Surprising wisdom. Surprising humor.
I love Geek Love but I loved this novel so much more because it doesn't rely on strange unlikely people, or on events that would never happen--everything Dunn wrote here is both uniquely imagined and yet completely believable. And perfect. The perfect noun, verb, adjective, over and over. I was continuously upended and surprised by the perfection.
He had no neck. If he'd had one, it would have been pink and covered with exzema.
I read via audiobook, narrated by Christina Delaine, and she has given an extraordinary interpretation, a perfect mix of bleakness, exhilaration, and wisdom. I recommend it.
I love Geek Love but I loved this novel so much more because it doesn't rely on strange unlikely people, or on events that would never happen--everything Dunn wrote here is both uniquely imagined and yet completely believable. And perfect. The perfect noun, verb, adjective, over and over. I was continuously upended and surprised by the perfection.
He had no neck. If he'd had one, it would have been pink and covered with exzema.
I read via audiobook, narrated by Christina Delaine, and she has given an extraordinary interpretation, a perfect mix of bleakness, exhilaration, and wisdom. I recommend it.
November 4, 2022
This is a very depressing book about depression BUT it's also by Katherine Dunn, author of one of my favorite books ever (Geek Love) and her prose here is gorgeous and brutal and makes me want to scream "HOW DO YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY?" For me, the subject of the book was a 3. But the writing was a 5.
November 15, 2022
Author, Katherine Dunn’s mother beat her with any object at hand, and once threw a screwdriver at her so hard it punctured her calf. At age seventeen, she left the family home forever. In Missouri, she was arrested for passing a bad check and served a brief sentence in the Jackson County Jail.
Like fellow Portland poor girl Sally Gunnar, (protagonist in Toad), Katherine Dunn was obsessed with the cities prestigious Reed College; it’s the main backdrop for the first part of ‘Toad’.
Dunn got a full scholarship to Reed College in 1965.
Unlike Dunn, Sally is not a student; she merely waits tables, while failing to write a play.
Sally Gunner was a hermit—by choice. She lived in a “godforsaken” small town. Occasional visitors aside, her main companions are the goldfish who lived inside an old pickle jug.
“Who needs humans when you have memories? Ugly, sensuous, and scathing. Sally Gunner hides within her domestic fortress, content to bake her bread and luxuriate in her regrets, until one day, her sister-in-law mentions two names that slit [her] neatly from skull to crotch, and leave two halves gaping bloodily at the fish”.
I have not read ‘Geek Love’ yet…. but this book is ruthless - sad - sad - devastating- sad! Surface humor — wrapped in a box of personal grief.
Given that I went into this book blind—knew absolutely nothing about the history of this book or the author, I found reading about the author’s background as interesting I did this story.
A story from the sixties….
“Conventional femininity may seem at first like an uncomfortable little dress”….
“but in fact it is something worse—poisoned like Medea’s wedding gown, it will consume it wearer in the end”.
As for me — I got an experience of a woman who lived an isolated life by choice, a woman who didn’t trust people easily.
We also meet a hippie couple that completely epitomized the counterculture of the times.
It’s fascinating when a book is brought back from 50 years ago—only to begin to leave its mark.
And where our protagonist chose social isolation—I found it relatable to the ‘forced’ social isolation since the pandemic. The health risks, loneliness, and emotional toll it takes on a person is costly.
Katherine Dunn died in 2016…. I think she found solace before she died of lung cancer. (I certainly like to hope so) …..
And in this book Sally gets her resurrection.
Like fellow Portland poor girl Sally Gunnar, (protagonist in Toad), Katherine Dunn was obsessed with the cities prestigious Reed College; it’s the main backdrop for the first part of ‘Toad’.
Dunn got a full scholarship to Reed College in 1965.
Unlike Dunn, Sally is not a student; she merely waits tables, while failing to write a play.
Sally Gunner was a hermit—by choice. She lived in a “godforsaken” small town. Occasional visitors aside, her main companions are the goldfish who lived inside an old pickle jug.
“Who needs humans when you have memories? Ugly, sensuous, and scathing. Sally Gunner hides within her domestic fortress, content to bake her bread and luxuriate in her regrets, until one day, her sister-in-law mentions two names that slit [her] neatly from skull to crotch, and leave two halves gaping bloodily at the fish”.
I have not read ‘Geek Love’ yet…. but this book is ruthless - sad - sad - devastating- sad! Surface humor — wrapped in a box of personal grief.
Given that I went into this book blind—knew absolutely nothing about the history of this book or the author, I found reading about the author’s background as interesting I did this story.
A story from the sixties….
“Conventional femininity may seem at first like an uncomfortable little dress”….
“but in fact it is something worse—poisoned like Medea’s wedding gown, it will consume it wearer in the end”.
As for me — I got an experience of a woman who lived an isolated life by choice, a woman who didn’t trust people easily.
We also meet a hippie couple that completely epitomized the counterculture of the times.
It’s fascinating when a book is brought back from 50 years ago—only to begin to leave its mark.
And where our protagonist chose social isolation—I found it relatable to the ‘forced’ social isolation since the pandemic. The health risks, loneliness, and emotional toll it takes on a person is costly.
Katherine Dunn died in 2016…. I think she found solace before she died of lung cancer. (I certainly like to hope so) …..
And in this book Sally gets her resurrection.
October 20, 2022
A previously unpublished novel by the late, great Katherine Dunn, author of the magnificent GEEK LOVE? Sign me up! Luckily, Macmillan Audio did just that.
Sally Gunnar has retreated from the world. She lives in a small house with her toad and goldfish and rarely leaves. Sally reminisces about how she got there, and that's where the story lives. She recounts her college days which were mostly spent with a fellow student named Sam. Sally tells us what happened during those years; about Sam and his girlfriend Carlotta, about the foreign woman downstairs from her college apartment, about Rennel, his poetry and workout routines. She also tells us about her battle with mental health. That's all I will say about the plot-what little of it there is, because it should be discovered by the reader as the author intended.
As the tale progressed. I realized I didn't like any of these characters, including Sally herself. Her friends all seemed to have money and privilege, while Sally had nothing. Sam had Carlotta, Rennel had his workout routine and his poetry. I'm not even sure any of these people were her friends in the purest definition of the word. They were horrible to her, to each other, and to pretty much to everyone.
So why did I continue to listen to a story in which I hated everyone? Because somehow it was compelling. These lives were such train wrecks and the characters so stupid and often blind, yet I couldn't tear myself away. Something about the way Dunn writes, I can't quite put my finger on it, kept me listening intently, even through the clouds of darkness and depression that surround this tale.
As I mentioned, I listened to TOAD on audio and the narrator, Christina Delaine, was fabulous. To be completely honest, I'm not sure I would've enjoyed it as much as I did if I had read it instead of listening to it. Ms. Delaine's voicing elevated what would probably have been a 3 star read to a 4 star one.
I feel like I do need to put some trigger warnings here, but I'm going to put them behind spoiler tags, so readers that have no triggers can just skip over them.
Overall, I did end up enjoying this story, even though the darkness was often palpable. I'm not sure "enjoy" is the correct word, but I could say the same thing about GEEK LOVE. Somehow Katherine Dunn kept my interest... in fact, it's almost like she hypnotized me. I disliked all of these characters, but somehow I couldn't tear myself away from them.
With superior voicing and a tale so compelling, I have to recommend the audio of TOAD.
*Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
Sally Gunnar has retreated from the world. She lives in a small house with her toad and goldfish and rarely leaves. Sally reminisces about how she got there, and that's where the story lives. She recounts her college days which were mostly spent with a fellow student named Sam. Sally tells us what happened during those years; about Sam and his girlfriend Carlotta, about the foreign woman downstairs from her college apartment, about Rennel, his poetry and workout routines. She also tells us about her battle with mental health. That's all I will say about the plot-what little of it there is, because it should be discovered by the reader as the author intended.
As the tale progressed. I realized I didn't like any of these characters, including Sally herself. Her friends all seemed to have money and privilege, while Sally had nothing. Sam had Carlotta, Rennel had his workout routine and his poetry. I'm not even sure any of these people were her friends in the purest definition of the word. They were horrible to her, to each other, and to pretty much to everyone.
So why did I continue to listen to a story in which I hated everyone? Because somehow it was compelling. These lives were such train wrecks and the characters so stupid and often blind, yet I couldn't tear myself away. Something about the way Dunn writes, I can't quite put my finger on it, kept me listening intently, even through the clouds of darkness and depression that surround this tale.
As I mentioned, I listened to TOAD on audio and the narrator, Christina Delaine, was fabulous. To be completely honest, I'm not sure I would've enjoyed it as much as I did if I had read it instead of listening to it. Ms. Delaine's voicing elevated what would probably have been a 3 star read to a 4 star one.
I feel like I do need to put some trigger warnings here, but I'm going to put them behind spoiler tags, so readers that have no triggers can just skip over them.
Overall, I did end up enjoying this story, even though the darkness was often palpable. I'm not sure "enjoy" is the correct word, but I could say the same thing about GEEK LOVE. Somehow Katherine Dunn kept my interest... in fact, it's almost like she hypnotized me. I disliked all of these characters, but somehow I couldn't tear myself away from them.
With superior voicing and a tale so compelling, I have to recommend the audio of TOAD.
*Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
October 7, 2022
I was both nervous and excited to be blessed with an ARC for Toad (thank you kind publisher). Excited because Dunn's GEEK LOVE is a book I consider a masterpiece and one I reread every few years that manages to have the same impact each time I read it. Nervous because I feared my undying love for Geek Love might make anything else pale in comparison and perhaps that is a bit of what happened to me here because I had a struggle.
I wanted to adore and love this book and give it all five stars but pretending to do so wouldn't be honest because there were several points in this story where I nearly gave it up because it was either making me feel depressed or I'd catch myself tuning out. Before someone with all the smarts comes here and yells at me and says "Well, you shouldn't have expected another story just like Geek Love, all book babies are different" I'm here to stress that I didn't. I knew going in and reading the blurb that this book was a different story entirely but I will admit that I was expecting a story whose characters would captivate me even if I hated them and that just didn't happen here. There was no emotional connection just a feeling of going along with the words and a strong feeling of "meh, let's get through this". There are some beautiful passages and painful insights here, don't get me wrong, but ultimately this book and me? We did not mesh and I'll be sad about that for a long while.
Toad is about an older woman named Sally who lives a quiet and solitary existence and who, as the story soon reveals, is deeply depressed. Sally spends the majority of the book recounting tales of her college years spent with a small group of misfit friends. It's all coated with a layer of grime and filth and ick which is FINE (I don't mind that stuff usually) but it's also told through the lens of a deeply depressed, bitter and jealous woman filled with self-loathing who quite honestly is terrible and thoughtlessly says cruel things to her friends. This brings me to the drabness of the story. The friends barely react when something cruel is said. It can be interesting to read about conflict but they just soak it in and suck it up or don't seem to care enough to get upset. It isn't until nearly the end of the book that some of this behavior (which bugged me throughout) is addressed in a small way. There's little joy or humor and sometimes it felt very monotonous and like it wasn't ever going to go anywhere (and now that I'm done, I'm not completely sure that it ever did). Books don't often throw me into a funk but something about this one did and I nearly quit at about the 80% mark. I ended up pushing through because I felt obligated due to receiving an ARC that I requested but I do have some regrets about ignoring my gut.
There are many reviewers who enjoyed this much more than I did and who are mentioning the depression but there are many other things here that some readers may want a little heads up about before wading in unaware. I'll put the events in a content warning for those who would like to know about upsetting things before jumping in. Also, none of these events are the reason for my 2-star review, I can handle tough content. It simply didn't work for me here because I never felt emotionally invested in any of it. That's the difference.
In the end, this book made me feel very gloomy and blah but not in any kind of cathartic or emotionally devastating way but your experience may be different.
Content Warning
I wanted to adore and love this book and give it all five stars but pretending to do so wouldn't be honest because there were several points in this story where I nearly gave it up because it was either making me feel depressed or I'd catch myself tuning out. Before someone with all the smarts comes here and yells at me and says "Well, you shouldn't have expected another story just like Geek Love, all book babies are different" I'm here to stress that I didn't. I knew going in and reading the blurb that this book was a different story entirely but I will admit that I was expecting a story whose characters would captivate me even if I hated them and that just didn't happen here. There was no emotional connection just a feeling of going along with the words and a strong feeling of "meh, let's get through this". There are some beautiful passages and painful insights here, don't get me wrong, but ultimately this book and me? We did not mesh and I'll be sad about that for a long while.
Toad is about an older woman named Sally who lives a quiet and solitary existence and who, as the story soon reveals, is deeply depressed. Sally spends the majority of the book recounting tales of her college years spent with a small group of misfit friends. It's all coated with a layer of grime and filth and ick which is FINE (I don't mind that stuff usually) but it's also told through the lens of a deeply depressed, bitter and jealous woman filled with self-loathing who quite honestly is terrible and thoughtlessly says cruel things to her friends. This brings me to the drabness of the story. The friends barely react when something cruel is said. It can be interesting to read about conflict but they just soak it in and suck it up or don't seem to care enough to get upset. It isn't until nearly the end of the book that some of this behavior (which bugged me throughout) is addressed in a small way. There's little joy or humor and sometimes it felt very monotonous and like it wasn't ever going to go anywhere (and now that I'm done, I'm not completely sure that it ever did). Books don't often throw me into a funk but something about this one did and I nearly quit at about the 80% mark. I ended up pushing through because I felt obligated due to receiving an ARC that I requested but I do have some regrets about ignoring my gut.
There are many reviewers who enjoyed this much more than I did and who are mentioning the depression but there are many other things here that some readers may want a little heads up about before wading in unaware. I'll put the events in a content warning for those who would like to know about upsetting things before jumping in. Also, none of these events are the reason for my 2-star review, I can handle tough content. It simply didn't work for me here because I never felt emotionally invested in any of it. That's the difference.
In the end, this book made me feel very gloomy and blah but not in any kind of cathartic or emotionally devastating way but your experience may be different.
Content Warning
November 17, 2022
not as out there as Geek Love but it does have an equally as scrungy heart. A lot of my foibles with it probably have to do with its existence as a manuscript that was then edited into book form after Dunn had died. the afterword by the editor talks about how she had to make the book more conventional, turn it into chapters and rearrange some of the chronology. I almost wish it had been left as it was, as an "original scroll" if you will, so we could see it as Dunn had seen it. maybe someday we'll get the unexpurgated Toad.
Read
October 25, 2022Like GEEK LOVE, TOAD is a novel like no other. It is an epic exploration of the train wreck nightmare of the countercultural, back-to-the land, young white woman of the 1960’s subjected to the earth mother deception and the burden of hippie patriarchy. Like most female experiences, it is a central motif of American life that has never been explored in a major work. In other words, like almost anything interesting about women, it was decades ahead of its pathetic time.
August 29, 2022
Even though I am out of my covid quarantine, I still feeling fuzzy headed and funky, and while I am no longer reading and reviewing from the confines of my living room couch, I still consider this covd read #6. Lol. Damn the 'Rona!
I've had Geek Love on my TBR for a while now and the only reason I left it there unread in favor of this one was because I requested the arc, and felt compelled to get to it before it released. Though now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have because... oh gosh, don't hate me... I was really unimpressed with Toad.
I've been there/done that with the whole sad girl genre and when written well, can totally get into it. But this one seemed to infect me with a strange malaise. It actually, literaly impacted my mood. It was just soooo blaaaah. I mean, ok, look, as I get older, I become more and more comfortable with the fact that I'm an introverted extrovert. I can do the socializing with people thing like the rest of you do,but then I need time to just back away and chill and reset. I get that about myself. And I thing most people, if they are honest with themselves, also like a break from other people from time to time but holy crap does this book work the one end of that spectrum to DEATH.
Our protag is basically living a hermetic life now after surviving a pretty bad mental breakdown, tucked away in her tiny home with a jug of fish on her counter and a vocal old toad in her garden, and staying as far from other people as possible.
The entire book is basically her dishing us up a plate of some really funky memories. And I can't tell if she's contentedly reliving these in her mind, or if she's just that haunted by them. Mainly, they are of a few friends she used to hang with that were a little odd and offbeat and whom she didn't even really seem to LIKE to hang with, by the way. Every so often there'd be a horror story with a boyfriend or co-worker for funsies. But ultimately, we float in and out of these moments with her and god she was such a bitch to everyone and everyone seemed to treat her like shit or put up with her simply because she was there and there so many times I thought I should probably just put this down and walk away because, while I wasn't hating it, I also wasn't getting into it, and I just kept disliking her more, the more I read. And it felt a little toxic. But here we are, less than two days and more than 350 pages later...
sigh.
I've had Geek Love on my TBR for a while now and the only reason I left it there unread in favor of this one was because I requested the arc, and felt compelled to get to it before it released. Though now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have because... oh gosh, don't hate me... I was really unimpressed with Toad.
I've been there/done that with the whole sad girl genre and when written well, can totally get into it. But this one seemed to infect me with a strange malaise. It actually, literaly impacted my mood. It was just soooo blaaaah. I mean, ok, look, as I get older, I become more and more comfortable with the fact that I'm an introverted extrovert. I can do the socializing with people thing like the rest of you do,but then I need time to just back away and chill and reset. I get that about myself. And I thing most people, if they are honest with themselves, also like a break from other people from time to time but holy crap does this book work the one end of that spectrum to DEATH.
Our protag is basically living a hermetic life now after surviving a pretty bad mental breakdown, tucked away in her tiny home with a jug of fish on her counter and a vocal old toad in her garden, and staying as far from other people as possible.
The entire book is basically her dishing us up a plate of some really funky memories. And I can't tell if she's contentedly reliving these in her mind, or if she's just that haunted by them. Mainly, they are of a few friends she used to hang with that were a little odd and offbeat and whom she didn't even really seem to LIKE to hang with, by the way. Every so often there'd be a horror story with a boyfriend or co-worker for funsies. But ultimately, we float in and out of these moments with her and god she was such a bitch to everyone and everyone seemed to treat her like shit or put up with her simply because she was there and there so many times I thought I should probably just put this down and walk away because, while I wasn't hating it, I also wasn't getting into it, and I just kept disliking her more, the more I read. And it felt a little toxic. But here we are, less than two days and more than 350 pages later...
sigh.
February 2, 2023
This novel begins with the main character's latter years, looking back on her life. It's clear that her early adult years were absolutely completey bonkers, but also captivating. One thing we've all had slightly in common is that we've experienced that stage of life where everything is performative. So, at first, I could relate, just a little.
When I heard that this was Dunn's "lost novel" I expected something more contemplative and philosophical. Though cringeworthy on the surface, these earliest memories are at least played out with light, absurdist humor in the beginning. Even the most grossly visceral elements of the story are relayed so casually that they lack punch and take on the palatability of any other bizarre feature. I did not expect the first third of the story to be so funny.
But, then the story took a really sharp turn down a dark path into bleak despair, highlighting the unsettling sharpness and pain of brutally honest self-reflection and self-deprecation. Those lines cut deep, where the humor had simply skimmed and skipped off the surface.
Dunn shines a harsh and unforgiving light on the myriad of ugly ways in which lack of self-esteem can manifest. The way in which the author broaches the memories of abuse are both horrifying and effective.
The most harrowing moment for me was not during any of the particularly gross descriptions of the living conditions of the perpetually unwashed (though, criminy, it's a lot!) but rather occurred at the point when the main character meticulously planned and carried out a cruel verbal assault on a defenseless human being. It's almost intolerable to me to see a hurt soul turn their own hurt into a cruel weapon to use on someone else. At this point, I was a little disgusted with all of the characters and it only got worse from there.
This novel is well-written, but other than the first third, it was not really enjoyable..
When I heard that this was Dunn's "lost novel" I expected something more contemplative and philosophical. Though cringeworthy on the surface, these earliest memories are at least played out with light, absurdist humor in the beginning. Even the most grossly visceral elements of the story are relayed so casually that they lack punch and take on the palatability of any other bizarre feature. I did not expect the first third of the story to be so funny.
But, then the story took a really sharp turn down a dark path into bleak despair, highlighting the unsettling sharpness and pain of brutally honest self-reflection and self-deprecation. Those lines cut deep, where the humor had simply skimmed and skipped off the surface.
Dunn shines a harsh and unforgiving light on the myriad of ugly ways in which lack of self-esteem can manifest. The way in which the author broaches the memories of abuse are both horrifying and effective.
The most harrowing moment for me was not during any of the particularly gross descriptions of the living conditions of the perpetually unwashed (though, criminy, it's a lot!) but rather occurred at the point when the main character meticulously planned and carried out a cruel verbal assault on a defenseless human being. It's almost intolerable to me to see a hurt soul turn their own hurt into a cruel weapon to use on someone else. At this point, I was a little disgusted with all of the characters and it only got worse from there.
This novel is well-written, but other than the first third, it was not really enjoyable..
March 7, 2024
dunn was doing weird girl lit before everyone else was. tragic & strange & bleak. her sentences are something else
January 4, 2024
The most underappreciated genius you’ve never read. I hope more people continue to find her work now and are even half as moved as I have been. Thank you, sincerely, Katherine. I wish I could tell you that. RTC
December 20, 2023
With TOAD, Katherine Dunn has written a primer for filthy, rhapsodic worship at the altar of the unavoidably real. Both visceral and philosophical, brutal and humane, TOAD has the feel of gospel written by an exiled saint. A living, breathing document you don’t so much read as shake its glorious, grimy hand.
September 15, 2023
I was fortunate to attend a writing workshop with Katherine Dunn when I was in high school. She was a memorable teacher and I’m grateful I had that opportunity. I’ve read all of her novels but Geek Love is by far my favorite. It was a pleasure to immerse myself in her words once again with this book.
February 10, 2023
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: as far as writing goes, Katherine Dunn’s Toad is an easy 5/5 stars. I was barely able to get through the first chapter before I’d opened my local library app to put Geek Love on hold. I was instantly ravenous for more of her writing style, and delighted at the following 300-some pages for relentlessly presenting her flowing prose in a way that perfectly matched every tonal shift between each chapter - whether I was reading a passage that placed me in a cat piss-soaked apartment in the 1960s, or at the serene kitchen table that modern-day Sally would so lovingly describe, with rays of light bleeding through a fish bowl or the smell of fresh bread wafting off the page. I was hooked on ever word from line 1.
When it comes to the plot, however, my rating wasn’t as initially obvious. The foreword and editor’s note let us know that this is a novel published posthumously, and while there may not have been any noticeable changes had Dunn been around during the editing process, I couldn’t help but theorize. As stated before, each chapter oscillates between the point of view of an older Sally, the happy recluse, and a young, uncertain, insecure Sally, navigating university with her pretentious, idealistic friends. With this distinction, I found myself bogged down when the book circled back to certain subjects: any chapter that focused squarely on Sam and Rennel struggled to hold my attention, for example. In contrast, the story thrived during any conversation between two characters I consider to be at the heart of the narrative: Sally and Carlotta.
Carlotta is a character meant to contradict Sally in nearly every way. While Sally can barely grab Sam’s attention during their first meeting, though she tries earnestly to appeal to his sexuality, Carlotta effortlessly holds his gaze while dancing into the scene and stepping in dog shit. This is their immediate conflict: feminine beauty and masculine intellect, realism and idealism, confidence and the lack thereof. The way these two characters navigate the world, and their relationship with each other, easily held my attention until the novel’s end. I found myself reading on in anticipation of their interactions, wondering if their next conversation would be pleasant or dissolve into an argument, if I would ever fully understand why Carlotta disliked Sally but sought out her sympathies so fervently. There’s a depth in this relationship that speaks expertly about a woman’s place in a masculine, capitalist world, and the way that we criticize and empathize with one another. As the moral center of this novel, I would have loved to have seen more of these interactions, and felt it could have clearly been made the thesis of the book, perhaps if Dunn had ever had the opportunity to provide her final oversight.
All in all: 4/5 stars, and Carlotta should have been allowed to hunt Sam for sport.
When it comes to the plot, however, my rating wasn’t as initially obvious. The foreword and editor’s note let us know that this is a novel published posthumously, and while there may not have been any noticeable changes had Dunn been around during the editing process, I couldn’t help but theorize. As stated before, each chapter oscillates between the point of view of an older Sally, the happy recluse, and a young, uncertain, insecure Sally, navigating university with her pretentious, idealistic friends. With this distinction, I found myself bogged down when the book circled back to certain subjects: any chapter that focused squarely on Sam and Rennel struggled to hold my attention, for example. In contrast, the story thrived during any conversation between two characters I consider to be at the heart of the narrative: Sally and Carlotta.
Carlotta is a character meant to contradict Sally in nearly every way. While Sally can barely grab Sam’s attention during their first meeting, though she tries earnestly to appeal to his sexuality, Carlotta effortlessly holds his gaze while dancing into the scene and stepping in dog shit. This is their immediate conflict: feminine beauty and masculine intellect, realism and idealism, confidence and the lack thereof. The way these two characters navigate the world, and their relationship with each other, easily held my attention until the novel’s end. I found myself reading on in anticipation of their interactions, wondering if their next conversation would be pleasant or dissolve into an argument, if I would ever fully understand why Carlotta disliked Sally but sought out her sympathies so fervently. There’s a depth in this relationship that speaks expertly about a woman’s place in a masculine, capitalist world, and the way that we criticize and empathize with one another. As the moral center of this novel, I would have loved to have seen more of these interactions, and felt it could have clearly been made the thesis of the book, perhaps if Dunn had ever had the opportunity to provide her final oversight.
All in all: 4/5 stars, and Carlotta should have been allowed to hunt Sam for sport.
March 27, 2023
ugh. this is a hard review to write because i loved the writing in this book but it was a struggle to finish because of the plot. If you keep up at all with my progress on goodreads, you will see that this book took me twice as long to finish as they normally do. Dunn is an amazing writer; she captures the mundane so beautifully and her observations are witty and these characters were so detailed and I hated all of them.
If you have read my reviews before you know that I am a plot girl. I know lots of people judge me for this and obviously I love beautiful writing to accompany plot (just see my review of Scorched Grace; all the plot you need but horrible writing) but this book was just hard to plow thru. Eventually I hit a stride when we learned that Carlotta was pregnant and I was waiting for tragedy. I also thought the mirrored lives of young Sally vs old Sally were really interesting, and we learn why Sally has become a hermit over the course of exploring her youth.
This book was a lot like secret history (which I couldn't finish) or The Bell Jar (which i finished but made me upset).
Overall, the writing in this book is excellent. But as a type A person who loves productivity, 350 pages of aimless college students who are total irresponsible idiots and don't amount to anything due to their own sheer laziness was infuriating.
On the bright side, the domestic filth that these characters live in has greatly motivated me to clean my house. I cleaned the dishwasher this week; something we could have never expected. Thanks, sally <3
If you have read my reviews before you know that I am a plot girl. I know lots of people judge me for this and obviously I love beautiful writing to accompany plot (just see my review of Scorched Grace; all the plot you need but horrible writing) but this book was just hard to plow thru. Eventually I hit a stride when we learned that Carlotta was pregnant and I was waiting for tragedy. I also thought the mirrored lives of young Sally vs old Sally were really interesting, and we learn why Sally has become a hermit over the course of exploring her youth.
This book was a lot like secret history (which I couldn't finish) or The Bell Jar (which i finished but made me upset).
Overall, the writing in this book is excellent. But as a type A person who loves productivity, 350 pages of aimless college students who are total irresponsible idiots and don't amount to anything due to their own sheer laziness was infuriating.
On the bright side, the domestic filth that these characters live in has greatly motivated me to clean my house. I cleaned the dishwasher this week; something we could have never expected. Thanks, sally <3
February 6, 2023
Confession: my assumptions about Katherine Dunn going into this were completely incorrect. If you're around books a lot, you know the cover of Geek Love - bright orange, techno-modern font. I haven't read it, but that cover lead me to believe Dunn was a 21st-century writer, when in reality, not only has she been publishing since the '70s, she passed several years ago. Geek Love came out in the '80s(!!!), and I'm not sure how it never came across my literary radar, cult classic that it is.
Toad is a posthumous publication, and I appreciated Molly Crabapple's intro on Dunn's life and career. It seems she lived a full life, as her characters do in this book. I can't say what drew me into it, but it was engaging and cool without looking like it was trying too hard. Exhilarating and quiet, friendship and isolation, this had all the vibes.
Toad is a posthumous publication, and I appreciated Molly Crabapple's intro on Dunn's life and career. It seems she lived a full life, as her characters do in this book. I can't say what drew me into it, but it was engaging and cool without looking like it was trying too hard. Exhilarating and quiet, friendship and isolation, this had all the vibes.
December 31, 2022
It troubles me when an author dies and their hard-drive is seemingly sold to the highest bidder. But in this case, it seems as though Dunn tried to get this published and it was rejected so I feel less of a voyeur having read it.
I thought this was a very good book. Not quite 5-stars, but close. The writing was excellent as expected, and what was so interesting about it is that it was written in the 70's so completely contemporaneous to that time, but not published until 50-years later. The authenticity and the voice of the era is something we don't get from books written in retrospect and I loved that about it.
It was dark and sad and weird.
I thought this was a very good book. Not quite 5-stars, but close. The writing was excellent as expected, and what was so interesting about it is that it was written in the 70's so completely contemporaneous to that time, but not published until 50-years later. The authenticity and the voice of the era is something we don't get from books written in retrospect and I loved that about it.
It was dark and sad and weird.
nope-dnf
February 2, 2024DNF 4%
The narrative voice is not grabbing me at all. It feels very meandering which is not an issue to me but I at least need to have that coming from a narrator that I find compelling. Unfortunately this book is falling really flat to me and I'm not finding anything to care about here.
The narrative voice is not grabbing me at all. It feels very meandering which is not an issue to me but I at least need to have that coming from a narrator that I find compelling. Unfortunately this book is falling really flat to me and I'm not finding anything to care about here.
February 1, 2024
Let's start with an excerpt from the editor's note at the end of the book: "In Toad, there are two Sallys: one is a young woman who is plagued by self-hatred, maintains a string of relationships with unfaithful men, and is disappointed in her own unrealized dreams. The other Sally, having survived all this, relishes the life she’s made: lonely and modest, but sweeter because all of it is her design. In the original draft, the alternating perspectives were sequenced haphazardly; I rearranged some for the sake of pacing, and others so that the Sallys more clearly mirror each other across time."
Given that this book has a somewhat disjointed feel to it now, I can't imagine the heavy lifting Naomi Huffman had to do. A true labor of love. It is perhaps important to remember that this book was written between Dunn's first two luke-warmly received novels and her hit (Geek Love). It was rejected when written and has basically sat in the archive of her work at Lewis & Clark College. Huffman divided it into chapters and mined chapters titles from each's respective text. What results is a more coherent, readable accounting of Sally Gunnar, "a self-loathing hermit" (as Molly Young describes her in a NY Times review).
Young Sally is a glutton with little self-confidence who falls in with some college students more interested in semi-living-off-the-grid and waxing philosophic than going to class. There's a certain reveling in the squalor aspect to it all with Dunn's characteristic delve into the nauseating details almost making the reading an olfactory experience. Sally is mostly an unsympathetic character in a vein that makes me wonder if Ottessa Moshfegh was infuenced by Dunn's writing. The whole book feels like an exploration of disgust (of self and others)---an oddball character study told in narrative excerpts. The older Sally is mellower and more accepting having survived youth and no longer dependent on rebellion for a sense of identity.
Dunn doesn't shy from going to some pretty dark places (the descriptions, for sure, but also Sally's treatment of Carlotta, especially late in the book, not to mention the outlet of Carlotta's rage). It felt a bit like walking through the dilapidated, festering home of a hoarder. In a matter of fact way: a repellant attraction.
(Essential for Dunn completists. If that's not you, I highly recommend Geek Love instead.)
-------------------------------------------
Background story on the stellar cover design:
https://spinemagazine.co/articles/jun...
-------------------------------------------
Worthwhile article on Dunn's work as a whole (including Toad):
https://www.thenation.com/article/cul...
-------------------------------------------
A journalistic piece I stumbled upon where Dunn interviews Ma Anand Sheela (of Rajneeshee fame; see also 2018 Netflix documentary, Wild Wild Country):
https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/04/03...
-------------------------------------------
Another excerpt from the editor's note---this one in praise of small presses:
"I don’t know that it would have occurred to me to search for more of Dunn’s work if it weren’t for small presses, journals, and magazines like And Other Stories, Another Gaze, Cita Press, Dalkey Archive Press, Deep Vellum, Dorothy, the Feminist Press, New Directions, New York Review Books, Persephone Books, the Second Shelf, Silver Press, Ugly Duckling Presse, Verso Books, Wendy’s Subway, and many others. I am grateful for their inspired efforts, their differing visions of a more radical and inclusive publishing industry."
-------------------------------------------
DELIGHTFUL & UNDISGUSTING NEW-TO-ME WORDS
fewmet | palaver | monadnock | soupçon (wait--you mean this is not pronounced SOOP KAHN?!! :D) | scrofulous | puerperal | anile
Given that this book has a somewhat disjointed feel to it now, I can't imagine the heavy lifting Naomi Huffman had to do. A true labor of love. It is perhaps important to remember that this book was written between Dunn's first two luke-warmly received novels and her hit (Geek Love). It was rejected when written and has basically sat in the archive of her work at Lewis & Clark College. Huffman divided it into chapters and mined chapters titles from each's respective text. What results is a more coherent, readable accounting of Sally Gunnar, "a self-loathing hermit" (as Molly Young describes her in a NY Times review).
"Youth in itself is what condemned me then, the complete faith in immortality that is natural to the young. The immortality of that moment, feeling a pain so intense that it seemed permanent, a condition from which I could imagine no freedom. The prospect was devastating."
Young Sally is a glutton with little self-confidence who falls in with some college students more interested in semi-living-off-the-grid and waxing philosophic than going to class. There's a certain reveling in the squalor aspect to it all with Dunn's characteristic delve into the nauseating details almost making the reading an olfactory experience. Sally is mostly an unsympathetic character in a vein that makes me wonder if Ottessa Moshfegh was infuenced by Dunn's writing. The whole book feels like an exploration of disgust (of self and others)---an oddball character study told in narrative excerpts. The older Sally is mellower and more accepting having survived youth and no longer dependent on rebellion for a sense of identity.
Dunn doesn't shy from going to some pretty dark places (the descriptions, for sure, but also Sally's treatment of Carlotta, especially late in the book, not to mention the outlet of Carlotta's rage). It felt a bit like walking through the dilapidated, festering home of a hoarder. In a matter of fact way: a repellant attraction.
(Essential for Dunn completists. If that's not you, I highly recommend Geek Love instead.)
-------------------------------------------
Background story on the stellar cover design:
https://spinemagazine.co/articles/jun...
-------------------------------------------
Worthwhile article on Dunn's work as a whole (including Toad):
https://www.thenation.com/article/cul...
-------------------------------------------
A journalistic piece I stumbled upon where Dunn interviews Ma Anand Sheela (of Rajneeshee fame; see also 2018 Netflix documentary, Wild Wild Country):
https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/04/03...
-------------------------------------------
Another excerpt from the editor's note---this one in praise of small presses:
"I don’t know that it would have occurred to me to search for more of Dunn’s work if it weren’t for small presses, journals, and magazines like And Other Stories, Another Gaze, Cita Press, Dalkey Archive Press, Deep Vellum, Dorothy, the Feminist Press, New Directions, New York Review Books, Persephone Books, the Second Shelf, Silver Press, Ugly Duckling Presse, Verso Books, Wendy’s Subway, and many others. I am grateful for their inspired efforts, their differing visions of a more radical and inclusive publishing industry."
-------------------------------------------
DELIGHTFUL & UNDISGUSTING NEW-TO-ME WORDS
fewmet | palaver | monadnock | soupçon (wait--you mean this is not pronounced SOOP KAHN?!! :D) | scrofulous | puerperal | anile
July 7, 2023
“No man has ever pretended to pine for love of me, or sweat in fear of me. I believe in all my life the only sleepless nights I've caused have been my mother's. And it wasn't my goodness that prevented me from occupying men's thoughts. […] But the truth is that I was the bloodied and scourged and deserted one. I chose that role deliberately, rather than be ignored entirely.”
No plot just uncomfortable, pointless vibes. All the characters were awful, which was the point, but it just made it even harder to follow their stories that felt like just dialogue and meaningless back and forth conversations for most of the book. I wish the book focused more on her perception of beauty and love and hate tbh but it just felt like a twisted slice of life
No plot just uncomfortable, pointless vibes. All the characters were awful, which was the point, but it just made it even harder to follow their stories that felt like just dialogue and meaningless back and forth conversations for most of the book. I wish the book focused more on her perception of beauty and love and hate tbh but it just felt like a twisted slice of life
January 6, 2023
BOOK REPORT
This was a bleak, nasty, totally believable, and incredibly well-written book and I hated it.
More to the point, I hated myself for not being able to quit reading it, even feeling as I kept on that I would need to soak in a light bleach bath when all was said and done, just to rid myself of the ick factor.
I mean, what was I thinking? I hated Geek Love. L O A T H E D it to the point of not finishing it. So why did I think I would enjoy anything by Katherine Dunn?
I guess I was sucked in by the idea that Toad was more grounded in reality than her cult favorite. Oh, and it was. Boy oh boy, was it ever.
So maybe that's part of why I was both fascinated and repelled by it? Because phrases like this hit so very, very close to home? "Shame--that is, an inverted, self-devouring pride--"
Sigh.
FTR, I went into this book thinking that if I enjoyed it I would give Geek Love another try; that maybe coming at it from a different perspective, later in life, would mean a different experience.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
This was a bleak, nasty, totally believable, and incredibly well-written book and I hated it.
More to the point, I hated myself for not being able to quit reading it, even feeling as I kept on that I would need to soak in a light bleach bath when all was said and done, just to rid myself of the ick factor.
I mean, what was I thinking? I hated Geek Love. L O A T H E D it to the point of not finishing it. So why did I think I would enjoy anything by Katherine Dunn?
I guess I was sucked in by the idea that Toad was more grounded in reality than her cult favorite. Oh, and it was. Boy oh boy, was it ever.
So maybe that's part of why I was both fascinated and repelled by it? Because phrases like this hit so very, very close to home? "Shame--that is, an inverted, self-devouring pride--"
Sigh.
FTR, I went into this book thinking that if I enjoyed it I would give Geek Love another try; that maybe coming at it from a different perspective, later in life, would mean a different experience.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
November 6, 2022
Looking for a depressing and grotesque book to read? This one is for you. Despite the fact that I loathed almost all of the characters and was completely frustrated by them, the writing was so brilliant it was worth it.
May 1, 2023
i don’t really know what i just read but i know that i loved it (mostly)
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
May 1, 2024
This book was the basement twin of the book “my year of rest and relaxation.”
This is the most 3-star book i have ever read and i will base all future book reviews off of this 3 star review. The characters=horrible. Not a single one is likable. Writing=very good (but at what cost). It was not good, but it also was not bad by any means. Legit the most mediocre book i have ever read. Would recommend, but i also don’t think this book would add any value to your life necessarily. To be fair apparently Katherine Dunn wrote this in the “worst depression of her life when she wanted to slit her throat daily” so honestly its pretty good given that.
I also kinda feel like a horrible person for rating this book 3 stars because she died of lung cancer in 2016. Honestly i wouldn’t be surprised if i changed my rating to 4 or 5 stars because i am a hyperempath and i am gonna get extremely sad when i think about how if katherine dunn came back to life and read this review of her book being mediocre, she would be so sad. (If you are katherine dunn reading this rn hmu)
This is the most 3-star book i have ever read and i will base all future book reviews off of this 3 star review. The characters=horrible. Not a single one is likable. Writing=very good (but at what cost). It was not good, but it also was not bad by any means. Legit the most mediocre book i have ever read. Would recommend, but i also don’t think this book would add any value to your life necessarily. To be fair apparently Katherine Dunn wrote this in the “worst depression of her life when she wanted to slit her throat daily” so honestly its pretty good given that.
I also kinda feel like a horrible person for rating this book 3 stars because she died of lung cancer in 2016. Honestly i wouldn’t be surprised if i changed my rating to 4 or 5 stars because i am a hyperempath and i am gonna get extremely sad when i think about how if katherine dunn came back to life and read this review of her book being mediocre, she would be so sad. (If you are katherine dunn reading this rn hmu)
February 22, 2023
Katherine Dunn sure knew how to work those words.
Toad was a little too long and a little too wordy for me; she rambled on about some volcano candy bar…wow. Just way too much.
Katherine’s book definitely gives you the feels: disgust, horror, and shock.
Toad was a little too long and a little too wordy for me; she rambled on about some volcano candy bar…wow. Just way too much.
Katherine’s book definitely gives you the feels: disgust, horror, and shock.
June 8, 2025
3.5/5
Sally reminisces back to her late teens, when her life revolved around dirty hippies making questionable life decisions. I really enjoyed Dunn’s writing style, especially during Toad-era Sally. Sam and Carlotta weren’t as charismatic on the page as all the other characters seemed to find them.
Sally reminisces back to her late teens, when her life revolved around dirty hippies making questionable life decisions. I really enjoyed Dunn’s writing style, especially during Toad-era Sally. Sam and Carlotta weren’t as charismatic on the page as all the other characters seemed to find them.
October 5, 2022
I was really excited to read Toad by Katherine Dunn since I loved her other book Geek Love. Unfortunately I didn’t care for this book. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator Christina Delaine did a fine job but I couldn’t get into this story and these characters. I actually took a break from listening to this and listened to two other audiobooks instead. When I finally got back to this one I was curious to see if the ending would be redeeming but it wasn’t. This novel is about Sally, a recluse, and her friends Sam and Carlotta. Many parts are grotesque and just plain gross. I didn’t find any humour. It’s a bit too long so I found myself getting bored by this story.
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Thank you to Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for my ALC!
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Thank you to Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for my ALC!
January 5, 2024
Who is this for? What type of person enjoys a book like this? This book was awful. And I mean awful. The back of the books says it’s a “powerful addition to the cannon of feminist fiction” which is so incredibly inaccurate it almost makes me laugh. I don’t worry for the people that gave this book 5 stars: that’s your personal journey babes. It’s the people that give it 3-4 stars that confuse me. What made you like this book a just ok amount? Like I want page numbers. I want receipts of where in the book you found it enjoyable to read and ultimately give it a decent rating. I cannot point to a single portion of this novel without having a complaint about the writing, character interactions, or general plot. I don’t see how the casual reader picks this book up and finished it with a smile on their face. I scowled at this book more than I scowl at my father, and that’s saying something. The only reason I continued past the halfway point of the book was so that I could write a scathing review and feel accomplished with myself. What can I say, I roll with the punches.
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