Freaks' Amour

by Tom De Haven

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014008679X
• ISBN13: 9780140086799
• Release Date: March 1986
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A lost American classic

This is one of those novels that unfortunately disappeared to the remainder tables, used bookstores (I'm glad they exist!), and publishers who forget. I discovered this book years ago sitting on the racks of the SciFi bookstore, Forbidden Planet. I'm glad they had the sense to have it available because it was already unknown. This book is not a boiler plate sci fi novel; it is an original of American Literature. I think Mr De Haven is a creative writing professor at some small college who has published novels that defy genre categorization. A recent spin is his Superman novel. Another novel that he wrote is The Funny Papers that I enjoyed very much also. If you are a SciFi junkie, you should read this Dystopic commentary. It is a grim commentary about how American society treats marginalized groups and has a scathing critique of drug use and abuse. If you are a reader of Contemporary American Fiction, you should have this on the read list. Yes, it is gruesome, but it is a necessity of this narrative. Mr. De Haven, please have your agent revive this book so I can use it in the classroom again.

A lost gem - unique and amazing story.

I read this book when it was first published after hearing a Sunday morning review by Vin Scelsa on the old WNEW in New York. Thanks, Vin! I lost the copy over the years, and just recently acquired a used one thru the wonder of the internet after years of searching. If you're reading this review, BUY A COPY! This is an amazing and wonderful story, a classic modern sci-fi, combining a little Blade Runner, a little film noir, and a lot of just plain weirdness, but extremely readable weirdness, not weirdness like Naked Lunch or Gravity's Rainbow. Both excellent books, but challenging reads. And one of the few top-drawer sci-fi novels to take place in New Joisey!

Fabulous

this book is AMAZING.. It is the (so-called, fictional) account of persoanlities after a nuclear explosion, they can no longer have sex, or enjoy pleasure in any manner, so they resort to watching other people have sex in public, and many other vile (but very interesting)activities. It is written with amazing imagination, and extremely good descriptions that are almost tactile. It makes for really really good thought provoking and interesting reading. I have been looking for this book since 1984!!

One of the most memorable books I have ever read

Freaks Amour is a bizarre, frightening look into the future after a nuclear "accident." You will meet one of the most memorable cast of characters ever dreamed up, all of whom are freaks due to their parents' exposure to radiation from an accidental nuclear blast in (where else?) New Jersey. Because their incredible appearance (graphically described by the author) causes them to be ostracized by non-freaks, they must resort to performing in live sex shows to earn a decent living. A nicely-done and highly entertaining metaphorical tale of the underclass, the details and strange characters of this book will stay with you for a long time. I read this book when I was 12 and have been trying to locate a copy for the past 26 years.