Books featuring carnies

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A list:
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The Synthetic Man, by Theodore Sturgeon.

Any others?

― kingfish, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 05:28 (eighteen years ago)

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury

― Abbott, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 05:32 (eighteen years ago)

Geek Love

(which is fucking awful, btw)

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 05:37 (eighteen years ago)

there's a Ramsey Campbell short story that I loved when I was maybe 12 where i guy takes shelter from a storm in a closed down traveling carnival's hall of mirrors. he gets lost in it, starts to get freaked out by his distorted reflections, only to find (of course) at the end that those distortions are manifest, and he is now trapped, just another freak for the sideshow. there's some weird carnie dude at the end, who cackles and moralizes.

― negotiable, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 05:39 (eighteen years ago)

(I don't remember the name)

― negotiable, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 05:41 (eighteen years ago)

offtopic: I got to meet Campbell last year while working at the H.P. Lovecraft film fest. Quite a nice guy, full of jolly Englishness.

― kingfish, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 05:49 (eighteen years ago)

Philip K Dick, The World Jones Made. Post-apocalyptic mutant carnies.

― mrlynch, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 05:52 (eighteen years ago)

Man, I think the only way to make a carnie worse is to make them voice morals.

― Abbott, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 06:05 (eighteen years ago)

Robert Aickman's 'The Swords' About as creepy as it gets, in every sense.

Aickman is a big influence on Campbell.

― Soukesian, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 06:39 (eighteen years ago)

But that's another short story. Classic book/novel example is Gresham's 'Nightmare Alley'

― Soukesian, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 06:44 (eighteen years ago)

I'm sure there's another thread on this, in ILB maybe? Anyway, Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes.

― ledge, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 08:47 (eighteen years ago)

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YWPHWR75L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg

― ^@^, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 09:51 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Sara Gruen's _Water for Elephants_, apparently

― kingfish, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 06:07 (eighteen years ago)

Geek Love is amazing. Don't be deterred.

― Caledonia, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 18:03 (eighteen years ago)

"Wonder When You'll Miss Me" by Amanda Davis.

― Caledonia, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 18:05 (eighteen years ago)

I really disliked Water for Elephants. What I read of it anyway, I couldn't finish it.

― Abbott, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 21:03 (eighteen years ago)

Geek Love is one of those books with a central character/narrator who you're supposed to sympathize with but instead my reaction was one of loathing - I have a hard time with narrators who are meant to be tragic but instead come off like whiny, incompetent losers.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 21:18 (eighteen years ago)

-- Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, June 5, 2007 4:18 PM (Tuesday, June 5, 2007 4:18 PM) Bookmark Link

i find the irony of this statement particularly delicious.

― chicago kevin, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 21:19 (eighteen years ago)

Can't believe I forgot to mention RE/Search's "We Who Are Not As Others"! Not fiction I guess, but paints a way more engaging/positive picture of what it means to be a "freak" than something like "Geek Love" (which is all handwringing "oh! the humanity!"/"how do I stop my crazy brother" malarkey)

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 21:21 (eighteen years ago)

Oh, John Barth's "Lost in the Funhouse" qualifies.

― Abbott, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 21:57 (eighteen years ago)

"Mr Vertigo" by Paul Auster...maybe, it's been forever since I read it

― Morley Timmons, Wednesday, 6 June 2007 00:07 (eighteen years ago)

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