Reminded me a bit of Geek Love, which is one my favorite books, so of course I loved this. I'm deep down the Harry Crews rabbit hole now... ( )

The second Crews books I've read (after Feast of Snakes) and wow, it's even wilder. Dealing with supposedly grotesque subject matter, it manages to be both outrageous and deeply humanistic. ( )

Harry Crews can tell a story. This one happens to be about Marvin Molar, a basically legless, deaf and dumb hand-balancer with 20 inch arms. He lives in the Fireman's Gym in Clearwater, Fl. with a semi-retired strongman and two punchy boxers, and performs a balancing routine for a living. Then Marvin's girlfriend Hester moves in and things get strange. This is a wonderful book with some of the best characters in fiction. ( )