Toad, by Katherine Dunn.

Five-star novel of 2025.

Back in 1983, I read Katherine Dunn’s masterpiece Geek Love and, like just about everyone else who picked it up, I was completely blown away. I never forgot it. Fast forward a few decades, and word comes out that a previously unpublished novel of hers has been unearthed, written before Geek Love! I didn’t hesitate. I bought it immediately… and then let it sit on my shelf for two years. D’oh.

I finally cracked it open, and wow, it’s brilliant. The narrator, Sally Gunnar, lives like a recluse in her little house, her companions limited to a goldfish, a garden toad, and the occasional door-to-door cleaning supply salesman. From that quiet, isolated life, she looks back on her college days, particularly her time orbiting around fellow student Sam and his girlfriend Carlotta. Carlotta is a mess — saddled with the burden of hippie patriarchy while trying to indulge Sam’s fantasy of living off the land. Sally, meanwhile, is wrestling with her own mental health struggles.

Toad isn’t as wildly surreal as Geek Love, but the writing is just as sharp, and startlingly ahead of its time. Dunn’s voice is so alive on the page it’s hard to believe this book sat hidden for so long. Now I want to hunt down her two earlier short novels… and maybe give Geek Love another spin while I’m at it.