My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs
by
Jack Gantos
On an unseasonably warm Easter Sunday, a young girl named Ivy discovers a chilling secret in the basement of the Rumbaugh pharmacy across the street from the hotel where she lives with her mother. The discovery reveals a disturbing side to the eccentric lives of family friends Abner and Adolph Rumbaugh, known throughout their small western Pennsylvania town simply as the T...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
June 24th 2008
by SQUARE FISH
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
572)
Mariel
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Kinga
Recommended to Mariel by:
karen
We didn't like this. Two stars: one from me, one from Lauren. Did I mention I read this twice because I read it telepathically with my twin sister, Lauren? Then Lauren read it twice because she was reading it with me. Her read count of two doubled my read count. It adds up. It really wasn't good enough to read that many times.
I'm mind reading Lauren right now. She says that this is one of those books where the narrator bashes you over the head with what they want to tell you. I say,...more
I'm mind reading Lauren right now. She says that this is one of those books where the narrator bashes you over the head with what they want to tell you. I say,...more
view all 6 comments
seriously?
montambo recommended this book to me because i fear twins and their freakish abilities and the way they want to use mind control on us all. this book didn't make me change my mind w/r/t their potential for evil. at all. *
but for a teen audience, this? it opens with a wallace stevens quote, "in the presence of extraordinary actuality, consciousness takes the place of imagination"
already, this ain't no twilight.
and from there it ...more
montambo recommended this book to me because i fear twins and their freakish abilities and the way they want to use mind control on us all. this book didn't make me change my mind w/r/t their potential for evil. at all. *
but for a teen audience, this? it opens with a wallace stevens quote, "in the presence of extraordinary actuality, consciousness takes the place of imagination"
already, this ain't no twilight.
and from there it ...more
I only bought this book because it was on sale, and I didn't really think I would enjoy it. I was bulk buying for my holiday so I was basically just buying anything with words in it. I was a little surprised that I actually enjoyed it.
It was probably because it was so wierd and creepy, that I was so intrigued by the story. It's a book that makes you ask a lot of questions, and I felt very opiniated about the topics in the book. I couldn't really see where the twins and Ivy were comin...more
It was probably because it was so wierd and creepy, that I was so intrigued by the story. It's a book that makes you ask a lot of questions, and I felt very opiniated about the topics in the book. I couldn't really see where the twins and Ivy were comin...more
Let me preface this review by saying that this book was very well written and raised some interesting questions about genetics, family, and free will. That said, it wasn't for me. If you appreciate a creepy, gothic tale, it might be for you.
Ivy is raised by her single mother in a small town. She doesn't have any desire to make friends her own age. Instead, she stays very close to her adored mother, venturing over to the pharmacy across the street when her mother is at work. Two ...more
Ivy is raised by her single mother in a small town. She doesn't have any desire to make friends her own age. Instead, she stays very close to her adored mother, venturing over to the pharmacy across the street when her mother is at work. Two ...more
ummm...so far this book is a little bizarre. I don't know if I'd like it more if I read it, or that I find it disconcerting because of the reader. I am more than 1/2 through the book (disc 3 of 4) and we're just getting to the meat of the story. I'm withholding complete judgment until I finish, but I don't know if I'd recommend this book yet, based on what I have listened to so far... Or maybe I just thinks it's weird/disturbing how much the characters love/obsess over their mothers. wow.
...more
...more
An extremely twisted story. The whole idea of taxidermy on humans is rather repulsive by common moral standards. But when maternal love is thrown into the picture, some may see this practice as nothing less than normal. Oh, and there is also the idea of eliminating men from the gene pool altogether....
On an unseasonably warm Easter Sunday, a young girl named Ivy discovers a chilling secret in the basement of the Rumbaugh pharmacy across the street from the hotel where she lives with her mother.
The discovery reveals a disturbing side to the eccentric lives of family friends Abner and Adolph Rumbaugh, known throughout their small western Pennsylvania town simply as the Twins.
It seems that Ab and Dolph have been compelled by a powerful mutual love for their deceased mother ...more
The discovery reveals a disturbing side to the eccentric lives of family friends Abner and Adolph Rumbaugh, known throughout their small western Pennsylvania town simply as the Twins.
It seems that Ab and Dolph have been compelled by a powerful mutual love for their deceased mother ...more
What a peculiar book! I didn't think I would like it, as I don't care for his Rotten Ralph books (even though I have my own Rotten Ralph!). However, it held me right to the end just because it was such a strange plot with such an odd bunch of characters.
Steven
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone
Shelves:
read-recently,
eng-619-ya-lit
This book is the best modern gothic tale since ever! It is written in the genre of YA Lit, but I would recomend it to any adult as well. There are creepy elements similar to Anthony Perkins Psycho and Arsenic and Old Lace. Humorous OMG!
A truly superb book. One of my favourites. Literary without being pretentious, interesting without being contrived, gothic without being repulsive. This book was deeply creepy, eerie and fascinating. The characters were amazingly well-drawn. The entire book held together as a coherent whole. It was very intelligent and empathic. I loved that Gantos stayed away from the typical teen cliches - there is no romance here (except of the twisted familial kind), no boyfriends and no ridiculous subplots....more
I couldn't help but think of Psycho all the way through this book, and it didn't help me identify with the main character at all. I'm still not sure what to make of it. I kept thinking how disturbing it was for these creepy people to just blame their misdeeds on a curse. It felt like an excuse for immoral behavior and in that sense there was little hope that Ivy would have ever gotten out from under it. I think her mom was right. I think she could have just decided to change, but Ivy chose to be...more
This book was so bizarre. I only read it because of a book discussion group I participated in. Then we heard the author speak. He was hilarious and told us that parts of the story were actually TRUE!
What a pointless, revolting book.
The subject --human taxidermy-- is creepy enough that, done right, it could make for a fascinating novel.
Whoops.
I'm a little surprised at how long the book was, actually, because the plot itself was obvious from page one and there was no fleshing out of the story at all (pardon the pun): it was almost like the author thought, "hmmm. i have this one idea. time to write a book!" There was absolutely no character deve...more
The subject --human taxidermy-- is creepy enough that, done right, it could make for a fascinating novel.
Whoops.
I'm a little surprised at how long the book was, actually, because the plot itself was obvious from page one and there was no fleshing out of the story at all (pardon the pun): it was almost like the author thought, "hmmm. i have this one idea. time to write a book!" There was absolutely no character deve...more
An adult novella disguised as a YA novel. It is hard to place the age range for this book. While the book has very little text that would be offensive (no foul language, etc), there is one scene where a sexual encounter is described (not graphically) and there is a hint of incest. Not to mention all the creepy PEOPLE-TAXIDERMY. Would likely most appeal to a high schooler who enjoys classic short stories like A Rose for Emily. Told from the point of view of Ivy, this is a darkly gothic tale of tw...more
turns out that i am not interested in mother-love OR taxidermy.
Beyond "goth" and into the world of the bizarrely perverse. Twin adult men who take turns sleeping with their mother's taxidermied head. A girl who cuts off her dead mother's hands, taxidermies them, and sticks them in her coat pockets so she can walk down the street and hold her mother's hand anytime she wants. Do I really need to go on?
Ooookay. In a perverse story of the Oedipus Complex taken to a higher level, a young girl named Ivy discovers she has inherited the “Love ...more
Ooookay. In a perverse story of the Oedipus Complex taken to a higher level, a young girl named Ivy discovers she has inherited the “Love ...more
What is The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs? As a book, it's sort of what would happen if an old VC Andrews plot fell into the hands of a good writer and a better editor, and the 300 pages of gratuitous sex were removed. As a concept, the Love Curse is an excessive, obsessive mother-love, an Oedipal complex passed down through the generations. It's a dark, gothic story, involving taxidermy, identical twin brothers, their mother (from whom they can't bear to be parted), a young girl, and her mothe...more
The love curse of the title is an obsessive mother-love that leaves Oedipus in the dust. A truly bizarre book, and one that is very difficult to rate. It is indeed very well-written, and it surely succeeds at what it attempts to do. I certainly couldn't put it down. But is it enjoyable? It's dark, very dark. And it's made even more unsettling by the narrator's matter-of-fact tone. I actually felt hugely relieved that the book was over and there was no more left for me to read. I did however, sta...more
I really loved this book. The prose was absolutely wonderful, maybe even a little highbrow for a kids book. The story was gothic and gruesome and fascinating and I just couldn't tear myself away from it. Really, the way Gantos used his words in this book was stunning. Every sentence is so elegantly constructed and Ivy's ruminations are intelligent and interesting. I can't think of anything more specific to say - I just loved it!
This book isn't really a horror story, but that's the closest I can come to assigning a genre. It's a really strange book. The prologue makes the point that the book isn't "about" anything, it's just a story, but I can't help thinking there must be some deeper meaning that I missed. Unless the author just wanted to tell a creepy story, in which case he succeeded. I would recommend this book to people who like weird, disturbing tales.
Ivy loves her mother - she is her best friend and even though she has no father she gets to play at the pharmacy run by the Rumbaugh twins. The Rumbaugh twins also really loved their mother even after she died and Ivy discovers that she has the same problem all the Rumbaughs have had - a total love of their mothers and a total fear of losing them. Can she break this curse - can she understand this curse?
It’s hard to imagine this book, marketed for a teen audience, ever having wide appeal with its target audience. The language is too rich and possesses a gothic lilt. The story is Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily meets the Bates Motel. We have a small town with a family secret.
Whenever a story shows characters who are into taxidermy, I know we’re going to find that the dearly departed probably haven’t…departed, that is. This story didn’t let me down. Stuffed mothers appear around ever corn...more
Whenever a story shows characters who are into taxidermy, I know we’re going to find that the dearly departed probably haven’t…departed, that is. This story didn’t let me down. Stuffed mothers appear around ever corn...more
I had to add a new shelf for this book: WEIRD. Ivy has a love curse and is completely obsessed with her mother. She's prepared to do whatever it takes to protect and preserve her mother for all time. The Rumbaugh twins are her guide in this as they also had the love curse. I listened to this while driving and frequently made "ewwww!" faces. Not for those with weak stomachs. But I liked it anyway!
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs
Jack Gantos
This is no ordinary love. It’s gothic, perverse, and darkly humorous. This kind of love is a curse that inspires in its victims an extreme fear of the death of one’s mother.
Take identical twins Ab and Dolph, two elderly pharmacists who keep an eye on teenaged Ivy after school. They’re Rumbaughs, and the love curse has been coursing through their family’s veins for generations. Ivy is fascinated by their current eccentric...more
Jack Gantos
This is no ordinary love. It’s gothic, perverse, and darkly humorous. This kind of love is a curse that inspires in its victims an extreme fear of the death of one’s mother.
Take identical twins Ab and Dolph, two elderly pharmacists who keep an eye on teenaged Ivy after school. They’re Rumbaughs, and the love curse has been coursing through their family’s veins for generations. Ivy is fascinated by their current eccentric...more
The most twisted, darkest, schmeared kind of tunnel I have travelled, like fainting in a very ungraceful sort of way. It is not as mysterious as you would expect, albeit it is made up for with the crude pleasantry sort of plot only a bearded puppeteer would joke about. Taxidermy is most fascinating on humans. It almost feels foreignly incestuous reading the material; I didn't mind that the twin pharmacists across the street, who the protagonist was so frightful of were revealed as her fathers, t...more
i don't even know what to say about this....it was good? i *think* it is intended to be an exploration of the nature v nurture argument using a ridiculously bizarre scenario, but the n v. n could be a red herring planted to justify plain ol' weird shit. really, i'm lost here.
it was an enjoyable read, in that train wreck sort of way....
it was an enjoyable read, in that train wreck sort of way....
Don't let the format of this book fool you. It is definitely NOT for young readers. Young Adults may think it looks too young for them but they would be in for a big surprise. This is one wickedly twisted tale. Gantos weaves words lyrically and the song you hear is haunting, visual, utterly creepy and wickedly funny all at the same time.
I do love the cover art as well. Love it!
I do love the cover art as well. Love it!
If you have a fear of taxidermy or the macabre, I highly suggest not reading it. It's not graphic, but the ideas presented honestly creeped me out. Loveable characters and bizarre aspects caused me to end up liking this book. It's unlike anything I've ever read.
Grabbed from the free books bookshelf at my school.
Grabbed from the free books bookshelf at my school.
This book is twisted and weird, but of course that is what attracted me to it. This is not at all what I expected from Jack Gantos, but I liked it. I wanted to know the gory details of the taxidermy projects, and I was curious to find out if Ivy would fulfill all of the hopes of her twin neighbors. This is an interesting read, but definitely not for everybody.
What a strange book. I can't even describe it. Actually creepy is probably a better word. There are mothers, daughters, twins, taxidermy and a curse that involved loving your mother. I had to listen to the whole thing to find out what happened so it is engrossing.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Jack Gantos is an American author of children's books renowned for his portrayal of fictional Joey Pigza, a boy with ADHD. Gantos has won a number of awards, including the Newbery Honor, the Printz Honor, and the Sibert Honor from the American Library Association, and he has been a finalist for the National Book Award. His newest book, The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs (2006), deals with twins, euge...more
More about Jack Gantos...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
