Damned

Another dark and deliciously entertaining read from Palahniuk with his trademark lead character narration and detailed pop culture referencing.  It grabs you from page one and keeps you entertained and engaged with its meditations on heaven and hell and morality.  Belongs with some of his better work, though not quite in the upper echelon.

4 stars out of 5

Pygmy

This one may not be for any casual fan of Palahniuk, but it certainly is rewarding to those with stick-to-it-ed-ness. The only comparison i can make is to A Clockwork Orange, in the sense that you need to be immersed in the book to fully comprehend and understand the language at hand. NO, there aren't any terms like "yarbles" or "moloko", just broken English explanations courtesy the foreign exchange lead character known as Pygmy.

The broken language makes for a difficult read, but after awhile you are in his head and his limited terminology used to describe the most mundane things as a Walmart greeter seem equally as peculiar as more personal items such as a vibrator or the crucifixion, all described to hilarious effect. Boiled down, it is a rather simple plot, made all the craftier by Palaniuk's use (or misuse?) of the English language.

i won't try to explain it any further, when Chuck does a pretty good job himself in this article. If after you've read the article and are intrigued, i will definitely recommend this book. But it's not the place to start if you are new to Chuck Palahniuk's work.

4 stars out of 5

Snuff

Classic Palahniuk, in that it explores the topics and subjects we (meaning typical society) tries to avoid for dinner conversation, while also rewarding us with a plethora of tidbits about Hollywood stars' odd behaviours and deaths, all in the name of vanity.

This isn't as large in scope as say, Fight Club or Rant or Choke, as there isn't as much theological subtext, (at least not on first reading). Yet, Palahniuk's uncanny ability to pull us along, at the novelistic equivalent of a rapid editing montage, is ever present. As we proceed towards a climax of which we can easily predict the possibilities, while never knowing which one he'll actually surprise us with, he still manages to add that one extra twist for good measure.

A very quick read, which feels like one he tossed off in a hurry (pun intended), while we await a grander scale book. This is good filler in the meantime, and its nice to see him continue to experiment with ways of telling a story through multiple narratives. Snuff's method of a chapter per character works better than Rant's "E-Hollywood's true story" style, while offering multiple views on the same scenario. Another excellent read, but not a recommended starting point for readers new to Chuck's stuff.

4 stars out of 5

Rant

Palahniuk continues to amaze, in that he is unabashedly his own style, while continuously altering the style of his own writing. This time he takes on "Behind the Music" type biography structure to spin an oral retelling of a man celebrated for all the wrong reasons. At times a horror vampire zombie tale (kind of like Haunted), while also exploring theological themes and religious behaviour (like Survivor), while continuing to explore subcultures that exist to circumvent how unalive our lives have become (like Fight Club), he manages to conjure up all these styles, all these modes and genres, into a new tale that may actually be his first crack at science fiction.

He continues to amaze, and though Rant doesn't quite have the pacing and narration that makes his better books crackle like a skid on a bonfire, it may be his most mature work in the sense that he enters into even bigger concepts and thought provoking speculation that challenges our society's beliefs of racism, god, celebrity, belonging and chronology.

Give it some time, and like an infectious disease, it will grow on you.

4 1/2 stars out of 5