2
Nov
2009
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
I have higher expectations for Chuck Palahniuk, so I’m sorry to say that I was underwhelmed by this book. True, there are scenes that are disturbingly grotesque, and much of it is fairly creepy, but taken as a whole, I remained unimpressed.
The book is divided into twenty-four chapters, each of which has three parts. First it deals with the present circumstance, then there is a little poem about one of the characters, and then a story written by one of the characters.
These narratives are held together as the characters are all locked in a writers’ retreat. Feeling that they would be better off selling their story about how they survived torture at the hands of the organizer, Mr. Whittier, and his assistant, Mrs. Clark, they slowly sabotage their environment and themselves. They destroy the heat and food, and it escalates to cutting off toes and fingers, as each of them wants to be the “star”–the most victimized survivor.
Unfortunately, I found that each narrative was pretty much written in the same voice. There was little to no difference in, say, the females from the males. They all sounded like teenaged boys, frequently using scatological, sexual, and bodily references to get a point across. For example, a female character, in her narrative, describes something as pink as the inside of an asshole. Frankly, I find it hard to believe that anybody not Chuck Palahniuk would ever say this.
Which brings me to one point: this book is not for the weak-stomached. One short story, “Guts”, about bodily harm from teenaged masturbation, and supposedly based on true stories, has caused something like 60 people to faint when Palahniuk has read it to audiences. It’s graphic, as well as disturbing.
My biggest complaint about this book is the ending. It felt hastily cobbled together, with a story that has nothing to do with any of the characters posing as…I don’t know what. Some sort of vision of the future? Who knows.
Certainly it didn’t fit with the theme of the book, which is that we revel in our own pain, to the point that it is the only way that we can deal with our lives, and at the same time in this day in age, you really can’t believe anybody’s stories, as they are so often unverifiable.
But here is where I kind of wish that I gave my reviews some kind of grade. Because it’s Chuck Palahniuk, who is nothing if not creative, and, despite the characters all seeming to have the same voice, it is well-written, I’d probably give this book something like a B-. But I don’t give books grades or stars or caterpillars, so never mind. I guess that I’m trying to say that it’s still good, but far from great, and less than what I’ve come to expect from Chuck Palahniuk.
If you like this book/author, you might like:
(my reviews in blue)
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis
Breakfast of Champions or Goodbye Blue Monday! by Kurt Vonnegut
The Shining by Stephen King
Misery by Stephen King
House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski
The Room by Hubert Selby Jr.
Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon
The Dream Life of Balso Snell by Nathanael West
Other works by Chuck Palahniuk:
Rant
Lullaby
Choke
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories
Fight Club
Snuff
Pygmy
Survivor
Diary
Invisible Monsters
Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon
Tell-All
I share your feelings on this book. I remember being really pumped about this when it came out since I was a fan of his earlier works, but I think this was kind of the beginning of his downfall. I have hated every thing I have read by him since. You can’t really call him a ‘one trick pony’ but that seems to sadly be his new way of writing ‘Shock value’ + ‘Surprise ending’ + ‘A lot of witty one liners’ = novel.
‘Guts’ made me want to puke though.
I’m so sad that you didn’t love this book. I adore Chuck Palahniuk, and this one is actually up next on my to read list. I actually got to see him read from it, which was an amazing experience. I’m sad to know that I might be disappointed in the overall product.
I still haven’t given this one a shot because of all of the mediocre reviews I’ve seen of it.
I read Chuck’s work in college (like every other college kid I saw) and I stopped reading his work when Diary came out. Invisible Monsters was my favorite of his. I felt like he lost his steam. Judging by your review, he clearly has.
This book was very disturbing and was my first experience with this author. I’m not sure if I will read another of his books though.
This one of the few books I’ve read that has literally made me want to throw up. I haven’t read too many of his books, but I liked “Diary” better.
You know, I’ve never read this author — partly because I’m a little afraid to. And your description of this book doesn’t make me want to read it. But perhaps I’ll try one of his other books as he does seem to have an original voice.