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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
One thing Chuck Palahniuk is good at is making poignant commentary on society and the human condition through disgusting, disturbing, and absurd stories. Most of the tales in this transgressive collection definitely do that. A few stories were kind of like "meh" for me, but the ones that hit home really kick you in the feels because they are so out there yet somehow very relatable. I connect with his characters because they are usually outcasts, marginalized, or just feel alone in some way. Palahniuk is obviously not for everyone. His stories cross lines that go places some readers don't want to visit. But in my opinion, that is what good literature with important messages often has to do. Sidenote: in the audiobook version, the author narrates some of the stories himself, and hearing his purposely awkward reading voice is a weird bonus.
Omg the period one is so sick how does someone even come up with that??? And worse, why would someone publish it?? And "smoke" was sooo interesting! A man fears that language is a separate entity?? What??? Also the one where a tennis ball beats up a guy?
3.5 stars! Oh, Chuck. You never know what to expect with this guy. This book of short stories hopped from curiously funny to deeply disturbing to borderline confusing each chapter. I think I prefer his full length novels, although some of these tales really caught my attention. I can always admire how specifically tailored his work is, though, and how you always know when you’re reading a Palahnuik novel!
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Chuck is great at writing incredibly engaging stories with schlock endings.
He has it down to a science. More than half of the stories in this collection have perfectly reasonable end points that I could identify, down to the last word and period - plus another few pages that swerve the story into absurd territory.
Sometimes, it works - there are some shock endings in here that really fit the stories thematically, upon reflection. Other times, I think our boy is just fucking with me. Either way, I'm here for it.
There are no complete duds in here, save for Expedition (though it does have the funniest, least cringe Fight Club reference). Zombies, Red Sultan's Big Boy, Torcher, Fetch, and Inclinations are fantastic. Loser might be one of my favorite short stories, period.
He has it down to a science. More than half of the stories in this collection have perfectly reasonable end points that I could identify, down to the last word and period - plus another few pages that swerve the story into absurd territory.
Sometimes, it works - there are some shock endings in here that really fit the stories thematically, upon reflection. Other times, I think our boy is just fucking with me. Either way, I'm here for it.
There are no complete duds in here, save for Expedition (though it does have the funniest, least cringe Fight Club reference). Zombies, Red Sultan's Big Boy, Torcher, Fetch, and Inclinations are fantastic. Loser might be one of my favorite short stories, period.
Yes, it's an apt title. Some of these stories will disturb me for a long time. If you like your short stories weird and very sexually graphic, give these a try!
I can't say I absolutely loved every story in here but I did like them all. There were definitely some scenes that made me cringe, as they were meant to. I feel like all the authors I've read always write in the same narrative voice, but I was really impressed how Palahniuk was able to switch it up, using a different voice for almost every story. It made the reading interesting. I also liked how he played with the kind of story telling that you can see in traditional Native American folklore (if that's the right word to use). Finally, I was also amused that he referred to Fight Club, his own book, in a lot of these stories.
How do you rate a book of short stories? By how many of the stories you liked? By how strongly they spoke to you? By how many will be scared into your brain?
Of the 23 short stories 4 stood out that I truly liked and would read again.
Loser
Phoenix
Torcher
Inclinations
& Smoke confused me. This one I need to read again to try and figure it out.
While Fight Club was the book that led me to Chuck "Expedition" didn't really do it for me.
& The first two stories almost turned me off to the whole collection.
I did enjoy how the animal characters showed up in multiple stories connecting them in a way.
Of the 23 short stories 4 stood out that I truly liked and would read again.
Loser
Phoenix
Torcher
Inclinations
& Smoke confused me. This one I need to read again to try and figure it out.
While Fight Club was the book that led me to Chuck "Expedition" didn't really do it for me.
& The first two stories almost turned me off to the whole collection.
I did enjoy how the animal characters showed up in multiple stories connecting them in a way.
despite being a pretty big palahniuk fan, i haven't enjoyed a single story and i don't have the energy to keep reading.
While some of the stories in this collected volume of shorts are entertaining or decent reads, Palahniuk seems intent on creating situations just for shock value and forsaking the other elements of storytelling. There were glimmers here and there of his older works (thinking of Rant, Snuff, etc.), but most of the stories were just gross-out factors thrown in with liberal doses of misogyny and general disdain for the female gender.
Stories of interest were:
Zombies
Torcher
Liturgy
Expedition
Inclinations
Stories of interest were:
Zombies
Torcher
Liturgy
Expedition
Inclinations