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3.05 AVERAGE
3.05 AVERAGE
Honestly not as bad as the scathing reviews make it out to be. But pales in comparison to Invisible Monsters.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was great, but the twists were predictable and the ending was anticlimactic. I enjoyed the book immensely, but had to dock it a star. I loved Sheila and Darin. They deserved so much better than they got. I loved Branch until one of the twists, then I grew to hate him. Number 137 deserved better as well. He didn't deserve the way his father treated him, and he certainly didn't deserve the way Branch treated him! I can't wait to read more from Chuck!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very very odd book. Not sure I understand the point of it or the ending really. Short quick read but not sure I would recommend to anyone.
Well, this sure was a book that I read. Anyway.
The prose was very strange and unclear, but I’m pretty sure that was on purpose at least. The ending was… just bizarre. If I never have to read the words “pud-puller” again in my life it will be too soon.
Not at all what I expected.
The prose was very strange and unclear, but I’m pretty sure that was on purpose at least. The ending was… just bizarre. If I never have to read the words “pud-puller” again in my life it will be too soon.
Not at all what I expected.
19.08.2013
Bah.
Di questo autore avevo letto solo Ninna Nanna, che già mi aveva convinta poco, ma dopo questo romanzo non credo di aver voglia di leggere altro.
Non l'ho trovato divertente, ma solo di un cinismo ostentato fino alla nausea, molto poco sincero. La trama è piuttosto povera, banalotta e un po' arrancante, che si trascina in infiniti capitoli in cui non si ripete quasi mai nulla di nuovo.
Davvero, fortunatamente è corto, perché l'ho trovato abbastanza una perdita di tempo
Bah.
Di questo autore avevo letto solo Ninna Nanna, che già mi aveva convinta poco, ma dopo questo romanzo non credo di aver voglia di leggere altro.
Non l'ho trovato divertente, ma solo di un cinismo ostentato fino alla nausea, molto poco sincero. La trama è piuttosto povera, banalotta e un po' arrancante, che si trascina in infiniti capitoli in cui non si ripete quasi mai nulla di nuovo.
Davvero, fortunatamente è corto, perché l'ho trovato abbastanza una perdita di tempo
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Pretty disappointed. Chock full of the twists that you would expect from Chuck but certainly not his best work. Tried too hard to be too graphic.
Poor character development - everyone has the same voice. Also the Sheila character was repetitive to an unbearable degree.
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I absolutely enjoyed this book. I just came off of reading "Rant" with my Composition 2 students, and I had one student object (quietly, coming to me during office hours to do so) to reading it because it goes against everything she believes in (which is following the word of God and ridding the world of moral filth. Her words, not mine). So of course I respected her position, gave her a new assignment, and kept on trucking with the rest of the class. Her comments did, however, give me pause as I opened up this new Palahniuk delight about an aging pornography queen set to beat the world record for sex acts taped for a movie (600 men/600 sex acts). Was it too "filthy," and should I approach it it with a keener eye for any use of filth-for-filth's-sake? And my response was: hell no.
It was great. Yes, it was totally off its literary rocker, and yes, it was over-the-top sexually graphic. But was it perfect? Very nearly, yes. Given the title and a very early tip from one of our narrators (Palahniuk's at his stylistic wheel of fortune again, this time giving us first person narration from four different characters' p.o.v.'s) I knew that the film Cassie Wright, our porn queen, was making would eventually turn out as a snuff film. Though what kind of guess, I wasn't even close. I guessed one of the twists about half-way through (won't spoil it here), though the other handful hit me like one of Branch Bacardi's toys over the head.
In addition to its super-fun story and really nice, tight writing, it's an ultra quick read. I started it Saturday afternoon and finished it last night (I would have finished it quicker, but we had a Power Family Field Trip to a soccer game at Soldier Field last evening). I stayed up until about one a.m. to finish it, and was thoroughly pleased that I did. Pick it up, be totally aware of the subject matter and don't be shocked to read about sex acts, sex toys, and sex performers in graphic-traffic detail. And then, just have a fantastic time.
It was great. Yes, it was totally off its literary rocker, and yes, it was over-the-top sexually graphic. But was it perfect? Very nearly, yes. Given the title and a very early tip from one of our narrators (Palahniuk's at his stylistic wheel of fortune again, this time giving us first person narration from four different characters' p.o.v.'s) I knew that the film Cassie Wright, our porn queen, was making would eventually turn out as a snuff film. Though what kind of guess, I wasn't even close. I guessed one of the twists about half-way through (won't spoil it here), though the other handful hit me like one of Branch Bacardi's toys over the head.
In addition to its super-fun story and really nice, tight writing, it's an ultra quick read. I started it Saturday afternoon and finished it last night (I would have finished it quicker, but we had a Power Family Field Trip to a soccer game at Soldier Field last evening). I stayed up until about one a.m. to finish it, and was thoroughly pleased that I did. Pick it up, be totally aware of the subject matter and don't be shocked to read about sex acts, sex toys, and sex performers in graphic-traffic detail. And then, just have a fantastic time.