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3.05 AVERAGE
3.05 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
dark
funny
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm a Pahlahniuk head, okay? I've since sort of grown out of my enjoyment of his work from my hardcore teenage obsession, but even back then I found this a terribly difficult read. There's a lot of sex-related shock factor stuff in this book, and it permeates just about every page. Like, compared to his better works like Fight Club, this book feels like pure cynicism with no real underlying message. This book just describes things and nudges you every few minutes going "man, isn't this pretty fucked up?" A real "we live in a society" moment.
Really cool read if you want to have a grimace burned into your face with every successive page. Yeah, just skip this one.
Really cool read if you want to have a grimace burned into your face with every successive page. Yeah, just skip this one.
dark
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
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
To be fair, I think it is important to begin this by admitting to be a Chuck Palahniuk fan, so there is going to be a bit of a bias contained in this viewpoint. That being said, Snuff felt like it just had a really shallow plot. It never really felt like it took off like most of his other novels eventually do. Events never really connected, and most of the characters never really felt like they developed into anything more than they started off as.
There were some interesting aspects of the novel though. Each chapter in the novel was told by a different character, and as the novel progressed, we learned a decent amount about each character from hearing a bit of the story from their side, which their personality and bias, and with their perspective. This worked to at least allow us to get to know each character while still moving through the story. It just would have been nice if there was some development in the characters as they made their way through the story, rather then just getting to know them. I think that is an important distinction to make in this novel. You absolutely do get to know each of the characters and their motives for being at the scene and what they want out of it. But the characters feel static in the story. They feel like riders at time letting the story drive them, rather then the characters driving the story.
So, I would not recommend this to someone looking for an entry to Chuck Palahniuk's works. I think there are better novels to start with. However, if you are a fan of his novels, I think there is something different and something you might find interesting here, and would not necessarily say it is a must read, but I think that it is still a rather quick and fairly enjoyable read overall.
There were some interesting aspects of the novel though. Each chapter in the novel was told by a different character, and as the novel progressed, we learned a decent amount about each character from hearing a bit of the story from their side, which their personality and bias, and with their perspective. This worked to at least allow us to get to know each character while still moving through the story. It just would have been nice if there was some development in the characters as they made their way through the story, rather then just getting to know them. I think that is an important distinction to make in this novel. You absolutely do get to know each of the characters and their motives for being at the scene and what they want out of it. But the characters feel static in the story. They feel like riders at time letting the story drive them, rather then the characters driving the story.
So, I would not recommend this to someone looking for an entry to Chuck Palahniuk's works. I think there are better novels to start with. However, if you are a fan of his novels, I think there is something different and something you might find interesting here, and would not necessarily say it is a must read, but I think that it is still a rather quick and fairly enjoyable read overall.
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
blech.
But I did read it in a plane ride...so it was good to pass the time.
But blech
But I did read it in a plane ride...so it was good to pass the time.
But blech
dark
3.5 Not his best and an unconvincing ending, but still funny as f***!
