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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The idea was fun, but it felt like it relied so hard on making the reader uncomfortable that it lost the ability to be either shocking or meaningful in the process
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Yes
For my second venture into audio book land I chose this little gem… Being limited to the available titles offered by my library I thought this one was fairly appropriate for the chores I planned on doing while listening, shoveling shit. My barn needs to be cleaned out, a job that is tedious, back-breaking and filthy and Damned seemed like a good fit. The narrator of the book, Tai Sammons, seemed like a good pick for the story. She was pleasant to listen to, so I won’t rule out another book read by her.
This book is told from the perspective of Madison in a series of letters she writes to Satan, à la the book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Now somehow my childhood escaped the reading of Ms. Blume’s book, but I am going to assume this a twisted satirical take on that book. The premise of this book was interesting and the author has some important ideas to share about society and damnation, but his message gets lost in his attempt to illicit shock value through his imagery. Stephen King has the same problem, in my opinion, they get so wrapped up in trying to be gross, scary, disturbing, or outrageous that the point they are trying to make gets diminished along with the story. It is like reading something written by a twelve-year-old boy, all fart jokes and sexual innuendos….
There were some redeeming parts, enough for me to grant it that second star. I appreciated how he tried to get us to look at the ridiculousness of celebrities and our worship of them. I felt for Madison and her life as a spoiled neglected child of movie stars and her premature demise. I thought some of the ideas he had about hell and damnation were quite clever as well. The twist at the end was too, but I’m afraid it wasn’t enough for me to continue with the next book. Now from the other reviews I have read earlier book by Mr. Palahniuk are better, so perhaps I will give one of those a listen to some day. For this book though, I’m glad I listened to it rather than read it. If I had been reading I probably would have DNFed, but when you are out in the barn shoveling shit without a WiFi signal, well I was motivated to stick with this one to the end.
This book is told from the perspective of Madison in a series of letters she writes to Satan, à la the book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Now somehow my childhood escaped the reading of Ms. Blume’s book, but I am going to assume this a twisted satirical take on that book. The premise of this book was interesting and the author has some important ideas to share about society and damnation, but his message gets lost in his attempt to illicit shock value through his imagery. Stephen King has the same problem, in my opinion, they get so wrapped up in trying to be gross, scary, disturbing, or outrageous that the point they are trying to make gets diminished along with the story. It is like reading something written by a twelve-year-old boy, all fart jokes and sexual innuendos….
There were some redeeming parts, enough for me to grant it that second star. I appreciated how he tried to get us to look at the ridiculousness of celebrities and our worship of them. I felt for Madison and her life as a spoiled neglected child of movie stars and her premature demise. I thought some of the ideas he had about hell and damnation were quite clever as well. The twist at the end was too, but I’m afraid it wasn’t enough for me to continue with the next book. Now from the other reviews I have read earlier book by Mr. Palahniuk are better, so perhaps I will give one of those a listen to some day. For this book though, I’m glad I listened to it rather than read it. If I had been reading I probably would have DNFed, but when you are out in the barn shoveling shit without a WiFi signal, well I was motivated to stick with this one to the end.
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In the beginning, Madison was so damn annoying! As the book went on however, she grew on me. I liked how we learned more and more about her death as the novel progressed and I rooted for her to get out of hell. I really hope there will be a sequel so I can find out what happens.