Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
It takes awhile to get used to Maddy's style of narration (and a lot of reminders that she's 13) but once that's done - it's a great hilarious and interesting read
I loved this book! It reminded me of why I love Chuck Palahniuk's writing. I loved the flow and the supporting characters. They were so quirky. The story was told from the POV of 13-yo Maddy Spencer; daughter of two self-centered richies, but she had the greatest sense of humor. It alternated between her being in hell and her telling ultimately how she go there. Maddy's comment about not asking a 13-yo girl with a watch what time it was when you get to hell; her mom locking a maid in the bathroom from a computer because she felt it wasn't clean enough; her father's strange advice; the telemarketing jobs and her convincing sick people to just die and that hell wasn't that bad; it was all just so funny and dark. A 13-yo girl kicking Hitler's ass - I mean really, who wouldn't want to read about that? There are so many different parts of the book that I loved and that were so funny, if I try to put them all, I would basically just be re-typing the whole book. It's been so long since I have read one of Palahniuk's books, and I am so glad I picked up Damned. So glad. I think this one may be my new favorite. I can't wait to continue Maddy's story. See if Satan gets his comeuppance.
Desperate for a book for my flight home from San Diego (there are no bookstores anywhere downtown!) I wandered into Warwick's at the airport and saw Doomed on the counter as a staff recommendation. Looked good, so I bought it and was a third of the way through when I glanced at the list of Palahniuk's previous books and realized it was a sequel. So when I landed in Newark for my 4 hour layover, I was lucky to find that the bookstore there was open at 5am and that they had a copy of Damned. I am nothing if not a completist with minor OCD, so now I am reading this and will then finish the sequel.
I did it. I finished a Chuck Palahniuk novel. I've started two others - Choke and Haunted - and couldn't make it to the end. This one had the advantage of being quite short, and being audio. The premise was entertaining - kind of like The Breakfast Club in Hell, kind of bad-ass warrior queen, kind of backward-told mystery. Even so, it didn't take too long until some of the story's conceits started wearing on me. You can only hear about the Sea of Partial Birth Abortions and the Desert of Used Bandaids and such things so many times before it starts to feel like they're trying too hard to get you to laugh at the joke.
I liked Madison, as a character. I liked her sassiness, her intelligence, and her kick-butt attitude. I liked learning more about the other characters. I'm not sure what to make of the existential ending, but I guess that's where the "to be continued" bit comes in. Not sure that I'll continue.
I liked Madison, as a character. I liked her sassiness, her intelligence, and her kick-butt attitude. I liked learning more about the other characters. I'm not sure what to make of the existential ending, but I guess that's where the "to be continued" bit comes in. Not sure that I'll continue.
There is only one part that was really gripping: when Madison pried herself off the frozen door. And that didn't last very long. It's tedious to read for the most part and I didn't care too much about what happened to any of the characters. There are bright bits here and there but the effort it took to read the book should give more than the occasional spark. Really, some parts are downright lame and painful to read.
couldn't get more than 60 pages in...perhaps it's me, but I find myself unable to read palahnuik anymore...
Can I give zero stars?
You know what they use for currency in hell? Candy! Because candy is evil.
You know what people in hell do to get this currency? They are telemarketers who interrupt everyone on their landlines when they are sitting down to dinner. Lest you think the telemarketers, landlines and dinner set this book in oh, say, anytime before 1993, know that the other damned do their work in internet pornography. And the main character's parents are some send-up of celebrities foreign adopting and permissive parenting and narcissism. UGHHH THIS BOOK WAS AWFUL I CAN'T GO ON
You know what they use for currency in hell? Candy! Because candy is evil.
You know what people in hell do to get this currency? They are telemarketers who interrupt everyone on their landlines when they are sitting down to dinner. Lest you think the telemarketers, landlines and dinner set this book in oh, say, anytime before 1993, know that the other damned do their work in internet pornography. And the main character's parents are some send-up of celebrities foreign adopting and permissive parenting and narcissism. UGHHH THIS BOOK WAS AWFUL I CAN'T GO ON