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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one didn't really do it for me, I have to say. There were a few stories that had me reading with my hand over my mouth in horror/disgust, which I kind of expect from Palahniuk. However, he made it very clear from the beginning who was really responsible for the characters' situation, and so the ending didn't come as much of a twist or surprise to me. It just felt like an exercise in how f*cked up people can be to themselves and each other, without anything to redeem them. Maybe that was the point, but it just fell a little flat for me, and didn't leave my head whirling like some of his other novels have. It just didn't have the same punch behind it.
Nobody can make me squirm like Chuck Palahniuk, and I love it.
Prior to reading Haunted, I had only ever finished Fight Club. There's an odd bluntness to Palahniuk's writing that both intrigues me and makes me want to shut his books and shelf them for eternity. Lucky for him, the curiosity wins out almost always and I go back for more.
I read Haunted on a challenge I presented to myself after a friend told me she had known people who couldn't finish this book. I would finish it. After all, the premise is extremely interesting, and, as a fan of survival stories, I was more than happy to confront what lay ahead.
Twenty pages in, I realized why people had a hard time with this book. In fact, if I hadn't sworn to finish it, I probably would have been done with it right there and then. The subject matter mixed with Palahniuk's bluntness is enough to--as the epilogue says--make people literally pass out when they hear it read aloud.
(Now, I'm not 100% convinced that this happens and people would actually faint, I have no trouble thinking that it's possible. I read the story lying down anyway.)
The format of the book is different. There are three separate things happening, and they rotate each chapter. The first is the story portrayed in the summary--a writer's retreat gone wrong. The second is a poem, at least one for each character in the book. The third are the works created and stories told by the authors during their stay at the retreat.
The best part about Haunted is definitely how the writers' refusal to write turns into a pursuit for the best story possible. They constantly compete to be the "star" of the show, and it shows the lengths people will go to for the chance to be remembered.
I felt in order to keep the shock value of the horrors being committed (and there were some strange, horrible things happening), I had to break up the book by reading three chapters at a time. Reading this book in one sitting, if you could manage it, would be a mistake. Even splitting it up, by the end of the book I felt there was nothing the characters could do that would surprise me anymore, but each short story as written by the characters are gems within the story. Any one of them, with a little tweaking, could be published on their own, which is amazing to me.
All in all, this book is an amazing, powerful work of art. I'm not a fan of looking for messages in books I read for pleasure, but you could definitely pry some good ones about humanity out of Haunted if you wanted to. I will probably never come back and read it as a whole again, but I give it two thumbs up and recommend it if you have the stomach to get through it.
Prior to reading Haunted, I had only ever finished Fight Club. There's an odd bluntness to Palahniuk's writing that both intrigues me and makes me want to shut his books and shelf them for eternity. Lucky for him, the curiosity wins out almost always and I go back for more.
I read Haunted on a challenge I presented to myself after a friend told me she had known people who couldn't finish this book. I would finish it. After all, the premise is extremely interesting, and, as a fan of survival stories, I was more than happy to confront what lay ahead.
Twenty pages in, I realized why people had a hard time with this book. In fact, if I hadn't sworn to finish it, I probably would have been done with it right there and then. The subject matter mixed with Palahniuk's bluntness is enough to--as the epilogue says--make people literally pass out when they hear it read aloud.
(Now, I'm not 100% convinced that this happens and people would actually faint, I have no trouble thinking that it's possible. I read the story lying down anyway.)
The format of the book is different. There are three separate things happening, and they rotate each chapter. The first is the story portrayed in the summary--a writer's retreat gone wrong. The second is a poem, at least one for each character in the book. The third are the works created and stories told by the authors during their stay at the retreat.
The best part about Haunted is definitely how the writers' refusal to write turns into a pursuit for the best story possible. They constantly compete to be the "star" of the show, and it shows the lengths people will go to for the chance to be remembered.
I felt in order to keep the shock value of the horrors being committed (and there were some strange, horrible things happening), I had to break up the book by reading three chapters at a time. Reading this book in one sitting, if you could manage it, would be a mistake. Even splitting it up, by the end of the book I felt there was nothing the characters could do that would surprise me anymore, but each short story as written by the characters are gems within the story. Any one of them, with a little tweaking, could be published on their own, which is amazing to me.
All in all, this book is an amazing, powerful work of art. I'm not a fan of looking for messages in books I read for pleasure, but you could definitely pry some good ones about humanity out of Haunted if you wanted to. I will probably never come back and read it as a whole again, but I give it two thumbs up and recommend it if you have the stomach to get through it.
Did not finish at 24%
I just really couldn't get into this. Some of the short stories were pretty good, but the overall concept and format just felt annoying and I lost interest.
I just really couldn't get into this. Some of the short stories were pretty good, but the overall concept and format just felt annoying and I lost interest.
dark
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"there are places only books can go."
I always forget how gross his books are. This was a very weird collection of stories, most horrifying but thought provoking. I am definitely haunted.
I always forget how gross his books are. This was a very weird collection of stories, most horrifying but thought provoking. I am definitely haunted.
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not badly written, just horrifying, and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
