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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Do you remember that one classmate you had that would try so hard to shock you by telling you his shitty made up stories that were for some reason always filled with gore and sex? Yeah, Chuck Palahnuik is pretty much that angsty 13-year-old judging by this book, except that he's actually an adult and not a child. That being said, I don't see why anyone above the age of 13 can like this for reasons other than "it's gross dude".
I don't like calling books before I've finished them but it's a rare occasion that a book is so obviously shit that after reading 100 pages you know what the rest 250 will be. In that regard, Chuck Palahniuk really has written a masterpiece with his "Haunted", a masterpiece of shittiness.
I really don't have to explain myself, I'm not against grotesque or edgy themes but when the grotesque parts are solely there for the shock value and the edgy themes are shoved down your throat then no thank you. The whole gimmick of the short stories being tied together with an over-arching story is interesting yet soo poorly fucking done that it's not even funny. A story is supposed to at least interest you and I'm personally more interested in the day-to-day lives of chipmunks than in this drivel. There are some boring and shitty poems before some of the stories but the stories are the main shining point of this book, a shining point of shit. The first story, "Guts", is what you could expect a 13-year-old to write. It's grotesqueness because "Lol it's gross". That's pretty much the theme of this whole book, there's no substance, only Chuck Palahniuk describing grotesque events with no finesse at all. Honestly, I like Fight Club as a movie, maybe I'll enjoy it as a book but "Haunted"... well, let's just say I've seen /b/ threads with more literary merit than this boring trainwreck, and that's really saying something.
I don't like calling books before I've finished them but it's a rare occasion that a book is so obviously shit that after reading 100 pages you know what the rest 250 will be. In that regard, Chuck Palahniuk really has written a masterpiece with his "Haunted", a masterpiece of shittiness.
I really don't have to explain myself, I'm not against grotesque or edgy themes but when the grotesque parts are solely there for the shock value and the edgy themes are shoved down your throat then no thank you. The whole gimmick of the short stories being tied together with an over-arching story is interesting yet soo poorly fucking done that it's not even funny. A story is supposed to at least interest you and I'm personally more interested in the day-to-day lives of chipmunks than in this drivel. There are some boring and shitty poems before some of the stories but the stories are the main shining point of this book, a shining point of shit. The first story, "Guts", is what you could expect a 13-year-old to write. It's grotesqueness because "Lol it's gross". That's pretty much the theme of this whole book, there's no substance, only Chuck Palahniuk describing grotesque events with no finesse at all. Honestly, I like Fight Club as a movie, maybe I'll enjoy it as a book but "Haunted"... well, let's just say I've seen /b/ threads with more literary merit than this boring trainwreck, and that's really saying something.
leí varias reseñas que decían que es muy perturbador y que daba bastante impresión, pero no sentí eso. algunos cuentos están bien y quizás son un poco perturbadores, pero en general no llegaba y terminaban siendo bastante edgy. aparte la organización de los cuentos no tiene mucho sentido. si abrís con "guts", que es de los mejorcitos, no podés seguir con uno sobre una mujer que mata a alguien con un masaje en el pie. pierde mucha potencia.
de a ratos repite muchísimo chistes que ya de por sí no son graciosos. no sé, sentí que es una novela que se toma demasiado en serio a sí misma, que trataba de ser algo que no le daba.
de a ratos repite muchísimo chistes que ya de por sí no son graciosos. no sé, sentí que es una novela que se toma demasiado en serio a sí misma, que trataba de ser algo que no le daba.
The audiobook was messed up, and I don't like it enough to try to continue in another format.
I enjoyed it! Some parts were kind of slower to get through, but then again, it’s all short stories written by the characters in the book who are on a locked in writing retreat. Some are good, some are bad. Some are absolutely disgusting, some are sad. I think the whole thing is very clever! You can tell it was well thought out.
The myth that was going around at the time (I heard it summer 2007) which made me go out and get the book was that “Guts” had been read at readings by CP and people were passing out or puking, sometimes both. 3 people died. Just a wild story! A clever way to see what it was all about and “see if you were brave enough”. As gross as “Guts” is, I got through it haha!
The myth that was going around at the time (I heard it summer 2007) which made me go out and get the book was that “Guts” had been read at readings by CP and people were passing out or puking, sometimes both. 3 people died. Just a wild story! A clever way to see what it was all about and “see if you were brave enough”. As gross as “Guts” is, I got through it haha!
Hit or miss for me. Some stories are good, some not. I do like the bleak ending since none of the characters are good people. All in all, not bad, but it definitely has flaws.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I always love a book the most right after I've finished it, but I think it is a 5 star read! It has satire, it's disturbing, funny, and provocative.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The plot was intriguing enough that it kept me engaged, but my GOD it dragged on and on and on. It was like it was written by a teenage boy trying to shock his readers. So poorly written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
I never read a Chuck Palahniuk book before but have been wanting to for a long time given his reputation and, of course, I highly enjoyed the Fight Club movie. So I picked this up thinking it would be right up my alley given my usual taste for strange stories, horror, etc. Unfortunately, I just thought this book was "ok" and had a tough time really getting into it. Some of the short stories themselves were entertaining for different reasons, but the overall narrative came across as super lame to me. It almost seems like it would have worked better as a collection of short stories without the overall storyline tying it together. I did not care at all about any of the characters and the storyline about being locked in the theater where everyone suddenly thought they'd get famous by starving and harming themselves and each other just didn't really cut it for me. Perhaps this was not the best choice for my first Palahniuk book.