Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
I've read a handful of Palahniuk's books and though transgressive fiction is always a little uncomfortable for me, I've enjoyed them. That being said, in this collection of short stories, I was more disturbed than intrigued. I flat out skipped over some after just a few paragraphs and while reading others I was so confused by the writing style and incorrect word usage, I gave up on those too. Thankfully, the book lightened up as it went on and there were some pretty great topics. My favorites were Zombies, Loser, and Cold Calling.
I received this book from NetGalley for review purposes.
I received this book from NetGalley for review purposes.
There are stories from this book that still haunt my memory, I really liked this one
CP’s books are always something I enjoy. A short story anthology is usually however a mixed bag & that is the case still here. There are exceptions but it is usually the case. Most of the stories here are enjoyable in the usual CP way though, if you are a fan of his work (or even if you are not) you know what to expect. If you are after a first book of his however there are definitely better ones to try. Fight Club probably being the first best bet. Or Choke.
This collection of short stories by Chuck Palahniuk is aptly named. There were times I laughed out loud and times I was disgusted and wished I hadn't read what I had just read. Palahniuk is probably one of the most creative and clever writers I've read, and I like a number of his novels, but this collection of stories seems to push the envelope more than I remember his novels pushing. Maybe I just remember them differently.
There is some bizarre, shocking, and horrifying stuff in many of these short stories. How does he come up with some of this stuff? I mean the main character of one of the stories is a placenta.
I'm giving this three stars as I liked it overall, but there were times I just had to put it down and call a mental time out.
Some of the standout stories for me were:
Knock-knock - "laughter is the best medicine" taken too far.
Eleanor - a malapropism-fest starring a knucklehead named Randy and his pitbull Eleanor
Zombies - young people are starting a new fad - using those wall-mounted defibrillators on themselves.
Red Sultan's Big Boy - super clever story with a twisted reveal about a newly adopted horse with a checkered past.
Phoenix - wife gets back at husband in a unique way. Great dark reveal. Meow!
Fetch - a horror/fantasy story about a fellow's adventure with a haunted tennis ball
Inclinations - teenagers whose parents think they are sexually deviant are sent to an expensive secure rehab facility - hijinks ensue. This is the longest and most fleshed out story of the bunch.
How a Jew Saved Christmas - a sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad tale of an office secret Santa that takes a weird turn.
And the story that will haunt me until I die:
Toad Prince.
I wish I had skipped it.
There is some bizarre, shocking, and horrifying stuff in many of these short stories. How does he come up with some of this stuff? I mean the main character of one of the stories is a placenta.
I'm giving this three stars as I liked it overall, but there were times I just had to put it down and call a mental time out.
Some of the standout stories for me were:
Knock-knock - "laughter is the best medicine" taken too far.
Eleanor - a malapropism-fest starring a knucklehead named Randy and his pitbull Eleanor
Zombies - young people are starting a new fad - using those wall-mounted defibrillators on themselves.
Red Sultan's Big Boy - super clever story with a twisted reveal about a newly adopted horse with a checkered past.
Phoenix - wife gets back at husband in a unique way. Great dark reveal. Meow!
Fetch - a horror/fantasy story about a fellow's adventure with a haunted tennis ball
Inclinations - teenagers whose parents think they are sexually deviant are sent to an expensive secure rehab facility - hijinks ensue. This is the longest and most fleshed out story of the bunch.
How a Jew Saved Christmas - a sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad tale of an office secret Santa that takes a weird turn.
And the story that will haunt me until I die:
Toad Prince.
I wish I had skipped it.
Maybe it's me. I used to love Palahniuk, but of late I started caring less for his more recent work. Maybe if I reread the books I loved I would find I no longer like them so much. Maybe. Truth is, there's nothing surprising in this book. You get plain and simple Palahniuk. Nothing less, nothing more. The same writing style and quirks, the same penchant for the gory and disgusting even when it doesn't really serve a purpose. The same thin veneer of anti-consumerism and non-conformism covering what is at base just a desire to shock.
Some of the earlier books in the collection actually surprised me in their overall positive outlook, and I was ready to like the collection, but that didn't last very long.
Palahniuk is a cynic. Which is great, I'm a cynic too. But he's a cynic that takes himself all too seriously. The stories lack humour and end up being just dull and pointless. Yes, life is not fair, your highness. And anyone telling you any different is trying to sell you something. We get it.
There is nothing sadder, though, than the constant references to Fight Club. You'd think he was never able to recreate the commercial and critical success of that one book, because at times he's practically writing his own FanFic (and yet, here I am, buying the new Fight Club 2 comic books, so I guess the joke's on me). The references serve no real purpose other than being feeble jokes or failed attempts at characterizing characters, or in one case - pathetic attempts to build a mythology. They fall flat each and every time, and piss me off to make it even worse.
Maybe I've outgrown Palahniuk. But, from my perspective, he just got tired and lazy and disappointing.
Some of the earlier books in the collection actually surprised me in their overall positive outlook, and I was ready to like the collection, but that didn't last very long.
Palahniuk is a cynic. Which is great, I'm a cynic too. But he's a cynic that takes himself all too seriously. The stories lack humour and end up being just dull and pointless. Yes, life is not fair, your highness. And anyone telling you any different is trying to sell you something. We get it.
There is nothing sadder, though, than the constant references to Fight Club. You'd think he was never able to recreate the commercial and critical success of that one book, because at times he's practically writing his own FanFic (and yet, here I am, buying the new Fight Club 2 comic books, so I guess the joke's on me). The references serve no real purpose other than being feeble jokes or failed attempts at characterizing characters, or in one case - pathetic attempts to build a mythology. They fall flat each and every time, and piss me off to make it even worse.
Maybe I've outgrown Palahniuk. But, from my perspective, he just got tired and lazy and disappointing.
The last couple of his books I've read, the premise has felt too stretched, and just became tiresome. This collection of short stories was a perfect remedy for that, as each one ended before that could happen, and just felt fresher and less forced.
As short story collections go, this was interesting. I only skipped one because of the disgust factor, although it might not be the one you skip. What I found most interesting was the thread of Animal stories woven through and I would have liked more of those. For a book I never planned to read and one of my daughters chose at random for the cover, this was interesting enough.
TOP povídky:
- Red Sultan's Big Boy (jsem musela)
- Palič
- Proč Hrabáč nikdy nepřistál na měsíci
- Pan elegán
- Sklony
Jako celek tak zhruba 3.5/5, 4 dávám, protože je to můj oblíbenej úchylák a po úmorném Zatracení se tohle zase dá číst.
- Red Sultan's Big Boy (jsem musela)
- Palič
- Proč Hrabáč nikdy nepřistál na měsíci
- Pan elegán
- Sklony
Jako celek tak zhruba 3.5/5, 4 dávám, protože je to můj oblíbenej úchylák a po úmorném Zatracení se tohle zase dá číst.
His last few novels have all been pretty mediocre, but this collection of short stories is his best book in probably a decade. He really is a great writer when he wants to be.