Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

2 reviews

booksofautumn's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I wanted to love this so bad. I usually love books about addiction and Chuck is one of my favorite authors so I figured this would be the perfect novel for me. I think that there was just way too much going on. It was hard for me to commit to one layer because there were so many layers. All of the twists were good and it definitely had the shock value of all Chuck novels. It was just a lot going on that didn’t really flow together in my opinion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical content, Violence, Alcohol, Cancer, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Drug abuse

stefo's review

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Chuck doesn't seem to disappoint. This was everything I came to expect plus more.
A very well written story about an unlikable prick, the book tells you that at the start, you already know what you're getting yourself into, you ARE indeed warned before this fuck-fest unfolds. Vile things written here, but that's not surprising for Chuck, I just wonder from what part of his brain do these sentences come. Story is split in two, but mostly straightforward, an easy read I would say. The plot twists are there and it does manage to hold your attention, some really good quotes. As the cover says, this is somewhat the Fight Club for sex addicts, in a way, not that you should expect Fight Club from this book but It is about troubled people navigating the contemporary world, in their own fucked up ways.
Give this a try if you're a fan of Palahniuk, its a tight story (wink-wink). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Addiction, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Misogyny