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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
kind of slay, did not have fun reading it though. cannot in good conscience recommend this book to anybody it feels like an assault on the brain. yucky. interesting read and format though!!
this book makes the brave choice of following through on his "people need conflict and drama and villains and a satisfying narrative*" theme by giving us none of that in the overarching narrative (or more accurately, by giving so much of it that it all gets muddled), and i honestly kind of respect it? it does make the whole thing a little bit tedious to get through, though. overall fine, i think, palahniuk had a vision - even if it's kind of a narrow one - and gave it his all. the short stories were a bit hit-or-miss for me, the cynical angle of "ouhgshjds people are so easily mean and horrible to each other" is something i generally struggle to take seriously (feels a tad juvenile), but a few of them manage to stand out and strike on a deeper level than just really intense gross out by being more grounded emotionally and adding empathy to its toolbox, which should've happened way more often imo. (i'm still sad about exodus.)
*realizing now that's maybe unfair paraphrasing, it's mostly just about plain conflict and drama - but the thing is, all the horrible stuff that happens in the retreat is so aimless and devoid of sense that it barely registers as conflict to me, at least in the narrative sense of the word, and, well, this is a book. narrative is all there is. i know the absurdity of it all is the point, again i respect that, and i think that on an esthetic level the centering of pain and suffering and horror that transcends any logical end works pretty well, but. again. the "okay so what why should i care these people are just supid and doing stupid shit for no reason" urge is strong with this one.
*realizing now that's maybe unfair paraphrasing, it's mostly just about plain conflict and drama - but the thing is, all the horrible stuff that happens in the retreat is so aimless and devoid of sense that it barely registers as conflict to me, at least in the narrative sense of the word, and, well, this is a book. narrative is all there is. i know the absurdity of it all is the point, again i respect that, and i think that on an esthetic level the centering of pain and suffering and horror that transcends any logical end works pretty well, but. again. the "okay so what why should i care these people are just supid and doing stupid shit for no reason" urge is strong with this one.
This was tough. Seems appropriate that however much pain it caused me, I kept reading.
genuinely such a bad book and it was such a let down. I expected this to be funny and new with each chapter a different story about each person but it was so hard to follow and made absolutely no sense. the plot was convoluted and tried too hard to be pretentious. overall an awful book
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Look. It's a satire, written by a gay man, designed to point out everything wrong with society. It's incredibly dark, triggering, unsettling, and disturbing. It was designed that way, just as much as it was designed to be laughed at.
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dnf// i think i’ve read enough books now to know fight club is the anomaly for me and his work :/
Haunted cuenta la historia de 19 personas que piensan que van a un retiro de escritores, pero acaban siendo secuestrados en un teatro abandonado sin comida con el fin de escribir sus obras maestras.
Cada uno de los personajes es presentado, seguido por su historia lo que hace que el libro sea una mezcla de novela y relatos cortos.
Chuck Palahniuk lleva la estupidez humana al extremo más extremo de una manera ofensiva y asquerosa que para mi mente enferma hace mucha gracia.
La primera historia, "Guts" (Tripas), tenía fama de hacer que los oyentes se desmayaran cuando Palahniuk la leía en voz alta en las firmas de libros. Lo cual no me extraña. Solo por “Guts” vale la pena leerlo.
Cada uno de los personajes es presentado, seguido por su historia lo que hace que el libro sea una mezcla de novela y relatos cortos.
Chuck Palahniuk lleva la estupidez humana al extremo más extremo de una manera ofensiva y asquerosa que para mi mente enferma hace mucha gracia.
La primera historia, "Guts" (Tripas), tenía fama de hacer que los oyentes se desmayaran cuando Palahniuk la leía en voz alta en las firmas de libros. Lo cual no me extraña. Solo por “Guts” vale la pena leerlo.
A group of writers go to a retreat where they are basically sequestered away for 3 months in the winter- to enhance their writing abilities. As they spend more time in the house, the host removes more and more from them (food, hot water, heating) and they fall deeper into madness.
One writer spoke about the need to slow down and focus and I really identified with that but this isn't the only way to do that...
For me, this book went from being boring to intriguing to disgusting- in a twisted cyclical dance.
**spoiler**
The funniest and grossest parts to me were-
1. When the writers were yelling but didn't want to be too loud so that passerby would rescue them- they do not want to be rescued. They want to fall deeper into their creativity in this unorthodox way.
2. When the writers decided to maim themselves so that they could spin the story of their willing captivity into being a kidnapping by their host- to make it a good story for the media.
3. The Guts, Swan Song, and Speaking Bitterness chapters. (grossest to me personally)
One writer spoke about the need to slow down and focus and I really identified with that but this isn't the only way to do that...
For me, this book went from being boring to intriguing to disgusting- in a twisted cyclical dance.
**spoiler**
The funniest and grossest parts to me were-
1. When the writers were yelling but didn't want to be too loud so that passerby would rescue them- they do not want to be rescued. They want to fall deeper into their creativity in this unorthodox way.
2. When the writers decided to maim themselves so that they could spin the story of their willing captivity into being a kidnapping by their host- to make it a good story for the media.
3. The Guts, Swan Song, and Speaking Bitterness chapters. (grossest to me personally)