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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
Marvellous anthology of sorts. Morbid, grotesque but slow in places.
one mindfuck after another. brilliant, chilling, and sometimes downright grotesque. gotta love Chuck!
The first short story is great, it goes downhill after that.
The concept enveloping the story is great, it goes downhill after that
The concept enveloping the story is great, it goes downhill after that
The only book of Palahniuk's that I have never finished and never plan to finish.
Ok, you guys, this one was super weird. The premise of this book is that a bunch of people sign up for this writers' retreat and end up locked in an old theater by a madman. They each tell a story about their lives as conditions in the theater get worse and worse. But each of them are also *trying* to make things worse (destroying food, breaking the heater, lopping off their own body parts - for real!)because they are imagining the book deal/movie deal that will come out of the whole experience afterwards. It is like The Canterbury Tales meets some schlocky horror movie. The stories the people tell are gross and depraved, usually having to do with sex or murder or blackmail or all of the above. It is twisted and disturbing and somehow oddly compelling. I tore through this book super fast even though I was kind of replused by it the whole time. It was like watching Hoarders or the Kardashians or any of the Real Housewives shows. You sort of hate/pity/are repulsed by the actions of everyone in it, but can't stop watching. Not sure I would recommend this to anyone (I don't want that responsibility), but it certainly put the "gross" back in "engrossing." Har har.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fucked up and for what?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Transphobia, Blood, Cannibalism
Moderate: Gore, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Murder
2005 Edgelord Bullshit. I really hated this. I think it was supposed to be funny, but it mostly oscillated between boring and gross for me, like a standing fan that occasionally faces an unflushed toilet. Maybe, I should have started with Fight Club.
Okay, it's definitely not for the faint of heart. There was some things I really couldn't deal with, but if you're into the overall message of life and death and what our stories mean that this book is totally for you. It's a book of scary stories, but in the same way shows like "Criminal Minds" are scary shows, because they're based on real things that real people do, and it's scary because these people aren't so different from ourselves.
DNF: the first 30 pages were absolutely vile, but the following 100 pages were dreadfully boring. The writing style was attempting to portray the work of new writers, and it succeeded greatly. The main plot often intertwined with the stories of the characters (in a poor manner), the social commentary was lazy, and the “humorous” aspects had a near diametrical effect. It could have been good if there was more of a focus on the horror aspects of the plot (or even the stories written by the characters) rather than filling pages with unnecessary dialogue.
Some quotes I stole from another review who seemed to drop the book around the same point as I did. The following is a short glimpse at the novel. From “Slumming”:
"Inky always said being absent is the new being present." (p 69)
"Poverty, Inky says, is the new wealth." (P71)
"Social divers, Inky says, are the new social climbers." (P71)
"Nobodies are the new celebrity." (p72)
"Public is the new private" (p 72)
Some quotes I stole from another review who seemed to drop the book around the same point as I did. The following is a short glimpse at the novel. From “Slumming”:
"Inky always said being absent is the new being present." (p 69)
"Poverty, Inky says, is the new wealth." (P71)
"Social divers, Inky says, are the new social climbers." (P71)
"Nobodies are the new celebrity." (p72)
"Public is the new private" (p 72)
dark
funny
mysterious