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2.78 AVERAGE
2.78 AVERAGE
As a huge Palahniuk fan, this book was just a huge letdown. It was just...weird. And not in a good way. I never fully understood what was going on. I didn't particularly care about the characters. The blurb made it sound like it'd be an interesting tale, and instead we just get weird sexual depravity. There were plenty of times where I just almost gave up on the book because it was just so frustrating to read a book where nothing really seemed to be going on that mattered.
Adding to this review because I still go back and think about where he went wrong because I was so excited about another Palahniuk book. It really just comes down to some poor writing. People are talking about how you won't like this book if you're easily offended. I am not. I wouldn't mind the incest, the weird way they kill and dispose of bodies, etc. if it was actually written well. But it's just not. I know how well he can write, and this just is not that.
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader's copy in return for my honest review.
Adding to this review because I still go back and think about where he went wrong because I was so excited about another Palahniuk book. It really just comes down to some poor writing. People are talking about how you won't like this book if you're easily offended. I am not. I wouldn't mind the incest, the weird way they kill and dispose of bodies, etc. if it was actually written well. But it's just not. I know how well he can write, and this just is not that.
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader's copy in return for my honest review.
Not Forever But For Now is a weird combination of topics that one can only expect from Chuck Palahniuk. It will not be for everyone, that is for sure. It is just such a peculiar read that makes you slightly uncomfortable and very cringey, but you can’t stop reading.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for my copies of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for my copies of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B
I got a signed copy of this one at his book tour’s LA event (what an outrageous evening that was), but I didn’t have the interest at the time to start reading it. Despite all the atrocious Goodreads reviews that have accrued in the time since, I got interested—due in no small part to reading two other Chucks beforehand.
I can see why many people hate this book, but I don’t. It’s a bit of a departure for Chuck in its sexual violence. For the first time, he’s infused some Dennis Cooper vibes into his characters, but with no stylistic similarity whatsoever. The narration is pretty annoying, but meaningfully so. Or maybe just artfully so.
What’s more of interest to me is the vague and beguiling exploration of queerness in this novel…not sure what Chuck was getting at, or if it was just satire (trolling) for the sake of satire (trolling). That’s the weakest part of this project. By the end, its themes are all over the place, which isn’t atypical for Chuck, but I never had a sense of what he was getting at with all that alternate history stuff with Stonewall and Judy Garland, and that frustrated me because Chuck so rarely explores queerness.
The sentimental ending was another head-scratcher. It felt undercooked, undeserved, ingenuine, and impulsive.
I loved the setting. I loved the particularly disturbing content in the first half, while the second sorta fell off into repetitious tedium.
The last act is rushed and silly, but at least it’s got some plot in it.
And I don’t love the title.
That about sums it up. I loved this at first and slowly fell out of love with it, but never hated it, unlike a ton of unhappy Chuck fans out there…I’d love to know what Chuck feels about the reactions.
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B
I got a signed copy of this one at his book tour’s LA event (what an outrageous evening that was), but I didn’t have the interest at the time to start reading it. Despite all the atrocious Goodreads reviews that have accrued in the time since, I got interested—due in no small part to reading two other Chucks beforehand.
I can see why many people hate this book, but I don’t. It’s a bit of a departure for Chuck in its sexual violence. For the first time, he’s infused some Dennis Cooper vibes into his characters, but with no stylistic similarity whatsoever. The narration is pretty annoying, but meaningfully so. Or maybe just artfully so.
What’s more of interest to me is the vague and beguiling exploration of queerness in this novel…not sure what Chuck was getting at, or if it was just satire (trolling) for the sake of satire (trolling). That’s the weakest part of this project. By the end, its themes are all over the place, which isn’t atypical for Chuck, but I never had a sense of what he was getting at with all that alternate history stuff with Stonewall and Judy Garland, and that frustrated me because Chuck so rarely explores queerness.
The sentimental ending was another head-scratcher. It felt undercooked, undeserved, ingenuine, and impulsive.
I loved the setting. I loved the particularly disturbing content in the first half, while the second sorta fell off into repetitious tedium.
The last act is rushed and silly, but at least it’s got some plot in it.
And I don’t love the title.
That about sums it up. I loved this at first and slowly fell out of love with it, but never hated it, unlike a ton of unhappy Chuck fans out there…I’d love to know what Chuck feels about the reactions.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was too dark, too weird and felt off for the author
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
It hurts me to say this, but I really didn’t enjoy this at all. I had to skim most of it just to get through and see if the ending would save it for me (it did not). I was bored, it felt too long (even though it was less than 250 pages), and I just didn’t get it. As a huge Palahniuk fan, I’m accustomed to his weird, search-for-the-meaning writing, but even after reading his author’s note, I still missed the point he was trying to make. Palahniuk definitely isn’t for everyone, but even as a huge fan, this just wasn’t good.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Audio and Libro.fm for the ALC!
Narrator: Raphael Corkhill
Otto and Cecil are two brothers growing up in the Welsh countryside. Their father has disappeared and their mother is struggling with opioid addiction. And their grandfather is pressuring Otto to step up into the family business. Despite the stress, or maybe because of it, they enjoy playing pretend and killing the help, among other depraved activities.
Alternating between hilarious and disturbing, this book was a quick listen. Told from Cecil’s point of view, while I could not relate to him really I found myself laughing out loud multiple times at the situations he and his brother were in, that he treated as completely normal (ie: when playing pretend, he would be “Judy Garland”). I was surprised by how much gore there was, but that doesn’t bother me so that was not a dealbreaker. It also felt very repetitive at some parts, almost like it was too long to get to the point of the story. But if you are a fan of dark humor like I am, this is a good one to read (especially for spooky season!) I would definitely check out other books from this author.
Check the trigger warnings on this one - it is not for everyone!
This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)
Narrator: Raphael Corkhill
Otto and Cecil are two brothers growing up in the Welsh countryside. Their father has disappeared and their mother is struggling with opioid addiction. And their grandfather is pressuring Otto to step up into the family business. Despite the stress, or maybe because of it, they enjoy playing pretend and killing the help, among other depraved activities.
Alternating between hilarious and disturbing, this book was a quick listen. Told from Cecil’s point of view, while I could not relate to him really I found myself laughing out loud multiple times at the situations he and his brother were in, that he treated as completely normal (ie: when playing pretend, he would be “Judy Garland”). I was surprised by how much gore there was, but that doesn’t bother me so that was not a dealbreaker. It also felt very repetitive at some parts, almost like it was too long to get to the point of the story. But if you are a fan of dark humor like I am, this is a good one to read (especially for spooky season!) I would definitely check out other books from this author.
Check the trigger warnings on this one - it is not for everyone!
This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was just bad. There's no plot. It's gross. It's silly in a bad way. I've read and enjoyed other Chuck P novels but not this one
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced