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lauraborkpower's review against another edition
2.0
I like what Palahniuk's done with Hell. He creates a landscape--From the Sea of Insects and the Dandruff Desert to the Great Ocean of Wasted Sperm and the Swamp of Partial-birth Abortions--that is rich with human waste of all kinds. But though I liked his wasteland I think he spent too much time developing the imagery of giant black flies swarming over piles of dirty popcorn balls and candy corns and doing the historical research to fill his world with proper demons and the damned, and not enough time developing his main characters.
I liked Madison, certainly, but she felt a bit flat and not really believable, and the only other character who showed much of a spark was Archer. The others started out interesting and then didn't have too much to do, so they just kind of hung around as plot forwarders for Maddy's arc. Which, truth be told, felt rushed and more a result of Palahniuk's idea than of her own personality or motivations.
And I think that's my main problem with the last couple of Palahniuk's books. Although I always appreciate and enjoy what he does with narrative voice and how he imagines new and wonderful (sometimes wonderfully grotesque and horrific) narrative landscapes--and Damned is no exception--I feel that he has a great idea and writes that idea into a novel as quickly as his little fingers can type. And then, other than some embellishments and edits, it's finished. Now, I don't know if that's really his process, but it's books like this one, Pygmy, and Tell All that give this impression. I wish he'd given me another hundred pages in the middle of this book to really follow Maddy's character change.
And (THIS MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A SPOILER), I find it a cop-out to finish your novel with "To Be Continued..." Really? Really.
So read it because it's Palahniuk and the play on Blume's classic YA novel is fun. Enjoy the Hell he's created and Madison's snarky self. But don't expect too much more than that.
I liked Madison, certainly, but she felt a bit flat and not really believable, and the only other character who showed much of a spark was Archer. The others started out interesting and then didn't have too much to do, so they just kind of hung around as plot forwarders for Maddy's arc. Which, truth be told, felt rushed and more a result of Palahniuk's idea than of her own personality or motivations.
And I think that's my main problem with the last couple of Palahniuk's books. Although I always appreciate and enjoy what he does with narrative voice and how he imagines new and wonderful (sometimes wonderfully grotesque and horrific) narrative landscapes--and Damned is no exception--I feel that he has a great idea and writes that idea into a novel as quickly as his little fingers can type. And then, other than some embellishments and edits, it's finished. Now, I don't know if that's really his process, but it's books like this one, Pygmy, and Tell All that give this impression. I wish he'd given me another hundred pages in the middle of this book to really follow Maddy's character change.
And (THIS MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A SPOILER), I find it a cop-out to finish your novel with "To Be Continued..." Really? Really.
So read it because it's Palahniuk and the play on Blume's classic YA novel is fun. Enjoy the Hell he's created and Madison's snarky self. But don't expect too much more than that.
knik's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ahollofcats's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
olivia795's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - it's funny and I really enjoyed some parts. Other parts I just had to get through.
agentbookly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ezrasupremacy's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up
i think out of all of palahniuk’s books that i’ve read this far (seven in total) this was my least favourite, but because it’s palahniuk even my least favourite is still one that i enjoyed greatly.
one thing that palahniuk does better than any other writer i’ve encountered is that he makes is characters feel real despite them being complete caricatures of “real humans”. that was definitely still true in this one, and i adored and despised each of the characters as i do in any of his books.
the one element that i missed here, which is what makes me say this was my least favourite this far, is palahniuk’s ability to come up with a completely ridiculous plot and then somehow make it feel like you’re reading the best plotted detective novel of your life. nothing is more satisfying to me than getting to the end of a palahniuk novel and seeing all the different insane plot pieces come together to form one cohesive picture, which i like to refer to as “puzzling” (verb, not adjective).
nonetheless i enjoyed this book tremendously and i’m excited for my copy of the second book to arrive so i can see how maddy’s store progresses.
i think out of all of palahniuk’s books that i’ve read this far (seven in total) this was my least favourite, but because it’s palahniuk even my least favourite is still one that i enjoyed greatly.
one thing that palahniuk does better than any other writer i’ve encountered is that he makes is characters feel real despite them being complete caricatures of “real humans”. that was definitely still true in this one, and i adored and despised each of the characters as i do in any of his books.
the one element that i missed here, which is what makes me say this was my least favourite this far, is palahniuk’s ability to come up with a completely ridiculous plot and then somehow make it feel like you’re reading the best plotted detective novel of your life. nothing is more satisfying to me than getting to the end of a palahniuk novel and seeing all the different insane plot pieces come together to form one cohesive picture, which i like to refer to as “puzzling” (verb, not adjective).
nonetheless i enjoyed this book tremendously and i’m excited for my copy of the second book to arrive so i can see how maddy’s store progresses.
shirp's review against another edition
2.0
It says a lot in my faith in Palahniuk's current direction that I only borrowed this one from the library. The premise had seemed interesting, but Damned feels incomplete, the characters are superficial and non-engaging, and his big "reveal" is just plain dumb. That said, the writing was good enough to keep reading and there were some good passages. I can't quite decide if Palahniuk has made a conscious decision to only come out with culty camp fiction from now on or what...but Damned just feels so repetitive, lacking consistency and a clear narrative, placing a lot of focus on a plot theme to barely address it and discard it later, and ultimately just tries too hard. All shock (or not, if you've become accustomed to Palahniuk) and no value.
hungrybrainz's review against another edition
4.0
It seems like everyone loves to sh*t all over Chuck for this version of his writing, but I actually really enjoyed it. I laughed a lot. I liked some of the weird demon-lore thrown in and the descriptions of everything. I liked that it was gross and vulgar, and yet it sounded like it came from the POV of a teenage girl. Some people say they found the main character annoying but I found her oddly charming. If you just put aside any expectations set up by Chuck's past work and consider this a weird YA novel, it is quite delightful.
acalla7's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-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
2.5
slightymanic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.75