Reviews

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk

bentrevett's review

5.0

this is a greatest hits of all the themes in all of palahniuk's other books. you can basically read this one and not bother with any of his others.

eyesofcrows's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.25

Absolute odd ball of a novel and I should’ve expected it from Palahniuk. He’s an absolute oddball haha. The minute I thought I understood how the novel was going a curveball was sent and then another and another until I’m pelted by them. It’s so hard to tell whose perspective is right after so many second hand accounts. I think that ties in to the “history” aspect of this novel. So many things get jumbled up with conspiracy and hearsay and misinterpretations because of all these darn people. I loved it. The confusion, the out of whack world, all of it.

authoraugust's review against another edition

5.0

Reading Palahniuk has lately become a bit of a drag. I love his style and his spunk, but sometimes he recycles things a little too easily. "Rant," though, was a beautiful breath of fresh air. I certainly didn't see the twists coming, and I didn't ever feel like I was reading just another Palahniuk book. The experience was refreshing, and it was more like my first time reading "Fight Club" than, say, "Choke" or "Survivor." An excellent conspiracy theorist read at any rate.

aholeistodig's review against another edition

5.0

If you're going to read Rant, do NOT let anyone tell you anything about it. Rarely do you get to read a book that so completely changes itself, right there as you're holding it in your hands. Holy crap: Palahniuk's best in a long time. Unlike Fight Club, which sets up that one Really Big paradigm shift, Rant's seeded with about 15 or 20 little electric WTF moments throughout. It's basically awesome--and, I'm telling you, has nothing to do with what you think it does.

cotton_agni's review against another edition

3.0

The premise is very interesting, the way the story develops will kinda melt your brain and I loved the interview-like style it’s written.
The rating is 3 stars because sometimes Palahniuk goes out of his way to write details so absurdly disgusting he kinda lost me, but I did enjoy the fact that he was able to give an explanation or at least contextualize them in some way or another. Also I enjoyed reading part of the book to my friends just to see their reaction, oops

rcromer's review against another edition

5.0

I picked this up in an airport on my way out of the country. It was in hardback and jacked up in price, both big "NO!" signs for travelers, but I've never been disappointed. As a cultural anthro grad student, his incorporation of Victor Turner and liminality tickled me endlessly. His play with narrative structure is rewarding and fresh, and his craft of creating penetrating images is unmatched. Visions of bloody sanitary napkins swirling in a trash tornado and getting stuck in chain link fences are still with me two years later...

averyavenue's review against another edition

3.0

what the ever living fuck

beillumined's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this book in waves. It took me a bit to get interested in it, then I would lose interest, then I was super interested, then it waned, and then, bam, it got good again, then I was a bit displeased with the ending. I would say the same went for how much I actually understood the book. It wasn't until I got closer to the end that I actually started to get a grasp on what was going on, and then when I thought I had it nailed down, well, it turns out I was wrong, and then I went back to being confused. And I still don't think I really fully get everything.

By and large, as usual for Chuck, a very interesting and entertaining read. I certainly enjoyed myself, but it might be a bit before I pick it up again.

missharrietsmith's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

wisdomandsunliz's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This book made me think of both Neuromancer and Oryz and Crake, but is also nothing like either. Weird in the way Palahniuk is great at being weird and not as graphically gross as he can sometimes be.