Scan barcode
A review by lauraborkpower
Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
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.