A review by monkeelino
Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk

3.0

This was solidly stuck between a 2- and a 3-star experience, but instead of opting to write a longer review touching more on what Palahniuk might have done with the book, I'm bumping it up to 3 stars and using that half-star raise to excuse myself from a long review. You read enough Chuck and it all starts to feel like a formula. He's like the Tarantino of transgressive novels. Chooses edgy subject matter, highlights contradictions inherent in contemporary life and capitalism, digresses every 8 pages into pop culture and science trivia that no one knows, ... it just starts to feel more like a schtick from which he's squeezed every last bit of literary juice. If you haven't read much of his work, you might get a kick out of most of this, but it starts to wear thin after a while despite a lot of humor, pathos, and poignant social commentary. I think this might be the last of his work I read. I will say, it's no small thing to pull off two-hundred pages essentially centered around 3 of the 600 guys waiting backstage to be part of a record-breaking porn filming. Maybe it's more that individual parts were quite effective, but the whole felt somewhat mashed together. I did read it in one day so I must have been mostly entertained...