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lucyblackbirdreads 's review for:
Damned
by Chuck Palahniuk
Before reading this, I would call myself a slight fan of Chuck Palahniuk. I'm not one of those who would see his name next to a title on a list of new releases and fangirl all over the place, then pick myself up and rush to the bookstore screaming take my money. I have read [b:Fight Club|5759|Fight Club|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357128997s/5759.jpg|68729] (by now, seriously, who hasn't??), [b:Haunted|22288|Haunted|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391152326s/22288.jpg|1602272], [b:Invisible Monsters|3304435|Invisible Monsters|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1265423630s/3304435.jpg|849507], and [b:Diary|22284|Diary|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388196823s/22284.jpg|1602261]. The first three I enjoyed immensely. The last, I forced my way through not so much. As for his other works, I wouldn't object to reading them.
Which is how I came to buying [b:Damned|9912994|Damned (Damned #1)|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1296236310s/9912994.jpg|14805540]. I mean, when you are standing at a bookstore, drooling over a table where everything is plastered with white on red 'Buy 2 get the 3rd FREE', and you see Chuck Palahniuk stacked between some lame looking book with a lame looking title, you don't resist.
I'm still trying to decide if I should have.
I don't feel like it lived up to the expectations that I had from reading his first few books. His descriptions of Hell were there, but never followed through. The characters were ok, but not as catching as what I would expect. The dialog was witty and clever, and I loved it-
-until, that is, I remembered who was telling this story.
No amount of repeating various forms of 'I may be thirteen, but I still know what (insert) means' will change the fact that thirteen year old girls, no matter how much you may want them to, do not talk in witty banter the way Palahniuk writes, or uses the words Palahniuk uses. It just doesn't work.
So maybe because of that, I didn't connect with Maddy like I was supposed to. There were times I felt bored. Times that the lack of description when it could have been splendid just annoyed me so much I wanted to put the book down and reevaluate if I should continue.
But I did. I did because, despite all that, I do enjoy Chuck Palahniuk's writing style. I enjoy his wit, his sometimes not-so-subtle digs at society and the 'social norm'.
Knowing there is a second book out, [b:Doomed|17262208|Doomed (Damned #2)|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1382229504s/17262208.jpg|23859008], gives me pause. Do I risk it? Do I really want to take the chance on a sequel, when I know how the first one affected me...
...yet to be determined.
Currently, I'm going to give it 3 stars. I'm wavering between 2 and 3 (since you can't do .5 stars), so I'll justdamned lucky for the book nicely round up.
Which is how I came to buying [b:Damned|9912994|Damned (Damned #1)|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1296236310s/9912994.jpg|14805540]. I mean, when you are standing at a bookstore, drooling over a table where everything is plastered with white on red 'Buy 2 get the 3rd FREE', and you see Chuck Palahniuk stacked between some lame looking book with a lame looking title, you don't resist.
I'm still trying to decide if I should have.
I don't feel like it lived up to the expectations that I had from reading his first few books. His descriptions of Hell were there, but never followed through. The characters were ok, but not as catching as what I would expect. The dialog was witty and clever, and I loved it-
-until, that is, I remembered who was telling this story.
No amount of repeating various forms of 'I may be thirteen, but I still know what (insert) means' will change the fact that thirteen year old girls, no matter how much you may want them to, do not talk in witty banter the way Palahniuk writes, or uses the words Palahniuk uses. It just doesn't work.
So maybe because of that, I didn't connect with Maddy like I was supposed to. There were times I felt bored. Times that the lack of description when it could have been splendid just annoyed me so much I wanted to put the book down and reevaluate if I should continue.
But I did. I did because, despite all that, I do enjoy Chuck Palahniuk's writing style. I enjoy his wit, his sometimes not-so-subtle digs at society and the 'social norm'.
Knowing there is a second book out, [b:Doomed|17262208|Doomed (Damned #2)|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1382229504s/17262208.jpg|23859008], gives me pause. Do I risk it? Do I really want to take the chance on a sequel, when I know how the first one affected me...
...yet to be determined.
Currently, I'm going to give it 3 stars. I'm wavering between 2 and 3 (since you can't do .5 stars), so I'll just