Okay. Here’s the thing. I have struggled long and hard about my opinion of Chuck Palahniuk, and have read some opinions and analysis on other blogs. And his time has come. Sorry, Chuck.
First and foremost- I love Fight Club more than life itself. I have read it over and over, and YES I LOVE THE MOVIE, but the book is better and I did read it first. The idea is genius, the writing is genius- it makes sense that Tyler Durden would speak in staccato, gripping, gut-wrenching sentences. He’s not the type to mess around with lyrical prose and page long paragraphs.
Fight Club- point one for Palahniuk.
Since I loved Fight Club so much, I figured- someone who writes that piece of awesomeness can’t be THAT bad.
Um. Spoke too soon.
Because here’s the thing- Fight Club needed the violence and gore. It was an integral part of the story line, and the novel wouldn’t be as good without it. It was necessary.
In his other books, he often uses it when it’s not necessary. At all.
I’ve read Invisible Monsters, Lullaby, Choke, and Survivor. They’re all fairly quick, easy reads. Here’s the thing though.
Some of them just took it too far. Yes, there were some choice phrases or ideas in all of them that I said ‘hey, that’s sort of neat’. But for the most part, I had an experience similar to when I read Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. I would just stare at the page, thinking ‘Disgusting!’
It was ludicrous, at points. You just think- ‘these things don’t really HAPPEN’.
In the mind of the nameless insomniac writer, it made sense. He planned these things while he was in a half-sleep state, and none of them were too crazy. Project Mayhem did some grand gestures, but it wasn’t unimaginable.
Crazy transvestite drag queens, walking around with faceless girls, who were actually related but NOT REALLY BUT THEY DIDN’T KNOW BUT SOME OF THEM ACTUALLY DID, AND THEN THERE WAS THE CREEDISH DEATH CULT- BUT HE ESCAPED! AND HE’S A CELEBRITY! BUT HE ACTUALLY WANTED TO KILL HIMSELF BUT HE DIDN’T! AND THE SEX ADDICT WAS WORKING INA PILGRIM VILLAGE WHERE EVERYONE ELSE WAS AN ADDICT! AND THIS OTHER GUY WAS KILLING PEOPLE WITH THE SACRED LULLABY LEFT AND RIGHT! AND NO ONE KNEW! AND-
Come on, man! Get a hold of yourself! Put down the crack pipe! You have gone too far!
I admit this- I love crazy writing. That half-dream state, where the sentences don’t always completely coordinate, but they’re still awesome- I love that. The impact, the feeling, the emotion- love it. Perhaps I'm just crazy altogether. I like writing that strays from the ordinary.
But it’s just too much, Mr. Palahniuk. Too much.
There’s shock value, and then there’s just 260 pages of disgustingness.
Rant just hurt my head. I'm sure if I sat down and gave it a chance it may be different, but I just wasn't feeling it. The little 'interview' idea wasn't really my cup of tea.
And Snuff? The King of Gross-out Lit is back! From what I flipped through, it's about 300 pages of erections, pus, and porn. Why? WHY?
I realize it's not completely fair to judge without reading, but...I've read 4 of your books besides Fight Club, sir. I gave you a fair chance.
But please. If I wanted to read about pus and diseased anatomy, I would open a medical textbook. Not a fiction novel.
Okay, rant over!
4 comments:
Alright, I agree about Choke and Invisible Monsters. But you're still misunderstanding Fight Club. You say that the violence and gore is necessary. What I was trying to state in my blog was the fact that to truly understand Fight Club you have to see past the violence. The violence was a necessary part of the writing because it masked the true identity of the novel, I think Polahniuk did that purposely. I also believe that to be insanely smart and interesting. But the book is not about the violence, the book is about the destruction (not necessarily physical destruction) of corporatism and new-day "revloutions".
I see your point, perhaps I worded it incorrectly by saying 'necessary'... what I meant was that it didn't seem out of place in Fight Club. It didn't stand out like in his other novels and distract me from the plot, therefore I was able to see the genius of the plot. Like you said, I was able to see past the violence and dig deep into the novel. In his other novels, I was simply too distracted by it to really get into the book.
Ahh, this is going to end up longer than the post if I don't wrap it up! Ramble? Me? Nahhh
Thanks for the great comment!
Rant and Snuff have been out for quite a while. Snuff is newer and I think its been out for at least two months but probably more.
[/pointless rambling]
I love the way you talk about books. You really read into them and you can tell in the way you review that you really think about them. I just wanted to say that even though I have never read any Chuck Polahniuk, (that kind of stuff was never my genre,) I can still relate to what you say.
I don't know why I felt the need to post that but I did.
^ Aww, thanks! Being relatable is good.
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