Reviews

This is my first Chuck Palahniuk book and I enjoyed the style for the most part. The style is very movie-friendly in that the character is helter-skelter in his narration. I liked the psychological battles and layers that went into the main character, and I liked how many mistakes the narrator made in his narration. He got his brother wrong, he got his church wrong, he got Felicity wrong, he basically got everyone wrong. That's a really nice touch; rather than having a seemingly omniscient (or at least lucky) main character, Palahniuk instead has given the point of view to someone who is being used by every single person who meets him. It's a different form of anti-hero, a powerless form of protagonist.

The book isn't 5 stars because over random 100-line stretches it would just be the same point pounded and pounded until I wanted to skip ahead. It's the opposite of a commercial in TV in that its as if the last frame was frozen for 2 minutes instead. I wanted to skip ahead to what happened next (a testament to the pace of the novel) and that was a bit frustrating. I also didn't like Felicity that much; she's not a free spirit as much as she is the MacGuffin required to justify the events of the story. She doesn't offer much in terms of either a) depth or b) development.

Nevertheless it's a quick read that is a lot of fun. It made subway rides short because you would just roll with the words as events and thoughts changed quickly. That's why it's worth reading, because it's just a fun book to read.

lilsdav12's review against another edition

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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

3.75

tetrakate's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny 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

4.5

Content Warnings

messedupmouth's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

books_n_bananas's review against another edition

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2.0

Meh.
As Palahniuk novels go, I think this is one of my least favorites along with 'Lullaby'.
As always, Palahniuk forces the reader into a weird version of reality that makes us ask questions--like 'Black Mirror,' but less Sci-Fi.
I'm not sure what exactly made this novel fall flat for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the characters--Tender was just unrelatable and was bland as a character--he did what he was told. That's that. Fertility was searching for meaning, but ultimately, also had no real drive or personality.\
The attention-grabbing schemes that Palahniuk usually employs were of course present--the mountains of porn, unintentional assisted suicide, intentional assisted suicide, murder hidden as suicide, unintentional murder, etc, etc. But it was monotonous--there was no drive forward through the novel.
I would say the ending was the most thought-provoking part of the novel and even that was kind of been-there-done-that as endings go.
tl;dr
All this to say, as novels overall go, it's not bad. As Palahniuk novels go, it's currently at the bottom of my list.

wolfalex's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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