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A review by jugglingpup
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
2.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I have read some funny posts from someone that has gotten tumblr famous recently, so I marked down this author as someone I had to give another shot. I had read Fight Club in high school and was completely underwhelmed. I thought maybe it was just I wasn’t old enough to really understand the book and enjoy it. I got to talking with a coworker and he was really excited. He brought me in two of Palahniuk’s books. This was the first one I got to.
Have you ever read a book and realized that made you feel like you were a masochist and should seek help? This book was damn close to that. From the very first page, I was just uninterested and a bit grossed out. The way the flashbacks were told in that weird narrative that didn’t match the book. Everything was third person in the flashbacks, but first person in the story. Yet, nothing was ever really explained. So many plot holes were left wide open. Some were settled, but one of the major plot points on the back of the book was still open to some extent. Then the last plot point, where is that going? ‘
The language was just obnoxious. If I never have to hear another person refer to their penis as a “dog” it will be too soon. The language was such middle school boy that it was ridiculous. The sex scenes were boring, which I could appreciate because Victor even said that sex was perfunctory to him at this point. Referring to his ejaculate as “white soldiers” was something that got on my nerves every time.
Despite all of my issues, the plot was able to hold me interested for a few minutes. Nothing to do with Victor. I wanted to know more about Denidiny. What was Denny really doing with the rocks? That was the only part of the book I really cared about. Yet that plot was one of the ones that was left open. Denny also had the same issues of being immature and boring like Victor. All of the female characters were either felons, in psychiatric care, or strippers. I hear that this is pretty common in Palahniuk’s books, but I won’t know that for sure for a few more books. It was interesting how immature Victor was, but one in an aside he mentioned that receiving oral sex from a man would do in a pinch. I expected him to be more immature about the idea. There weren’t many homophobic slurs, which would have fit Victor. There were a lot of insults slapped on Victor by the narrator though, which never made sense. Every time I started to get into the book, the language and the characters would pull me back out. The language was consistent though, that takes some skill when it is this ridiculous.
If you like books that think they are being clever, where the twists are obvious from pretty much the beginning, where the language is very juvenile, and the humor is just crass, then this book would be perfect for you. If you like reading a main character that speaks and thinks like he is older than 13-14, then this isn’t the book for you.
I have read some funny posts from someone that has gotten tumblr famous recently, so I marked down this author as someone I had to give another shot. I had read Fight Club in high school and was completely underwhelmed. I thought maybe it was just I wasn’t old enough to really understand the book and enjoy it. I got to talking with a coworker and he was really excited. He brought me in two of Palahniuk’s books. This was the first one I got to.
Have you ever read a book and realized that made you feel like you were a masochist and should seek help? This book was damn close to that. From the very first page, I was just uninterested and a bit grossed out. The way the flashbacks were told in that weird narrative that didn’t match the book. Everything was third person in the flashbacks, but first person in the story. Yet, nothing was ever really explained. So many plot holes were left wide open. Some were settled, but one of the major plot points on the back of the book was still open to some extent. Then the last plot point, where is that going? ‘
The language was just obnoxious. If I never have to hear another person refer to their penis as a “dog” it will be too soon. The language was such middle school boy that it was ridiculous. The sex scenes were boring, which I could appreciate because Victor even said that sex was perfunctory to him at this point. Referring to his ejaculate as “white soldiers” was something that got on my nerves every time.
Despite all of my issues, the plot was able to hold me interested for a few minutes. Nothing to do with Victor. I wanted to know more about Denidiny. What was Denny really doing with the rocks? That was the only part of the book I really cared about. Yet that plot was one of the ones that was left open. Denny also had the same issues of being immature and boring like Victor. All of the female characters were either felons, in psychiatric care, or strippers. I hear that this is pretty common in Palahniuk’s books, but I won’t know that for sure for a few more books. It was interesting how immature Victor was, but one in an aside he mentioned that receiving oral sex from a man would do in a pinch. I expected him to be more immature about the idea. There weren’t many homophobic slurs, which would have fit Victor. There were a lot of insults slapped on Victor by the narrator though, which never made sense. Every time I started to get into the book, the language and the characters would pull me back out. The language was consistent though, that takes some skill when it is this ridiculous.
If you like books that think they are being clever, where the twists are obvious from pretty much the beginning, where the language is very juvenile, and the humor is just crass, then this book would be perfect for you. If you like reading a main character that speaks and thinks like he is older than 13-14, then this isn’t the book for you.