Choke

Rating:
Summary: Wasn't for me, sorry...
Review: Well, I've got to say...Dude..

I'm sorry I didn't take the author's advice in the first section and put down this book and instead read some standard King, Koontz, or anything else.

Why not?

Well, Dude, this book had amazing language. The sentences were wonderful. I enjoyed how the sections jumped around. The overall theme was thought provoking.

Chuck's obviously a talented writer, Dude. However, I know what he is trying to do here. He's attempting to someday get himself into some cannonized literary text book of the early 21st century. He's being preachy. Sorry Chuck, it's not going to happen. Dude, I really do not care how controversial the topics--and sex scenes--are, Choke goes overboard and does not supply.

Chuck eventually leads you away from where he had been taking you the entire book at the end, Dude. He turned what was a hurmous, somewhat interesting book into a, "ah ... Are you for real?" at the end. For me to enjoy a book, I want a good ending! Choke did not supply. Fight Club does, however. I'd say pick up any other novel, even one of his others, just pass this by.

It's really not worth the time, Dude.
Parents, this book would eaisly get an NC-17 rating, by the way.

...And if you're wondering what's up with all the Dudes, prepare yourself for that if you pick up this novel. NOT realistic but annoying.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but repetitive.
Review: I'll spare you another plot summary.

I haven't read Invisible Monsters, but the rest of Palahniuk's novels (Fight Club, Survivor, Choke) all seem to be struggling to tell the same story. Choke was definitely the best so far (yes, much better than Fight Club), but I wish he had written this first. This book lost so much impact because I kept thinking "this is the guy from Survivor, this is the same point he was trying to make in Fight Club, etc." It's a great book, though, despite all that.

I think Palahniuk's finally done everything right with Choke. There's a powerful message for "my" generation (give or take), actually surprising character development (as opposed to simple shock twist), and excellent writing throughout.

If you're looking for an introduction to Palahniuk, I'd suggest reading this. If you've read his other stuff and loved it, this is still good, but it's more an example of the refinement of his craft than anything brilliantly original. If you don't like his other stuff, well, don't bother.

Rating:
Summary: Awsome. Also see: spectacular. Also see: amazing.
Review: "The best book ever written" isn't the right phrase, but the first that comes to mind. This is the first Chuch Palahunik book I've read, and I loved it. Chuck's knack for satire is amazing. I found myself laughing several times while reading this book. I'm very impressed with Chuck, and his wonderful imagination. With this book he's definately become one of my must read authors. I'd recommed this book to most. Next up for me: "Survivor"

Rating:
Summary: Just blazingly original and entertaining writing
Review: Victor, a sex addict who is a member of a 12-step group in order to meet new sex partners makes a living off of contributions from Good Samaritans who have rescued him during scam choking-to-death episodes in order to support his crazy institutionalized Mother who may have artificially conceived him using cells from the stolen foreskin of Jesus, is trying to figure out if he's a nice guy or not. Man, that was a fun synopsis to write! It is also a fun book to watch unfold. The blurb on the back says Chuck P has a "Swiftian gift for satire". I don't know what the heck that means but you'll find a weird, hilarious and twisted story. It's as shocking and off the wall as William S. Burroughs, but as compelling and entertaining as stalking your next date. He doesn't sound like anyone else out there.

When I read this book, and Fight Club before it, I was convinced that no one could write this deeply and viscerally about these bizarre events without having lived through them. Palahniuk knows too much to simply be using his imagination. I'm not just talking about being a member of Sex Addicts Anonymous or how to have "oops" sex in airplane bathrooms. How about knowing the type people who work in a re-creation of a Colonial village? It's a stupid job that requires plenty of recreational (sex and drug) diversions, along with the few employees who really take it seriously.

The book ends a little unsatisfactorily. What was it all about? What was I supposed to "get"? You have to risk your life to get love. You have to get right to the edge of death to be saved. Oh well, great, amazingly original writing, insight into people you'd definitely want to avoid in the suburbs and a quick peek inside a couple of twisted losers.
See also: Ordinary folk.
See also: You and me.

Rating:
Summary: Lacks Originality...But Still Amazing Writing
Review: In this novel, Chuck Palahniuk covers a great deal of the territory which will be familiar to readers of his earlier writing. But, this book -- while not as stunning as "Fight Club" -- is still remarkable.

Here we are confronted with the story of Victor Mancini -- sex-addict, con artist, drop out, would-be messiah, etc. Definitely an interesting character. And Palahniuk provides a voice for him that is totally believable.

The novel starts with Victor telling us that we shouldn't read it...which only makes us want to go ahead and read.

And it won't be the last time a reader is unwittingly manipulated by Victor's seemingly innocent narration.

From there it moves on to his description of telling scenes from his childhood and details of his relationship with his crazy mother. Convinced that her relatively petty (mostly) crimes are situationist acts which will awaken the masses from their mental slavery, Ida Mancini definitely manages to impress Victor with an unique world view -- when she isn't doing time, that is.

Victor is a smart guy...even if he is twisted. And, throughout the novel, his viewpoint and the opinions he expresses are interesting.

But the plot wears thin -- in spite of the fact that it deals mostly with Victor's concerns about his mother's failing health and what he could or should do to save her. Pretty heavy stuff. But this seems like something we've seen before.

We get a lot of information along the way about Victor's strange sexual predilections. And have no trouble by novel's end imagining how this character could have gotten to be so far from normal.

Palahniuk's writing is first rate throughout. Unfortunately, the ingredients of this novel seem to be assembled following a successful recipe.

What's different here is not all that different from what we've seen before in Palahniuk's work.

At one point, Victor comments about "jamais vu" -- the opposite of "deja vu" -- seeing something again but feeling as if it is for the first time rather than seeing something for the first time and feeling as if it is oddly familiar.

Palahniuk can't expect us to forget his earlier work. He'll need to work harder to make his future work every bit as good and ever more original.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable commentary
Review: It was an enjoyable experience - CHOKE - however, I would not say it demonstrates a Swiftian satire as stated on the back cover of the novel. Johnathan Swift was a brilliant satirist, Palahniuk is above average.

CHOKE is enjoyable to read and it makes you think about our present state as humans. He does a good job in leaving the questions that are brough up throughout the novel unanswered. He demands us as the reader, not only Palahniuk but Victor as well, to formulate our own ideas about what we should do in this world of ours.

Rating:
Summary: "Killing the future to preserve the present."
Review: Reading a Chuck Palahniuk novel is a guarantee for a unique and often frightening reading experience, and CHOKE is no exception. I devoured this book in one setting and would rate it as one of my favorite Palahniuk books. CHOKE is full of social satire and rude and gutsy humor that makes one examine the world around them in an entirely different light. There are virtually no sentences that are not affected by Palahniuk's social commentary.

CHOKE is centered around Victor Mancini, a sex addict and con artist who works at a Colonial living museum with co-workers who tend to dabble in pot smoking and other insidious drugs while on the job. When not at work he likes to eat out at restaurants and pretend to choke in order to make unsuspecting heroes when the other patrons save his life. It is safe to say that Victor has not had a so-called normal childhood; his mother continually performed stunts at the expense of others and society when she was not in jail and was known to kidnap him and teach him important life lessons.

Palahniuk creates brilliant and original scenes that highly entertained and made me chuckle out loud numerous times, including Victor's relationship with the elderly patients at the nursing home and his best friend's obsession with rock collecting. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: If you are looking for a beach read, move on...
Review: This is a great book, though it isn't entirely enjoyable for the plot, nor is it for the characters. The plot is jumpy and unrealistic at best. The characters are, unless you are an OCD sex addict, completely unrelatable. But that's not what this book is about. To glean any pleasure, you have to be ready to move past the gross-out sex and bodily function narratives. It is about the delving into the post-modern subtext within. The call for self-examination as well as examination of the world around us almost jumps off the page and bites you on the face. For the message, "make the journey count because goals are futile otherwise", to be as powerful as it is in this work, the extreme nature of the book is almost necessary.

I see a great many complaints as to the book's content on these reviews. So, if you are a wee bit squeemish in your pursuit of intellectual stimulation, pick up something else.

Rating:
Summary: Not for sissies.
Review: And I wouldn't give this one to mom or dad as a gift. Perfect for most men...might be offensive to women, although I was not. I thought it was hysterical. My teenage daughter (not knowing the book's content) came home from school and told me her (male) social studies teacher was reading the same book. I almost asked her if he was hot, but then I walked it off.

Rating:
Summary: I'll have a Hemlich, please . . .
Review: Like all of Chuch Palahniuk's works, "Choke" is stunning in its conception. The idea for the book--that the main character has mother issues and hangs out at 12-step meetings to get a date--is brilliant, but then, so were the premises of "Fight Club" and "Survivor." With humor and horror, Palahniuk pulls us into this stellar novel, much the same way that Jackson McCrae does in "Bark of the Dogwood," or perhaps some of Vonnegut's or Boyle's works (think "Drop City"). Those looking for the Pulitzer Prize won't find it here, but what you will find is some of the most original writing to come out in the last hundred years.

Also recommend: McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood."