Rating:  Summary: In Victor We Trust Review: Victor is the next Tyler. This isn't Palahniuk's best novel, but it is indeed very good. Just like all his other novels, great story, themes, and it's hilarious.
Rating:  Summary: Jamais vu Review: I've seen the movie version of Fight Club, but Choke was the first book of Palahniuk that I've read. One of the major knocks on this book seems to be that Palahniuk has rehashed territory that he's covered before, but as a first-timer to Palahniuk, I was simply blown away. Perhaps Choke was old hat for people who've read Palahniuk before, but for me at least it was an eye-opener."Anarchist" is a word that seems to be attached to Palaniuk, but I think insightful might be a better word. He is able to see the world as a realist, albeit a joyfully cynical one. Palahniuk's idea of Jamais vu-where everybody is a stranger no matter how well you think you know them-interested me in particular because of how true I believe it is. Our parents, friends, children, co-workers ... no matter how well we may think we know each other, what do we really know? How well do we even know ourselves for that matter? Choke was as entertaining as it was thought-provoking. I found myself laughing out loud again and again. If Choke wasn't so hilarious it would be downright mortifying. Palahniuk certainly pulls no punches. The plot twist at the end- "jamais vu all over again"- left me amazed. The general concensus seems to be that if you've read Palahniuk before, this book will be a familiar foray into chaos. If you are like me and are only familiar with Palahniuk through the movie Fight Club (and liked it), I highly recommend Choke. An unforgettable read.
Rating:  Summary: just barely better than fair Review: This book feels a bit like a few steps backward for ole' chuck. Fight Club was good, but not as good as everyone says. Survivor was really good(in the beginning) and then got very gimicky. And thsi one? Well all of the above except it is sporadically good and sporadically juvenile, and gimicky. If you haven't read any of his works, you may like this o.k., but if you have, it will sound like a bit of a rehash instead of an evolution.
Rating:  Summary: Another great one from Chuck Review: Ok, so granted this is isn't as great as Survivor or Invisble Monsters but it's still a good novel. At some points I felt that it was dragging a bit and that it was getting boring, and that rarely happens in Chuck books. And the whole sex part of the plot was just really kind of unnecessary when you think about it. But I still give it a 5 star because it was very entertaining and the climax is hilarious.
Rating:  Summary: Demented, disgusting, and utterly hysterical Review: Being a fan -- nay, worshipper, really -- of the movie Fight Club, and upon high recommendation from a friend who is also an enthusiast, I picked up "Choke" to help use up my gift certificate. Looking back now, it would've been worth full price. WARNING: this book is nowhere near kids' stuff. There's sex, language, drug use -- if you're at all squeamish, you will be disturbed. But stick with it. You'll like it, I promise you. Dude . . . just because it's a book doesn't mean it's not substance abuse. "Perfect" isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind. (That'll make sense later, trust me.)
Rating:  Summary: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!! Review: The entire first chapter of this book tells you to put it down and walk away - do it! I should have taken the advice, I hope your smart enough to listen. But a few hours later I realized my mistake when I found the book droning on and on about some schmuck with a sex addiction problem. First, the sexual encounters described in the book are completely unbelievable unless there really is someone out there who has had it with an entire hospital nursing staff. Second, the only interesting part of the book, concerning his mother's diary was destroyed by a completely bland ending involving what I can only call a "moment of clarity" experienced by his mother. The ending is boring, the book was rotten and I wish I could get my money back!! I give it two stars only because the moments he describes working in the colonial village were pretty funny - although those too were often destroyed by overused references to drugs and sex. Follow the advice of the first chapter, do not read this book!!! This was no Fight Club!!!
Rating:  Summary: Average.. but not above Review: Fight club was great. It was innovative, fresh, new, and exciting. None of Chuck Palahniuk's other books have been able to live up to this high standard. He rehashes himself over and over again. Using the same phrases, the same style, and (basically) the same characters over and over again. In Choke, we see another misfit of society attending "anonymous" meetings to meet girls, scamming the members of productive society, and barely surviving on the fringes of life. Sound familiar? With another assortment of insane characters to back him up, the protagonist goes through a life-altering event and is "reborn" at the end of the novel to continue on in his unproductive, weird life. YAWN. I keep reading Palahniuk in hopes that I will again find something fresh and new as there was in Fight Club.. and I again am disappointed. This author's crazy rantings are humorous, entertaining, and a quick read, but the benefits don't go beyond that. If you need a fun, summer beach book, read this. If you're looking for something more... don't.
Rating:  Summary: BLACK, BLACK, ............THE BLACKEST COMEDY OF ALL. Review: Just finished reading this and my jaw is still hanging. SUBVERSIVE, AUDACIOUS, PORNOGRAPHIC, DEEP, POETIC, and down right HILARIOUS. And for those who can see it, extremely ZEN. This is so ZEN!! I got into Chuck like a lot of people did, by seeing FIGHT CLUB and then reading the book. That book was amazing, and this book is a coagulated continuation of the SICK POP CULTURE MIND and America's JUNKED, ADDICTED, AND WARPED CONSUMERIST MENTALITY. I can't wait to read SURVIVOR. My God, this man is quite simply the greatest SATIRIST and POP PSYCHOLOGIST of our time. Or maybe CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST? A Mark Twain for the new millennium? America may be empty and dying psychologically and Chuck Palahniuk spells it all out in horrifically surreal detail. In a very shocking and sadistic manner, is he telling us WHY most of us are disturbed or addicted Americans? Is this a WARNING or the mind of a MADMAN? I'd love to have dinner with this guy, sometime, and find out what makes him tick. "Have you studied Zen, Chuck?" At this point I don't care. Next to Thomas Pynchon this man could be the greatest living genius writing in America today. Put this man's books in a Time Capsule and people in the 22nd Century may end up saying, "No wonder Western Civilization crumbled." What I want to know is, when is the movie coming out? And who's going to direct? David Fincher? Or Ron Jeremy? WARNING: this book is so subversive and pornographic, it makes William Burroughs and Henry Miller look like Dr. Seuss.
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing effort Review: I've also read Fight Club and Invisible Monsters. When I picked up Fight Club, I considered it one of the most interesting thought-provoking novels I had read. Invisible Monsters was a disappointment, but I wanted to give Palahniuk the benefit of the doubt. With Choke, Chuck Palahniuk disappints and rehashes familiar thematic territory. With his newest protagonist Vincent Mancini, we have another character with an addictive personality who does not fit in with society at-large. Vincent is placed in series of absurd situations both in the present and through flashbacks into the past. Finally, Vincent is figuratively reborn into society, accepting life for what it is. All of this should be very familiar to readers of his previous books. To his credit, Palahniuk is very creative in generating scenes and situations. As usual, they are quite amusing especially those involve Vincent's insane hippie mother. Okay for a quick read, but there just isn't enough thought-provoking material in the novel for me to recommend it.
Rating:  Summary: Choke. Review: "Choke" is unlike anything I have ever read before. Chuck Palahniuk creates a vivid look into the life of a con artist/sex addict(weather or not the reader likes him depends on the reader's feelings about the two subject matters that "Choke" deals with), but every chapter seems like another storie with the same main character in it. The reader jumps from the main character's childhood and back several times. By the time you finish "Choke" everything sorta falls into its place which is one of the reasons "Choke" is a very intersting and quick read, but the book is not ment to be a positive one, even though there are some really funny moments in the storie. Because of Chuck Palahniuk's choice of words he uses through "Choke" I would not suggest "Choke" to the easily offended.
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