Choke

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Summary: "Because nothing is as perfect as you imagine it,"
Review: "We spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or Insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heros or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe its our job to invent something better." Palahniuk never ceases to inspire. Behind all the satire. Behind his often hillirous look at life and the little things that make us human, or at least the views that he portrays in his unforgetable characters, Palahniuk, never stops to apologize, and there no reason to because he writes the truth in it most crulest of ways. "People sit home and watch Friends, because they have no Friends." I dare you to read any Palahniuk book, be it, Fight Club, Survivior, IM, or Choke, and not be inspired to do something better with yourself. Improve yourself. Create something. Destroy something. Do Something with yourself other than sit in front of a mind-numbing television set, and dream about the life you could have, get off your "" and do something! At least that's what I get out of Palahniuk work. Since the first time I picked up Fight Club, I was hooked, his words are like heroin to me. I've lost track how many times I've read that book, and Survivor. IM about four times. There are many messages in Chuck's work, some hidden, some in your face, some crammed down your throat, and forced into the pit of your stomach. The most important message, in seemingly all his works, is do something with yourself other than waste away precious brain cells in this repetitive world as we know it, we all have a talent for something, find yours, and make it happen, for yourself, and nobody else. I predict that Chuck will be a household name after his next book Lullabye comes out, and after the movie adaptation of Survivor comes out, and possibly an Invisible Monsters movie. Everybody will know who Chuck is, good or bad, that I don't know. Loved or hated, probably both, but do yourself a favor and read his works now while he's got his little cult following, this way a few years down the road, when everybodies on the literary band wagon, you can laugh and tell everyone, "I TOLD YOU SO." Buy this book, read it more than once. Save yourself, and find your place. "Because nothing is as perfect as you imagine it," I'll shut up now.

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Summary: ENTERTAINING, FAST READ
Review: I THINK I READ THIS ONE IN ABOUT 3 HOURS, VERY FUNNY, I LOVED THE CHAPTER WITH THE [sex] SCENE THE MOST...GOD THAT MAKES ME SOUND PRETTY SICK, BUT ANYWAYS, IT IS HILARIOUS.

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Summary: It doesnt get much better than this...
Review: First off, Chuck's books are the only books I can read in under one week, not that that means much to you readers out there but just so you know thats what kind of books this guy writes. Rivaling 'Survivor' this sick, twisted and hilarious take on all things sacred and not opens with a bang, and doesnt let up or lag. Expanding on the 'Fight Club' theme of self improvement and self destruction (self improvement is masturbation, now self destruction..) we get an inside glimpse into the worlds of people we see everyday with the sexaholics and elderly, and the saddistic world of Victor, the main character, and his flaws and personal heroics and addictions. If you like Chucks other work than this should be a no-brainer and you should skip all reviews and read it, if you have never read one of his books I strongly urge you to pick up this and all his other works (Survivor, Fight Club and Invisible Monsters) and let them soak in. Believe me, it'll be just what the doctor ordered. See Also: Self Enlightement See Also: Radiohead in book format

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Summary: Palahniuk's best novel yet!
Review: Victor Mancini is Palahniuk's newest leading man. He contains many elements of Jack from Fight Club, Tender Branson from Survivor, and even the unnamed narrator from Invisible Monsters. Choke is Chuck at his best. It contains all the twists and double meanings you would expect from the writer, who in my opinion is the master of his genre. I quickly bought Choke yesterday morning (it came out yesterday) and am finished with it now. I read almost nonstop, eagerly awaiting its conclusion. Choke is yet another masterpiece. All I ask of Palahniuk is..PLEASE WRITE FASTER CHUCK!! Treat yourself and buy the book as soon as you can.

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Summary: Masterpiece isn't the right word...
Review: What we have here is a novelist whose time will never come. Chuck Palahniuk will never be as praised as he deserves to be, and I for one hope that this never changes. From Invisible Monsters to Fight Club, Survivor, and now Choke; I look on the bestseller lists, and I'm glad to not to have to see his name. For those fortunate enough to have read and enjoyed his previous work, you will hardly be disappointed. The narrative is constantly babbling in your ear like some deranged lunatic, but it is so well-balanced that, like everything else Chuck has written, it starts to make perfect sense. And then it happens: it's called a changeover, and the audience has no clue. In this book you will be asked questions, and you will ask yourself questions. You will be presented with perspective, and just as quickly it will be taken away. You will laugh and cringe all in the same note. It's hard to make reference to anything without wanting to spew it all out. Suffice it to say that when reading this book, be careful not to confuse the narrator's voice with your own...

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Summary: 2nd best Palahnuik novel
Review: Except for Palahnuik's Survivor, Choke is my 2nd favorite book. Extremely funny, wonderful plot, wonderful comments on life. Just doesn't have the memorable one-liners of Fight Club and Survivor.

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Summary: Choke By Chuck Palahniuk
Review: Palahniuk with such successful titles as "Fight Club"(First rule of fight club, do not talk about fight club)and survivor, this book is an exceptionally well written novel, even more bizzare then his last three works. The main character, Victor, is a con artist, sex addict, belives he is a direct link to Jesus, and fakes choking in resteraunts to get free meals, and money from people who save him, but he is not crazy. Palahniuk's latest book is a treat for people who want a bizzare, but at times almost beautiful book.

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Summary: An Enjoyable Book You'll Want To Read Twice
Review: Having read all of Chuck Palahniuk's other books I eagerly anticipated Choke. After getting the book I sat down and over the course of only a couple of nights I breezed right through it. Chuck's text flows so well, and the story is so engaging, it's really hard to put the book down. But in a quick read it's so easy to miss what makes Choke so great. The gems of this book lie in the nooks and crannies of the story. The main thread of the book is a wonderfully twisted story of a guy (Victor) who fakes choking at restaurants so people can save him and then eventually help him pay for his mother's care. But what you'll catch the second time around are these amazing moments - everything from a how-to guide for the mile high club, to scenes with Victor in his mom's retirement home taking the blame for senile patients' long unresolved conflicts. Every Chuck Palahniuk book has something new and refreshing to offer and Choke follows that thread well. I definitely recommend Choke, and as with many of Palahnuik's books, you've got to read it at least twice!

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Summary: CHOKE--see also:a must read.
Review: I've read all of Chuck's books and this one by far exceeds the boundaries of creativity and satire I thought were possible given the laws of thermodynamics, the speed of light, and what unique understanding I posess of the human psyche and the usefulness of chocolate pudding. On that note, CHOKE tells the agonizing story of Victor Mancini, a man who has spent his whole life trying to measure up to the unrealistic expectations of a demented Italian mother whom he now supports in a rest home through a clever pyramid scheme. This has forced him to drop out of medical school and put his life on hold. He lives a meager existance working in the equivalent of colonial Williamsburg (a backward world that is more real than his own), where he works with Denny, his bald, pathetic best friend and codependent sex addict. Victor uses sex and women in order to avoid the pain of seeing the truth about himself, that is he has become more pathetic than Denny, who has got to be at the sub-zero level of self-esteem. Chuck brings up his unconventional humor on relationships, hitting rock bottom, the twelve step program for addiction, and the political correctness of masking our words in order to protect the public from any stress or panic. There may come a time when it's necessary to yell fire in a theatre but we are far from it. If this doesn't make any sense, then that's a good thing, because it's hard to get a handle on it. The joy in reading this book, outside of the fact that my jaw hurts from laughing so hard, is that Chuck makes you wrestle with his characters and Victor is no exception. He puts alzheimer's patients at ease by ingesting the blame for every way they have been wronged, much like christ absolving one from his sins. VIctor in many ways paints the truth to other people as they would like to believe it truely exists, filling them with a false sense of satisfaction that thay are more than happy to reciprocate upon. That is, he fakes choking at restaurants, allowing people to step up to the plate in a safe environment with no danger of failing themselves. Victor makes people the hero they desperately are seeking to be in their own lives.What Victor fails to realize is you can only take this so far before you become the victim of your own deceit. Chuck's books are lathered with the painful aspects of seeing things for what they are, not how we chose to see them. The messages are profound and his insight into obscessive-compulsive behavior should be a must read in every abnormal psychology class. Unfortunately, that's about as likely as CHOKE being put on Oprah's BOOK CLUB list or Rosie O'Donnell joining the N.R.A.

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Summary: "perfect" isn't the right word, but the first I think of. .
Review: Palahniuk outdoes himself with this fourth installment of his usual style.I wish I could write this well. I read Choke in one night and was blown away. His plot emerges from underneath a barrage of dead-on imagery and belly-laugh satire. Some of the lines in this book I found TOO profound to underline. I enjoyed this novel even more than his last outing: Survivor. I'm not going to give away the plot, but this is definitely not for the sqeamish. Sex addicts, alzheimers, and the Heimlich all fall prey to Chuck's vicious wit. If you've read any of his other work and enjoyed in the least, you owe it to yourself to investigate Mr. Palahniuk's adaptation of today's real world.