Invisible Monsters

Rating:
Summary: If there were more than five stars, I'd give them
Review: This novel will change the way you look at the world PERMANENTLY. It is both inspiring and frightening, twisted and painfully obvious. INVISIBLE MONSTERS celebrates everything human that we would rather sweep under the rug than acknowledge. Although the story ultimately untagles with too many twists and turns, the message is so perfectly packaged and powerful that you will not be the same person when you set down this book. READ IT NOW.

Rating:
Summary: Fight Club from a female's perspective
Review: If you are new to Chuck Palahniuk, this would be a good place to start. While this was published third, he actually wrote it first. Most people consider it Palahniuk's worst work, I don't see it that way. It has more twists than any of his other works, you'll find yourself laughing out loud in more than one places, and I'd have to say it was his most outrè effort before Choke came out. Read it, you'll love it.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite up to par
Review: I've now read Palahniuk's first three novels. I thoroughly enjoyed fight club and survivor but i felt that Invisible Monsters lacked the same gripping social awareness as the others. It was very funny and had some odd twists and turns, but just not quite there...

Rating:
Summary: Invisible Monsters
Review: I've read 3 of Palahniuk's books ... I must say this is a little below Fight Club and Survivor quality-wise. The plot is your average Palahniuk weirdness: A fashion model's jaw is shot off by either her ex-best friend or ex-boyfriend (or maybe someone else?), causing her to go from loved beauty queen to a...you guessed it...an "invisible monster" as she puts it. She soon meets Brandy Alexander, a beautiful, perfect little Princess. The two then kidnap the narrator's ex-boyfriend and go on a road trip, stealing drugs from rich people's houses and selling them on the street. I liked the book, but had one big problem with it. There were several hints in the book as to the characters' prior relations and relationships. I thought these were clever. But after these hints were dropped, the author comes outright and tells you what you've been suspecting all along. This has a negative affect. It's like when someone explains the punchline of a joke. The joke loses it's cleverness and humor, but the joke-teller feels funny because HE understood it. The characters are VERY odd (usually a plus in Palahniuks), so odd they're impossible to identify with. You feel a strange sense of detachment when reading this, which isn't common in Chuck's books. For all of my ranting, Invisible Monsters really is a good read. It's full of Palahniuk's famous use of repetition, facts you'd probably be better off not knowing, and the idea of things getting much worse before they get better. Recommended after you read his first two books.

Rating:
Summary: Mmm Mmm Good
Review: Having not READ Fight Club or any other Palahniuk material, I suppose I am not in a position to argue the other reviewers who seem to think Invisible Monsters is his worst work so far. What I DO know is that this book is one of the only ones I've read in my life that I absolutely could not put down. I will admit it can become a bit muddled at times, but when it's all through I didn't much care. The writing is captivating, grotesque without giving you a chance to vomit because you're laughing too quickly, and the usual Palahniuk plot twists come just when you think you might get a headache. The narrating character is intriguing; moving and hysterical all at once. Despite this book's obvious parallels to Fight Club, I found it to be an outstanding work that I think, flaws and all, is certainly worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Something of a disappointment
Review: Despite the fragmented style of this book, it is very easy to read. At times it's also very humorous in that all of the charactors are grotesque exagerations of people. The problem with this book lies in the writer's constant use of plot twists. There are so many woven into this story that, eventually it becomes like a bad Dickens novel (not that Dickens wrote any bad novels). Everything in the story is so intertwined, so coincidental that as it progresses, it becomes less and less believable. It almost seems as though Palaniuk is trying to outdo his previous works --trying to remain shocking to his audience. By doing this though, he handicaps his story. While his style is interesting, and the story is pleasant to read (it could easily be read in a day, or two), I think that in trying to compete with his earlier novels, Palaniuk made a lesser one. If you are interested in This particular writer due to a certain movie starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, I would suggest reading his earlier novels (Fight Club, and Survivor)instead of this book. This one is, in my humble opinion, the weakest of the three novels.

Rating:
Summary: The Truth in Blood
Review: For as great as Fight Club and Survivor are, Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters has something else. A storyline so increadibly involved that describing it takes more time than it actually takes to read the book. Palahniuk's signiture use of repition to portray emotion is the one thing you can truely depend on. The flowing story unfolds through flashbacks dating from two days in the past, to ten years ago, to the present. The total lack of order, that results in some of the most surpising plot twists in modern literature. Finally, when you have everything figured out for yourself, Palahniuk shows you how little you actually know about the thuth. That truth is ony revealed in the main character's confession, writen in Brandy Alexzander's blood, that will simply leave you amazed.

Rating:
Summary: A darkly humorous and cynical look at beauty and monstrosity
Review: Although I haven't read Fight Club, I have seen the movie (a million times) and this book reads a lot like the movie. In fact, I think Palahniuk has a certain plot formula that he uses and tweaks, as the little I've read of his most recent work, Choke, seems to follow the same plot formula. But, regardless of whether or not Palahniuk has a certain roadmap he follows, the destination is not as important as the trip to get there. Palaniuk's writing style is shocking and original, and, to coin a phrase, it cuts through all the B.S. His descriptions of people are sparse yet vivid, and he plumbs remarkable depths in few words and images. This book is at times hilarious, at times horrifying, but always illuminating. In this book, he follows some very ugly people who try to be very beautiful, and some very beautiful people who try to be ugly. To say any more would give away the plot. The characters are trapped within an idea of what is beautiful and what is not, what they should do and what they shouldn't, and what they are and what they want to be. It is truly a story about monsters, and just what their real nature is. After you read this, ask yourself, "What is the biggest mistake I can make?"

Rating:
Summary: Boredom through bizarreness
Review: This is my first literary jaunt through the mind of Palahniuk. I saw the movie Fight Club and was compelled to pick up one of his books. I chose Invisible Monsters because of the subject. How can you go wrong with a super model who gets her face blown off? I have to say that there were parts that made me laugh out loud. But those parts were so sparingly imbedded in this over the top, completely out there, novel that I eventually burned out on the bizarre factor and became bored. Being able to see the plot ‘twists’ from miles away didn’t help. There was absolutely not one character to like, respect or root for in the entire book. Everyone .... equally. I guess that was the point. I’m not easily shocked, and Palahniuk, try as he might, didn’t succeed. I give the book three stars for the Christmas chapter and for Shannon’s one brilliant and hilarious act of revenge. Worth reading? Sure, but you might want to pick up something by Harry Crews instead.

Rating:
Summary: WHOA!
Review: What a romp! This one kept me till the end. The last thirty pages my jaw was dropped, borderline mortified! Highly recommended for those looking for something slightly over the edge. This is definately on my top 10.