Here are eight Chuck Palahniuk books that I have read. Click on the links to read my reviews.
Choke
Choke is in essence a social commentary about our innate craving for attention and the fundamental nature of addiction.
My Review: The protagonist, Victor Mancini, is a sex addict employed at an eighteenth-century historical re-enactment park. Victor attends various sexual addiction support groups, where he …(more)
Damned
Damned is a a light-hearted satire of hell, punctuated with comical details, pop-culture references and Theological irony.
My Review: The protagonist is thirteen-year-old Madison, the daughter of wealthy alternative parents. The privileged Madison studies at an exclusive Swiss boarding school and spends her holidays alternating …(more)
Doomed
After escaping from Hell Madison Spencer (protagonist of Damned) is forced to spend a year languishing on Earth as a ghost.
My Review: Doomed is the sequel to Damned and part two of a proposed Dante inspired trilogy. It sees the return of Damned’s protagonist – the plucky, post-life, plump, periphrastic … (more)
Fight Club
The book’s narrator becomes friends with an anarchist by the name of Tyler Durden. The duo form a fight club.
My Review: The protagonist, who remains nameless, is an insomniac leading a bland corporate existence, investigating accidents for a car company, whose only concern is profit … (more)
Haunted
This series of short stories explore a variety of themes, including the media-obsessed nature of society.
My Review: Haunted is about a group of writers, who have been assembled by the conniving Mr Whittier to attend a writers group. The location of the retreat is in an isolated theatre with … (more)
Invisible Monsters
The book’s premise, the superficial vanity of the beauty industry, is used both to explore the unattractive side of human nature.
My Review: Shannon McFarland is a catwalk model, who is the centre of attention wherever she goes. That is until she ‘accidentally’ blasts her jaw shot off with a gun whilst driving down the highway. Shannon is left …(more)
Rant
Rant challenges our own traditions by demonstrating how we contort our recollection of events in accordance with our desires, motives and beliefs.
My Review: Rant is the oral history of Buster ‘Rant’ Casey, recounted by an array of people including his relations, friends, enemies and lovers. Rant’s childhood companions from the …(more)
Survivor
Survivor is an innovative and erudite social commentary, brimming with satirical observations and irreverent humour.
My Review: Tender Branson, the last survivor of the Creedish Church cult, has hijacked an aeroplane, which is now flying on autopilot. His objective: to dictate his life story onto …(more)