Tag Archives: Chuck Palahniuk

BOOK REVIEW: Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk

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RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2009
AUTHOR LINKS: WEB / GOODREADS / FACEBOOK
PUBLISHER: Doubleday
FORMAT: Paperback
SOURCE: Purchased
BUY NOW FROM: Amazon

“Begins here first account of operative me, agent number 67 on arrival midwestern American airport greater _____ area. Flight _____. Date _____. Priority mission top success to complete. Code name: Operation Havoc.”

Thus speaks Pygmy, one of a handful of young adults from a totalitarian state sent to the United States, disguised as exchange students, to live with typical American families and blend in, all the while planning an unspecified act of massive terrorism. Palahniuk depicts Midwestern life through the eyes of this thoroughly indoctrinated little killer, who hates Americans with a passion, in this cunning double-edged satire of a xenophobia that might, in fact, be completely justified.

MY REVIEW

I’m not even sure where to begin with this novel. The first book I had ever read by Chuck Palahniuk was Haunted, which wasn’t the most fantastic book that I’ve read, but it was fun and delightfully gruesome. After reading that one, I was hooked on the author and went out and bought a few of his other books. Continue reading →

BOOK REVIEW: Haunted, by Chuck Palahniuk

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RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2005
AUTHOR LINKS: WEB / GOODREADS / FACEBOOK
PUBLISHER: Doubleday (an imprint of Random House)
FORMAT: Hardcover
SOURCE: Purchased
BUY NOW FROM: Amazon

Haunted is a novel made up of twenty-three horrifying, hilarious, and stomach-churning stories. They’re told by people who have answered an ad for a writer’s retreat and unwittingly joined a “Survivor”-like scenario where the host withholds heat, power, and food. As the storytellers grow more desperate, their tales become more extreme, and they ruthlessly plot to make themselves the hero of the reality show that will surely be made from their plight. This is one of the most disturbing and outrageous books you’ll ever read, one that could only come from the mind of Chuck Palahniuk.

MY REVIEW (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS) 

I have heard so many great things about Chuck Pahlaniuk that one day, many years ago, I bought his book Haunted. Years passed and I still hadn’t opened the darn thing. Instead, I decided to wait until the day where I felt inclined to grab it off the shelf, walk away from the books (since it’s so easy for me to change my mind), and just start reading.

I don’t want to say that I was disappointed, but I kind of was. Don’t get me wrong – I really loved Pahlaniuk’s writing and hope to get into another book I have of his, Lullaby, sometime soon. What got me was that I read so many reviews where people were squirming in their seats and it was really only the first chapter that did that for me. Continue reading →