Morbid
February 25th, 2008, 11:23 AM
This post is actually for swivel, although I hope that anyone reading will find it useful. As a lot of you may or may not know, swivel does not like to read a lot of fiction. This is actually understandable as I don't read a lot of non-fiction. Not just our individual cup of tea I suppose.
But I have a book that I think swivel may actually enjoy. A lot of you, as seen in the "What authors do you collect thread" are aware of Chuck Palahniuk and his style of writing. But yo don't hear him talked about much when people are discussing great fiction, or at least not among my immediate, small circle of reading friends. So, instead of getting new friends, I feel that it would be a lot easier to just introduce my current friends to the book.
I will not be giving anything away, there are no spoilers. Just what the book is about, a few chosen links (which may contain spoilers) and some choice comments about the book that align with my own views of the book.
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/1023/200pxhauntedcvrdf0.jpg
Haunted: A Novel (http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/1400032822/dreamindemon-20)
Synopsis (from Wiki-wiki-wiki)
The main story centers on a group of 17 individuals (all of which go by nicknames based on the story they tell) who have decided to participate in a secret writer's retreat. After having noticed an invitation to the retreat posted on the bulletin board of a cafe in Oregon, the characters follow instructions on the invitation to meet Mr. Whittier, the retreat's organizer. Whittier tells them to each wait for a bus to pick them up the next morning and bring only what they can fit into one piece of luggage (in particular, only what they feel they need most).
The next day, the 17 characters, Whittier, and his assistant Ms. Clark are all driven to an abandoned theatre. There, Whittier locks all of them inside the theatre, telling them they have three months to each write one story before he will allow them to leave. In the meantime, they will have enough food and water to survive, as well as heat, electricity, bedrooms, bathrooms, and a clothes washing and drying machine provided.
The format of the book is unique. Each chapter contains 3 sections: a story chapter, a poem about a particular writer on the tour (its author is unknown) and a story written by that writer.
Although Guts is the most popular of the stories...the infamous story of the bad things that can happen while masturbating, all of them are good. I would ask that if anyone is interested in the author, or this book in particular, feel free to read Guts (http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html) (may want to have a strong stomach) and you will get an immediate feel of Chuck's way with words.
Don't just take my word for it:
“Reading a Palahniuk novel is like getting zipped inside a boxer’s heavy bag while the author goes to work on you, pounding you until there is nothing left but a big bag of bones and blood and pain.”
—The Miami Herald
“To Palahniuk’s credit, there is something here to appall almost every sensibility. The author has a singular knack for coming up with inventive new ways to shock and degrade.”
—The New York Post
“Frequently entertaining [and] often appalling. . . . There are paragraphs here—entire pages, in fact—that are as disgusting as anything I’ve ever read. Truly vivid and harrowing (and often quite funny).”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Summer reading for people who like their lit doused in bodily fluids.. . . Haunted has an anarchic sensibility that hurdles over the top.”—Time Out New York
“Chuck Palahniuk is one of the most intriguing writers of our time. [Haunted ] is a blend of stories that are among the most horrifying, stomach-churning and mind-blowing tales ever encountered.” —Tucson Citizen
“Chuck Palahniuk’s rightful place is among literary giants. He combines the masculinity of Ernest Hemingway, the satirical bent of Juvenal and the attitude of Lenny Bruce.” —Greensboro News & Record
Official website (http://www.haunted-book.com/) | Haunted at ChuckPalahniuk.net (http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/books/haunted/) | Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/1400032822/dreamindemon-20)
But I have a book that I think swivel may actually enjoy. A lot of you, as seen in the "What authors do you collect thread" are aware of Chuck Palahniuk and his style of writing. But yo don't hear him talked about much when people are discussing great fiction, or at least not among my immediate, small circle of reading friends. So, instead of getting new friends, I feel that it would be a lot easier to just introduce my current friends to the book.
I will not be giving anything away, there are no spoilers. Just what the book is about, a few chosen links (which may contain spoilers) and some choice comments about the book that align with my own views of the book.
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/1023/200pxhauntedcvrdf0.jpg
Haunted: A Novel (http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/1400032822/dreamindemon-20)
Synopsis (from Wiki-wiki-wiki)
The main story centers on a group of 17 individuals (all of which go by nicknames based on the story they tell) who have decided to participate in a secret writer's retreat. After having noticed an invitation to the retreat posted on the bulletin board of a cafe in Oregon, the characters follow instructions on the invitation to meet Mr. Whittier, the retreat's organizer. Whittier tells them to each wait for a bus to pick them up the next morning and bring only what they can fit into one piece of luggage (in particular, only what they feel they need most).
The next day, the 17 characters, Whittier, and his assistant Ms. Clark are all driven to an abandoned theatre. There, Whittier locks all of them inside the theatre, telling them they have three months to each write one story before he will allow them to leave. In the meantime, they will have enough food and water to survive, as well as heat, electricity, bedrooms, bathrooms, and a clothes washing and drying machine provided.
The format of the book is unique. Each chapter contains 3 sections: a story chapter, a poem about a particular writer on the tour (its author is unknown) and a story written by that writer.
Although Guts is the most popular of the stories...the infamous story of the bad things that can happen while masturbating, all of them are good. I would ask that if anyone is interested in the author, or this book in particular, feel free to read Guts (http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html) (may want to have a strong stomach) and you will get an immediate feel of Chuck's way with words.
Don't just take my word for it:
“Reading a Palahniuk novel is like getting zipped inside a boxer’s heavy bag while the author goes to work on you, pounding you until there is nothing left but a big bag of bones and blood and pain.”
—The Miami Herald
“To Palahniuk’s credit, there is something here to appall almost every sensibility. The author has a singular knack for coming up with inventive new ways to shock and degrade.”
—The New York Post
“Frequently entertaining [and] often appalling. . . . There are paragraphs here—entire pages, in fact—that are as disgusting as anything I’ve ever read. Truly vivid and harrowing (and often quite funny).”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Summer reading for people who like their lit doused in bodily fluids.. . . Haunted has an anarchic sensibility that hurdles over the top.”—Time Out New York
“Chuck Palahniuk is one of the most intriguing writers of our time. [Haunted ] is a blend of stories that are among the most horrifying, stomach-churning and mind-blowing tales ever encountered.” —Tucson Citizen
“Chuck Palahniuk’s rightful place is among literary giants. He combines the masculinity of Ernest Hemingway, the satirical bent of Juvenal and the attitude of Lenny Bruce.” —Greensboro News & Record
Official website (http://www.haunted-book.com/) | Haunted at ChuckPalahniuk.net (http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/books/haunted/) | Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/1400032822/dreamindemon-20)