He's all style and no substance.
He's all style and no substance.
"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand."
-George Orwell
I've liked Chuck Palahniuk since I read Fight Club years ago, and the movie is my favourite of all time.
Last night I bought Haunted on kindle, which is a collection of his short stories in a strange novel form. Chuck has an almost identical voice in that book as he does in Fight Club. I enjoy it because I completely agree with his anti-materialistic messages, but I was a little surprised.
The book is actually quite good though, albeit disgusting.
While the truncheon may be used
in lieu of conversation,
words will always retain their power.
Words offer the means to meaning,
and for those who will listen,
the enunciation of truth.
He's like the Rob Zombie of novels: not very good at it and only worried about shock value. Meh.
Isn't there some skill in writing the most shocking literature/movies out there? I agree that Rob Zombie isn't great, but he certainly has a following...Originally Posted by maxphisher
While the truncheon may be used
in lieu of conversation,
words will always retain their power.
Words offer the means to meaning,
and for those who will listen,
the enunciation of truth.
It's a bit short sighted and reeks of the one-trick pony. Once you've shocked everyone, what else are you going to do? Unfortunately, today's popular culture thrives on the concept of "getting your 15 minutes of fame." Palahniuk got his with Fight Club, which, arguably, was decent, but now, he's just rehashing his shock 'em all technique and there's no substance to build on. For my money, I'd much rather read someone like Patrick McCabe who really does understand how to dig into the shocking mentalities of his characters and to draw the necessary connections between them and real life, therefore, allowing the discomfort that they create to work fluidly with everyday life. Personally, I find this more disconcerting than anything Palahniuk has come up with.
Just out of curiosity, have you read Chuck's book Haunted?
It's very real and at the same time, very disgusting and disturbing. I'm actually really enjoying it. It's about a group of writers who agree to take a writer's retreat for three months and write a masterpiece. There are chapters where one of the characters in question shares a poem, and then a short story, and then chapters that describe their interactions. It's interesting stuff, and the short stories are quite wild. They are shocking but I find them believable. They're also sad and touch on the anti-materialism that Chuck made part of me from a young age.
That's what I think you're missing. Shock is a very distant second in what characterizes Chuck's work. More than that is his all-consuming hatred of commercial society and that's something that I share. He likes to write about the fruitlessness, the irony of the stupid world we live in and the shock serves as a function to remind us that we're animals.
That's my opinion, anyway, and I'm obviously biased. There is just as much validity in what you say as in what I say.
While the truncheon may be used
in lieu of conversation,
words will always retain their power.
Words offer the means to meaning,
and for those who will listen,
the enunciation of truth.
Oddly enough, Haunted was the last book I read before I just gave up on him. I understand the appeal he can have for some readers, I just find him a little heavy handed without much payoff. Again, like you said, just my opinion, and yours is just as valid in this argument.
Also, I still recommend Patrick McCabe if you haven't already read anything by him. His novels are all set in Ireland, so there are some dialect difficulties, but if you like the discomfort of reading someone's insanity and horror, he welcomes you into the minds of his characters, and sometimes, you just have to put the book down because you're not at all comfortable being in there. That being said, not nearly as graphic as Palahniuk.
Last edited by maxphisher; 05-22-2013 at 04:53 PM.
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