Lullaby

Rating:
Summary: Repetitive, but thought-provoking
Review: Carl Streater is a reporter. His job is to focus on the details, and it's slowly driving him mad. Ever since the death of his wife and child, he's felt empty. As he begins to realize that his life has no meaning, rage builds inside him, and it's only a matter of time before he explodes. While researching a story on crib death, Streater discovers a terrible secret. Every dead child was read a lullaby before they died. This lullaby was a culling song, a kind of ancient prayer that killed all who heard it. It was meant to end the pain of the elderly and those suffering from disease, but very few people know this.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. Yeah right.

Helen Hoover Boyle is a real estate agent who's also lost her loved ones. She sells the homes that people are afraid of, the ones that have been host to strange and disturbing happenings. Her pink, gaudy exterior hides her ruthlessness. She has accepted death and she takes advantage of her situation. Helen is dangerous and vulnerable at the same time, and she knows more than meets the eye. Together with Mona, Helen's deeply spiritual secretary, and Oyster, Mona's boyfriend, they go on a desparate mission to destroy all remaining copies of the anthology that contained the culling song.

From there, this novel turns into a critique of mass media and communication and the gradual blending of cultures. Like "Fight Club" this isn't just a casual read. It's difficult, thought-provoking, and extremely disturbing. If you are easily offended, my best advice is to avoid this book. Although there are some controversial topics discussed, you should look below the surface. Don't over-analyze, but don't take things at face value either. The theme of this book is constantly in your face. It's repeated over and over and over again. This can be irritating, but it does force you to think about it.

Overall, this book was definitely worth reading. It wasn't the kind of book that I really enjoyed, but it left me quite disturbed. And honestly, I think that was the point.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best.
Review: If you haven't read Palahniuk before, and you're a fan of Bret Easton Ellis, or JD Salinger, then Palahniuk at his best is probably exactly what you are looking for. If you have read Palahniuk before, then like Ellis and Salinger, you will probably want to read everything he's written anyways so what are you doing reading reviews - you know you won't resist buying it.

The order to read Palahniuk if you haven't yet read him: Fight Club or Survivor, then Choke, then Invisible Monsters, then Lullaby.

Lullaby although a quick entertaining read, doesn't quite have the punch of the other works, and the main character never really grabs the reader or makes you care about everything that is transpiring. Classic twists and classic palahniuk prose (short and to the point, wonderful use of repetition with characters spouting educative little tidbits) but still it doesn't quite gel with the story that unfolds. Invisible Monsters felt like it might have been revised a few too many times (layering structured twist after twist until the only thing left was obvious), and Lullaby feels like a book that needed another revision. It almost redeems itself, like Choke gloriously redeems itself in the final act, but ultimately Lullaby feels like it's missing something.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful read, but the underlying message comes out garbled
Review: Lullaby is one of the best books I've read in a while. Does it have a deep, important point to make that I should ponder for a very, very long time? In a word, yes. At the end of the day, though, it doesn't matter all that much whether you "get it" or not. It's insanely well written (emphasis on insane), and while the plot is typical convoluted Palahniuk it never leaves you behind. While things that happen in Lullaby might seem somewhat random, there's always a method to the madness. I took a star off because of that deep, important point--it's very vague. Fight Club had a real message, Survivor had a real message, and Invisible Monsters had a real message. Lullaby's thesis, for one reason or another, eldues the reader. The basic ideas are there, but they're never really pulled together. There are compelling questions raised about power and humanity--but that's all they are. Even if the message escapes the reader, it's still a four-star book. Read it if you love black humor and unique plots.

Rating:
Summary: A song of horror, fear, and death.
Review: Carl Streator is a journalist working on a story about SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). He is going on emergency calls to the homes of parents who have just lost their children and researching past SIDS cases looking for clues and a story. He arranges to meet Helen Boyle, premier realtor for distressed haunted houses, a parent who lost a child to SIDS almost 20 years ago.

Carl Streators' journey is a twisted maze of supernatural, paranormal, pagan ritual, truth, discovery, and even love.

Chuck Palahnuik begins your journey into 'Lullaby' in a chilling account of paranormal haunting and when your good and scared he taps into your maternal/paternal needs of protecting children by detailing the deaths of infants. I found the prologue and first couple of chapters difficult to read due to the images he evokes.

If your looking for eloquent prose of beauty and light you need to get a different book. 'Lullaby' is full of gritty descriptions, unusual characters, and a very dry dark sense of humor. You will laugh in this book but in the oddest places.

I did enjoy this book but my biggest criticism is he had great insights about the media that was lost in the side plots and characters in this book. The book asks the questions what if you had the power to kill? What if the media told you how to feel, can you control yourself? Does the end justify the means? Does power corrupt?

You will be surprised by the outragous and unusual events that only Chuck Palahnuik could dream up for us. This is a departure from books like 'Choke' and 'Survivor' that were self discoveries and a step toward the genre of Horror. If you like gritty tell it like it is style you'll like this book.

I liked it and would recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Our Hero
Review: Lullaby finds Chuck Palahniuk in a transitional phase. Chances are the Portland author won't be competing with the likes of Stephen King any time soon. And his fans should be thankful.

As a horror novel, Lullaby is anything but a traditional entry in the heavily commercialized genre. Palahniuk's sinister sense of humor prevents the author's fourth novel from achieving a significant scare factor. Or at least the typical horror type of fright.

Our hero is Helen Hoover Boyle. She is a real estate agent with an eye for "distressed" property. The kind of homes where the only permanent residents are not exactly of this world. Helen Hoover Boyle sells haunted houses. She sells them to normal families who seem happy enough, until blood starts running down the walls. After that, the buyers will scramble out of there before they even start unpacking their boxes. Easy money for a realtor who knows where to look. And with the help of a police scanner and a practitioner slash secretary named Mona, Helen Hoover Boyle is very good at what she does.

Our narrator is Carl Streator. A newspaper reporter who, while doing a story on sudden infant death syndrome, comes across a book of poems. More like a can of worms actually.

If words could kill.

The discovery of the infamous "culling song" lights the fuse of Lullaby's plot which eventually intersects the lives of our hero and our narrator, spiraling the book into a constantly building power struggle all the way until the bitter ending. With plenty of Palahniuk's signature quirks, Lullaby will surely satisfy Chuck's rapidly growing fan base.

It is the story just below the surface, however, that will get the wheels turning. Lullaby was inspired by the tragic killing of Palahniuk's own father. The murderer was eventually apprehended and convicted. During sentencing, Chuck had to testify as to whether he believed in the death penalty. Keep these facts (not included in the book) in mind, as they will provide a better appreciation of the novel.

Otherwise, Lullaby may prove just too darn entertaining for the average reader to even notice the deeper message. It is truly a page-turning, hilarious ride. Take the horror sticker off and, in my mind, the brilliantly constructed third chapter is reason enough to buy this one today.

Rating:
Summary: You gotta love this guy . . .
Review: Few authors will tackle the subjects that Palahniuk does, and even fewer would be able to carry them off as a novel once undertaken, but with a master storyteller like Mr. P, you can't go wrong. Yes, we're all familiar by now with FIGHT CLUB and his other works (INVISIBLE MONSTERS was my favorite), but just when you think he's going to run aground, he pulls another rabbit out of the hat and surprises all of us. With its themes of infanticide, LULLABY is reminiscent of Jackson McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. With its cinematic overtones and pacing, it is like Palahinuk's INVISIBLE MONSTERS or FIGHT CLUB. All-in-all, this is one great read. But then, this guy doesn't write anything that's not top notch. Great read. Great fun. Like all of his works, not for the faint-of-heart.

Rating:
Summary: Vintage Palahniuk, but disappointing
Review: A wise writer once said that if you have a cute idea, turn it into a short story--not a novel. Too bad Chuck Palahniuk didn't take this advice.

It's enjoyable, with his usual weirdness and why-are-they-allowed-out-in-public? characters, but it feels stretched. There's not really enough plot to carry the premise through a whole novel. There are plot holes big enough to accomodate a Winnebago, and enough random weirdness and insane snippets are thrown around that it feels like Palahniuk was desperately trying to plaster them over. "Okay, sure, this character should have been killed right away and wasn't--but look! Necrophilia!"

I'm looking forward to the *next* book, which I hope rides on more than some nifty prose.

Rating:
Summary: One Word: Bummer
Review: Hey Chuck is at it again, with his new book Lullaby. Yep its great with exactly the same anti-everything, massochistic, sadistic, charcters and situations. THis book is just like evey one of his last books, with one major difference though: this one ...Don't buy it, wait for the next one, hope thats different and even then read a review first because in this perpetuating cycle that is his novels its not worth the paper its printed on....
Don't Get me wrong here, i really like hit other books
Invisible Monsters in particular but this book Lullaby is a depressing sign that Chuck has lost his ability to sell me the same book over and over. True: fool me once shame on you, twice shame on me but dont worry this may well be the last bit of shame i'll ever get from good old "Repetative Lame Idea/Plot Man" Chuck Palahniuk.

Rating:
Summary: it is still Chuck Palahniuk, but its not his best
Review: It's an excellent book, but

It's not as
hilarious as Choke
big as Survivor
outrageous as Invisible Monsters
or fun as Fight Club

With that said, it is still excellent and its still Chuck Palahniuk
It's like getting into the newer model of BMW. Maybe the new model doesn't offer anything new and groundbreaking to the automotive industry, but it's still a BMW ;)

While you read it, you might get to the point where you feel this is not as good as....... but right then he pulls the rabbit out of the hat and you realize he still got it.

Final Verdict: the book is not a step up or ground breaking stuff, but it's not a step down. The book is still very entertaining and appealing to Chuck Palahniuk's fans

Rating:
Summary: Lullaby
Review: "Lullaby" is a story about a reporter (Carl Streader) who is working on a story for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS.) Through his research for the story, he makes a startling discovery -- a poem that is printed in a children's book, called the "Culling Song," causes death to its listeners. The story follows Carl in his quest to destroy all of the copies of the Culling Song, and he gets mixed up with other characters who share his secret of the poem's power, if not his desire to destroy it.

I was drawn to this book because I really enjoyed the movie "Fight Club," and "Lullaby" possesses alot of the same angry undertones that made Fight Club entertaining. The book started out very strong. Palahniuk seems to have a gift for creating intelligent, edgy, and angry characters who go on rants that feel like they were borne from blast furnaces. Another thing I notice in the book that you can't detect in the movie is his unique way of describing things. Green is not good enough, he describes green as the reflection off of the yellow ball on the pool table rather than the red one. I like that.

This story does bog down a little bit. He spends much too much time on a road trip scene, and he tries to develop a love interest for Carl that feels like a movie where the two love interests are just plain miscast, (i.e., Keanu Reeves and anybody...just kidding.) These parts of the book are slower, but they do not undo all the good that Palahniuk created in the beginning of his story.

This story, though probably one of the author's weaker ones, was very entertaining to a first time reader, and I am excited to read more of his works.