Rating: 
Summary: Fast Food
Review: The good news is that even slow readers can read this one in a day. The bad news is that's because this book is repetitive and largely lacking in substance. The characters are okay, and there are some interesting ecological details, as well as some extradark humor. Still, this is a 10-page short story stretched over 250 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: wow, can't beleive you all ate the whole thing
Review: Horribly, horribly written book. If this is what I can expect from Palahniuk (as the rest of the reviewers appear to allude) then I am off of him forever. The plot is candy-store. The characters waste page space unnecessary observations and at the same time we never really see the characters develop or understand them in the least. I am so irritated with this writing that I am having a hard time writing this review. Hopefully, this saves someone the pain....
Rating: 
Summary: Anti intellectualism at its finest
Review: A wild plot, unorthodox writing. Bitterness. The perfect read? Absolutely. Chuck Palanhuik uses a scathing wit that straddles the line of cynicism and desperate hope in a powerful and moving way. How do I feel after reading it? Depressed, aware, resolved. A moving story from a surprising form.
Rating:
Summary: i love you chuck for writing great books!!
Review: This book is a great read. Compelling, interesting to the point that I'd wonder about the characters after putting it down. This book really made me question myself as a noise-aholic. I can't just flip through the dull mindlessness of trite songs and radio commercials anymore without thinking of Chuck's theme---questioning our modern trend of numbing our minds through "entertainment". Hence the plot of the book: What if you could die by hearing a poem? It would force people to turn off mass media, radios, tv's, billboards, books. Noise pollution would end and people would have to rely on themselves for entertainment. Chuck here as in his other books has explored a unique thought experiment. There are many other themes and points working in the book; a book that forces you to think. For example: written about the husband who accidently kills his wife and child, "there are worse things you can do to your family than killing them."
Rating:
Summary: Tarzan Like Books!
Review: Chuck Palahniuk's novels are written in "Tarzan-speak"; no educated person would ever write in this way. A diesel mechanic, however, might.Here is the premise of LULLABY: A news reporter discovers a book of spells. When a culling spell is read aloud, it kills anyone within earshot. Wait a minute, the author changes this premise slightly. Anyone who THINKS the culling spell can kill anyone he or she chooses. No, that's not right. The author modifies this premise further: Anyone who INTENDS TO KILL someone KILLS THAT PERSON. Do you find this premise interesting? Do you think that the premise is logical? If so, LULLABY is the book for you! Chuck Palahniuk: the Tarzan of English-language fiction!
Rating:
Summary: A bland read....
Review: After reading Choke, I thought that Chuck Palahniuk was growing as a writer. His themes were similar, but the characters were different and seemed more real or at least dimensional. With Lullaby you get the extreme exact opposite.
The story sounds intriguing and had a lot of potential, but it just falls completely flat. Palahniuk seems more intent on pushing the idea that we are a society that has to be influenced, rather than grow his characters and let the "moral" of the story come through them. The two main characters do not seem one bit likable, and maybe their not supposed to be, but they are also not interesting. Everyone seems to want to destroy things but we never truly understand why. The main character, Carl Streator, is one dimensional and not very interesting. His love interest, Helen Hoover Boyle, is more dimensional and somewhat more interesting (not much more), but not likable. Helen's secretary, Mona and her boyfriend Oyster are likable, but not written very well. You hope that by the time their road trip begins, we will begin to see something happen, but it all fizzles and Palahniuk begins to get a little preachy. If you are a fan of Palahniuk then you will want to read this book, but do not expect it to be his best, that title either goes to Fight Club or Survivor.
Rating: 
Summary: A questionable new direction
Review: Lullaby marks a new direction for Palahniuk. Several new directions really. The book is first person, sex isn't the overall subject matter and the characters aren't all criminally insane. Oh, and the book would also fit better in the fantasy section of the bookstore (instead of in literature).
To continue the comparison to other Palahniuk novels, Lullaby is a lot less flippant in nature. The main character actually has some redeeming, identifiable qualities. There seems a lot less hype, a better focus on characterization.
Unfortunately, I found this book to be a little too preachy. The environment this, the environment that. Palahniuk seems to discount humans as a legitimate force of evolutionary intervention. One gets the sense from Palahniuk that the world would be a much better place without humans running around buying his novels.
To be fair, Lullaby is a fun, disconnected from reality novel about too many subjects to easily define. A definite new direction for a promising author, but is it the right direction?
Rating:
Summary: Clever but overemphasized
Review: Power is the original corrupter, redemption is not free. Get used to these themes. They will be hammered into your head. The concept and plot development in this book are objectively great, but the constant self-commentary and thematic hammering are really annoying. It's a quick read, and fairly compelling, but unless you're looking for a cheap substitute for a graduate course in ethics, it's not going to be a favorite. My suggestion, read it anyway...
Rating:
Summary: Neither Engaging nor Easy
Review: <em>Lullaby</em> is a story of memes, infectious fragments of mental code that ride minds like genes ride cells. And not only do they ride, they influence action, seeking to spread themselves further. Carl Streator is both a professional producer of memes, a journalist, and a person who abhors being imposed on through them by constant noise and sonic stimulation, the pollution of our age. Palahniuk takes the idea of memes one step further to make the premise of the novel, by coming up with the thought that kills, the culling song or lullaby which enters Streator's life and leads him to find others whose lives it has touched. Helen Boyle, real-estate agent and purveyor of haunted houses. And, as befits a man who hates the pollution of noise and thought fragments of today, he resolves to remove this one, the culling song, from the meme-pool. As a lover of <em>Fight Club</em> in print and on the screen, I was eager to read something else by Palahniuk. Unlike <em>Fight Club</em>, however, I didn't find <em>Lullaby</em> particularly engaging to read, or to have an enjoyable story on the surface level. Palahniuk's spare and direct prose didn't do enough for me in terms of giving life to his characters. On other levels, there's quite a lot to digest, from how he views memes to the changing moments of his characters, and I'm still letting my own thoughts about the meanings and memes in the book percolate, which is a good sign. I can understand how people might opt to put it down, however, or were totally disappointed by the lack of an enjoyable outer story. So if you want to get infected by the thoughts within <em>Lullaby</em> and you want to give a few hours to absorb the book before you get much out of it, you'll find a <strong>lot</strong> of stimulation. Otherwise, stay away.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Palahnuik has a clever way of weaving really interesting facts - like the compelling reasons we should all be vegans - into an entertaining dark comedy. For example, the knowledge of the problem of invasive species itself becomes invasive in the mind of the listener.
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