Choke

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Summary: Ho hum, another fan hopelessly devoted to the latest Morsel
Review: Probably all the reviews you'll read for this book are going to be exuberant and massively enthusiastic. I'm going to try to keep this as level as possible, but the fact is that Choke is a fantastic read, wickedly funny and, though not heartbreaking, it often manages to touch a raw nerve. If you're looking for the same kind of jet-black humour present in his other books, you will not be at a loss here, as the humour springs from the page right from the very start as the author insists that you, the reader, should go and do something else. After all, you're not getting any younger. Time will tell if this author's work will be held in a high literary regard, but even if it isn't, this novel deserves to be read and appreciated for the sheer pleasure alone.

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Summary: What would Chuck Palahniuk NOT write about?
Review: If you would like to have your belief structures and social conventions challenged by one of the best new voices around, I highly recommend this book. If you want to be spoon-fed conventional blubber, stick with the bestseller list. By his fourth novel, Choke, Palahniuk further refines themes suggested in his earlier books, while employing new (and to an extent previously taboo) subjects as the context within which his slightly-off characters frolic and suffer to our delight. Vincent Mancini, the protagonist of Choke, wrestles with such of life's little complications as sexual addiction, Alzheimer's Disease, and the emotional need for validation, salvation and personal transformation. Those who enjoyed Invisible Monsters, Fight Club and/or Survivor will find familiar comfort in Palahniuk's sound-bite linguistic style, which frantically drives the book toward whatever conclusion is in store. I read the book in two sittings, insatiably curious as to how (and if) the pieces fit together. My thanks to Chuck Palahniuk for making life a little more . . . err . . . interesting. Here's to hoping that he is presently scheming away at a new novel.

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Summary: A Chokehold on the American Dream
Review: Palahniuk's brilliance is the poetry that leaps out of his blatant vulgarity. He pounds out such amazing analogies and ridiculous realisms, it is easy to get lost in his satirical world. Choke is a perfect companion to Fight Club and Survivor. Palahniuk nails the creepy recesses of the male psyche like no other author. I devour these books and eagerly await the next.

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Summary: "Because nothing is as perfect as you imagine it,"
Review: "We spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or Insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heros or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe its our job to invent something better." Palahniuk never ceases to inspire. Behind all the satire. Behind his often hillirous look at life and the little things that make us human, or at least the views that he portrays in his unforgetable characters, Palahniuk, never stops to apologize, and there no reason to because he writes the truth in it most crulest of ways. "People sit home and watch Friends, because they have no Friends." I dare you to read any Palahniuk book, be it, Fight Club, Survivior, IM, or Choke, and not be inspired to do something better with yourself. Improve yourself. Create something. Destroy something. Do Something with yourself other than sit in front of a mind-numbing television set, and dream about the life you could have, get off your "" and do something! At least that's what I get out of Palahniuk work. Since the first time I picked up Fight Club, I was hooked, his words are like heroin to me. I've lost track how many times I've read that book, and Survivor. IM about four times. There are many messages in Chuck's work, some hidden, some in your face, some crammed down your throat, and forced into the pit of your stomach. The most important message, in seemingly all his works, is do something with yourself other than waste away precious brain cells in this repetitive world as we know it, we all have a talent for something, find yours, and make it happen, for yourself, and nobody else. I predict that Chuck will be a household name after his next book Lullabye comes out, and after the movie adaptation of Survivor comes out, and possibly an Invisible Monsters movie. Everybody will know who Chuck is, good or bad, that I don't know. Loved or hated, probably both, but do yourself a favor and read his works now while he's got his little cult following, this way a few years down the road, when everybodies on the literary band wagon, you can laugh and tell everyone, "I TOLD YOU SO." Buy this book, read it more than once. Save yourself, and find your place. "Because nothing is as perfect as you imagine it," I'll shut up now.

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Summary: ENTERTAINING, FAST READ
Review: I THINK I READ THIS ONE IN ABOUT 3 HOURS, VERY FUNNY, I LOVED THE CHAPTER WITH THE [sex] SCENE THE MOST...GOD THAT MAKES ME SOUND PRETTY SICK, BUT ANYWAYS, IT IS HILARIOUS.

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Summary: It doesnt get much better than this...
Review: First off, Chuck's books are the only books I can read in under one week, not that that means much to you readers out there but just so you know thats what kind of books this guy writes. Rivaling 'Survivor' this sick, twisted and hilarious take on all things sacred and not opens with a bang, and doesnt let up or lag. Expanding on the 'Fight Club' theme of self improvement and self destruction (self improvement is masturbation, now self destruction..) we get an inside glimpse into the worlds of people we see everyday with the sexaholics and elderly, and the saddistic world of Victor, the main character, and his flaws and personal heroics and addictions. If you like Chucks other work than this should be a no-brainer and you should skip all reviews and read it, if you have never read one of his books I strongly urge you to pick up this and all his other works (Survivor, Fight Club and Invisible Monsters) and let them soak in. Believe me, it'll be just what the doctor ordered. See Also: Self Enlightement See Also: Radiohead in book format

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Summary: Palahniuk's best novel yet!
Review: Victor Mancini is Palahniuk's newest leading man. He contains many elements of Jack from Fight Club, Tender Branson from Survivor, and even the unnamed narrator from Invisible Monsters. Choke is Chuck at his best. It contains all the twists and double meanings you would expect from the writer, who in my opinion is the master of his genre. I quickly bought Choke yesterday morning (it came out yesterday) and am finished with it now. I read almost nonstop, eagerly awaiting its conclusion. Choke is yet another masterpiece. All I ask of Palahniuk is..PLEASE WRITE FASTER CHUCK!! Treat yourself and buy the book as soon as you can.

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Summary: Masterpiece isn't the right word...
Review: What we have here is a novelist whose time will never come. Chuck Palahniuk will never be as praised as he deserves to be, and I for one hope that this never changes. From Invisible Monsters to Fight Club, Survivor, and now Choke; I look on the bestseller lists, and I'm glad to not to have to see his name. For those fortunate enough to have read and enjoyed his previous work, you will hardly be disappointed. The narrative is constantly babbling in your ear like some deranged lunatic, but it is so well-balanced that, like everything else Chuck has written, it starts to make perfect sense. And then it happens: it's called a changeover, and the audience has no clue. In this book you will be asked questions, and you will ask yourself questions. You will be presented with perspective, and just as quickly it will be taken away. You will laugh and cringe all in the same note. It's hard to make reference to anything without wanting to spew it all out. Suffice it to say that when reading this book, be careful not to confuse the narrator's voice with your own...

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Summary: 2nd best Palahnuik novel
Review: Except for Palahnuik's Survivor, Choke is my 2nd favorite book. Extremely funny, wonderful plot, wonderful comments on life. Just doesn't have the memorable one-liners of Fight Club and Survivor.

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Summary: Choke By Chuck Palahniuk
Review: Palahniuk with such successful titles as "Fight Club"(First rule of fight club, do not talk about fight club)and survivor, this book is an exceptionally well written novel, even more bizzare then his last three works. The main character, Victor, is a con artist, sex addict, belives he is a direct link to Jesus, and fakes choking in resteraunts to get free meals, and money from people who save him, but he is not crazy. Palahniuk's latest book is a treat for people who want a bizzare, but at times almost beautiful book.