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Summary: Sound bites only might be worth reading.
Review: I was given this as a Christmas present with the recommendation that it was "hilariously funny." And, if all you read is the sound bite quips every 20 pages or so, it might be. But, as commentary on contemporary society, sex addiction, unemployment, theme parks, dementia - each topic works out to about 3 pages from a sad (and redundant) professional journal article spread out through an entire book interspersed with all the dirty words that are really no surpise anymore.
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Summary: Amazing writer!
Review: I became a Chuck Palahniuk fan as soon as I finished the book "Choke" I've read all his books except Diary which will be the next one I pick up...I advise everyone to read all his books they are very intriguing and worth reading!
Rating: 
Summary: A great book
Review: This was the first Chuck Palahniuk book that I've read, and I loved it. I would give it 4 and a half if I could. The description of the hospital and the people in it was amazing. My only problem with the book was that things were introduced and not explained until later in the book, and it caused a little confusion. But then again, sometimes when that happened, it enhanced the story. Pick this one up, as long as sexual situations and cursing don't bother you.
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Summary: new cuck addict
Review: This is definitely my favorite book by palahniuk so far. It beats out "Invisible Monsters" because of its ending. There is nothing to cure the aluminum aftertaste of the modern day void like a new book by Mr. Palahniuk. His quirky characters are easy to fall in love with and his way of telling a story makes you think: How does he know all this stuff? a plus is his incredible perversive mind that plays with the reader and make you choke with suprise halfway through the book. Love his stories about sexual addiction support groups
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Summary: One Star Rater fron Chicago, Il
Review: Have read "Fight Club", "Choke", and "Lullaby". All excellent books. Reviewer from Chicago, Il has written reviews on all of Palahniuk's books, giving all of them one star. The reviewer gives long rants about how the books are crap and people simply carry them about in public as a means of achieving some sort of social recognition. Yet in any of the reviews given, there has yet to be any analysis of the books themselves. Reminds me of when right wing conservatives call for the banning of certain books because of their content without ever reading the books themselves. Palahniuk is good at exposing the darker side of modern day society through fiction. If you like books along the lines of the classic "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", check out any of Palahniuk's books. If you're too afraid to read them, leave the reviews to those that aren't.
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Summary: Unintentionally funny
Review: The "novel," (is it one?) CHOKE appears to have been written under the influence of rock music. There is nothing wrong with this, of course; contemporary novels SHOULD rock. But when the PROSE of a novel unintentionally resembles bad rock lyrics, there is a definite problem. Rock musicians use lyrics as if they were notes or guitar riffs; the author of CHOKE has written bad rock lyrics completely without irony and outside of a musical context. In other words, the prose isn't musical; it's just full of cliches, infantile, and unintentionally amusing. I read some of CHOKE aloud to friends and we were laughing---not because of the author's one-liners, but because it resembled a short story written by a stoner at a low-tier community college. In fact, the entire book resembles the "work" of a developmental/remedial student. The funniest passage is when the protagonist's life is saved by two police officers in an interrogation room; the scene is supposed to be a emotionally strong, but it is, in fact, unintentionally hilarious. Also amusing are the lines plagiarized outright from "American Beauty" ("The world is so beautiful...") and the climax, which resembles the ending of Spielberg's "Schindler's List." This is not a forum for literary criticism, merely a place where Amazon.com customers can rate products for the benefit of other clients; I suppose that I WOULD recommend CHOKE for first-year college students who would like to learn how NOT to write. This book could serve as a negative example.
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Summary: All Choked Up....
Review: First things first...It takes a long time to read Choke because the laughs slow down one's normal reading speed. So, don't let the novel's size deceive you. Second, this is not a frivolous book. As is true with quality comedy, the obscured underlying "message" is deadly serious. Ostensibly, Victor Mancini is working (Choking) in fine restaurants for the purpose of reaping financial windfalls that will enable him to purchase for his mother, Ida, a feeding tube. In the novel, Victor recounts life with Ida, the "Mommy," and describes himself as the "gullible" or otherwise diminished "kid." Ida is a criminal; her crimes are petty, but intended toward one goal: creating chaos and unpredictability in a world which, she says, suffers from a surplus of organization (everyday a "cruise ship"). She goes to a pharmacy and mixes up hair dyes, placing blonde in the red-hair box and so on. She wants, not to uncomplicate her life, but to uncomplicate herself. She is not alone. Also seeking a meaning in unpredictable and seemingly trivial actions is Denny, the "hey dude" friend of Victor. He collects rocks to celebrate his sobriety. Victor, Ida, Denny, the nursing home "doctor," Paige: all are pilgrims in the new world, trying in their modern way to build Johnathan Winthrop's "city on a hill." Addicted to drugs, sex, delusional, these and other characters in Choke are trying to find direction and meaning in a world that would rather avoid even such discussions. I could not bring myself to find convincing the image of an adult Victor Mancini who remains impressionable after a volatile, unprotected childhood of trailing his wily mother in and out of courts, foster care and the modern legal system generally. A small complaint in the overall scheme of things. Reading Choke and you're in a cool hypnotic state, a self-contained world where you can laugh out loud as you ponder what drives the characters of Choke to their extremes and why, by the way, are we not similarly driven.
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Summary: How could you not enjoy this book?
Review: Okay, I will admit that I've not come across a book by Chuck Palahniuk that I don't like. I first visited Fight Club because of the movie - and moved into the realm of Lullaby - Choke I picked up at an airport bookstore in September. This book caught my attention from the start (as they always do) and sucked me in. I think what I appreciate the most about this and Palahniuk's other books is that they meld with the ADHD mindset of our generation - and change tracks faster than I change boyfriends. This is just straight-up good stuff - how can you not fall in love and hate the character who is consciously making money and boosting people's self-esteem at the same time -- how could you possibly not love that?!?!?!
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Summary: Another Great Palahniuk Novel
Review: This is my second time reading a Palahniuk novel, and I have to say that he is quickly becoming one of my favorite satirical writers. In Choke, Palahniuk has a main character who goes to sex addiction 12 step programs to pick up chicks (they don't get much easier than that!) and fakes choking in restaurants so that someone will rescue him, feel sorry for him, and hopefully give him some money. The lead character also spends his days debating on whether or not to sleep with the female doctor at his aged mother's nursing home and flashing back through his bizarre childhood with his crazy mother. In other words, this is your typical, outlandish Palahniuk plot (for which we all know and love him). As always, Palahniuk uses his fun, crazy, satirical plot to delve into issues of importance to modern people. In this particular book, he deals with addiction and the need for people to feel important, even god-like, in the face of a society that has made so many people feel that their lives are completely unnecessary. The lead character and his crew strive throughout the book to find a meaning to their lives, lives in which they feel completely unimportant as they work as strippers and theme park characters. Whether or not these characters consciously realize it, they are all abusing themselves in some form or another because they need some way, some sort of outlet, to get through a world that doesn't seem to really need them. The lead character's crazy mother points out that with all the laws, regulations, rules, and safety precautions forced upon society in modern days, life on earth has become more like a big trip on a giant cruise ship. Everybody does what they are supposed to do at the appointed time, and things keep moving smoothly along. People are made to feel that the most important thing that they can contribute to society is to conform to it so that it continues to work as a well-oiled machine. As Palahniuk lets you know, this is not exactly healthy for an individual's psyche. So, you get the addictive behaviors, aimlessness, and general psychoses that seems to affect so many in our generation. Palahniuk's characters spend the book trying to resolve this issue in their own lives. The underlying message of this book really spoke to me, while the plot and characters kept me entertained. I recommend this book to anyone who likes good social satire.
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Summary: Very sexy, very entertaining, but not his best.
Review: I will try not to give any spoilers here. Its characters are classic chuck, the main character is a sex addict that works at a historical theme park, and they just get more interesting from there. They are strange characters, yes, but easy to relate to and motivated by very primal instincts. Not a book to read to your mother. It's riddled with more of his very unique dark humor that is in Lullaby and Survivor. Also, Chuck inserts his little "tips" in life that they don't teach you in school, they might be from the anarchist cookbook. Things like what all the secret code phrases that are announced over PA systems, and how to make easy money at fine dining places. It's a quick read, flows nicely, a few of the scenes are unnecessary, but a good book over all. In chuck we trust indeed.
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