Rating: Summary: If you're reading CHOKE, don't bother. Review: Con-artist Victor Mancini pretends to choke in restaurants. Invariably, scores of patrons rush to "save his life." The one who succeeds in dislodging the food from his throat inevitably feels the warm glow of admiration from the other patrons; he experiences a moment of self-glorification. He has been heroized. As a result, the one who "rescues" Victor Mancini voluntarily donates money to the 25-year-old womanizer.Do you find this premise plausible? Do you think that this premise is logical, that it makes sense? If so, CHOKE is the book for you!
Rating: Summary: DUDE! Review: Palahniuk is by far one of the most disturbing authors I've read in a long time. He is a mixture of Kurt Vonnegut at his more witty and sarcastic, Don Delillo when he views society, and the carnal side of William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. Choke is basically about a con artist who deals w/ a sex addiction, a mother w/ Alzheimer's, and pretends to choke on food at restaurants to earn money. He is also a med-school dropout who works as an indentured servant at some colonial theme park. The main character, Victor Mancini, is a very tragic and tortured man, like many of the characters in this book. He can't make his real self talk to his Alzheimer's stricken mother when he goes to visit her, instead putting on a bogus alias and their relationship was obviously very tortured. He also deals w/ a major sex addiction which he cannot seem to overcome no matter how hard he tries. Choke is another example of Palahniuk's grim view of society, like his novel Fight Club, and it symbolizes the death of the American dream, by revealing the ugly side to society, such as illness, corruption, addiction and war (both political and personal). Choke is not a book for everybody, obviously. For me it was too hard to put down, with suspense and curiosity literally bouncing off of every page, but it's hard to fathom what would happen next in Victor Mancini's insane life, and it was too disturbing to ignore. Perhaps this is one of the most bizarre and disturbing books I've read in my life. After I put it down I was in awe, and I didn't know what to feel. It was very powerful, but it was also very negative the way Palahniuk ignores the beauty in society and literally plunges straight into a Hedonistic and corrupted underworld.
Rating: Summary: Great fun! Review: This is definately the funniest book I've read so far this year!
Rating: Summary: OK - Not as innovative as Survivor Review: This book had an intersesting premise but was very choppy comapred to Chuck's other work. It was very explicative (which I don't mind when it adds to they story but it seemed like it was more for shock value). All in all a quickly forgotten novel but keeps your attention.
Rating: Summary: HORRIBLY ENGAGING BUT SHALLOW Review: Is it just me, or does this book read like a screen play? My feeling after completing this book was that it had been Chrichton-ized. That is, neatly tailored & compacted with enough interesting stuff to fill the 90 minute bill (i.e. Timeline). Curt little chapters with engaging set-pieces; the rocks filling the kitchen being the most memorable. Of course I am being cynical, the ardent fan would say that the choppy style and unrealistic hooks are absolutely brilliant and designed to steer the reader into this hellish other dimension where the actors at your local Jamestown reenactment are a bunch of drug addicts lorded over by a satanic "boss." This book, like the movie Fight Club, will leave you either loving it or hating it. Bottom Line: This is a trippy little story that I'm betting will eventually be making it to a movie theater near you. Parts of it are really inventive - slug trap drinking binge, indeed. But overall this is a story that does not live up to the sum its parts.
Rating: Summary: Wasn't for me, sorry... Review: Well, I've got to say...Dude.. I'm sorry I didn't take the author's advice in the first section and put down this book and instead read some standard King, Koontz, or anything else. Why not? Well, Dude, this book had amazing language. The sentences were wonderful. I enjoyed how the sections jumped around. The overall theme was thought provoking. Chuck's obviously a talented writer, Dude. However, I know what he is trying to do here. He's attempting to someday get himself into some cannonized literary text book of the early 21st century. He's being preachy. Sorry Chuck, it's not going to happen. Dude, I really do not care how controversial the topics--and sex scenes--are, Choke goes overboard and does not supply. Chuck eventually leads you away from where he had been taking you the entire book at the end, Dude. He turned what was a hurmous, somewhat interesting book into a, "ah ... Are you for real?" at the end. For me to enjoy a book, I want a good ending! Choke did not supply. Fight Club does, however. I'd say pick up any other novel, even one of his others, just pass this by. It's really not worth the time, Dude. Parents, this book would eaisly get an NC-17 rating, by the way. ...And if you're wondering what's up with all the Dudes, prepare yourself for that if you pick up this novel. NOT realistic but annoying.
Rating: Summary: Crude, Thought Provoking and Hilarious Review: Choke is the second Chuck Palahniuk book I've read; the first was Survivor. By now I've gotten the impression that all of Palahniuk's books are very similar in style, and a very unique style at that. Choke is an excellent representation of what's going on in this author's head. It's hard to categorize this novel, but if I had a gun to my head, I would say it's about 25% drama, 75% comedy. If that sounds like a strange mix, then you already have a feel for this book. Although quite twisted, the story is straight-forward and moderately paced. There's not a whole lot of action in this book, but that's certainly not a bad thing. The main character likes to go on and on describing his thoughts on life and its problems. This is where most the humor slips in. The author definitly went out of his way to make this novel funny. It had me laughing out loud more times than I can count, in a way only Palahniuk can. Mixed in with this incredible amount of dark humor is what I would consider "crude philosophy". By that, I mean thoughts that are presented in disturbing and unpolished ways. Although "unpolished" might be the wrong word, because most of it fits into the surrounding humor like a piece in a puzzle. It's crude on the level that you have to allow yourself to open up to it. To fully appreciate Choke, the reader needs consider the troubled, angst-filled thoughts of the main character before dismissing them, regardless of how wrong or ridiculous they sound. Now, with that said, this is a very fun and easy read, as long as you're not easily offended... and if you are easily offended, what are you doing buying Chuck Palahniuk books for Heaven's sake!
Rating: Summary: SUB PAR Review: I forget how i came across this book, maybe it had to do with fight club, a great film. i never read the book. anyway, about the book. it jumps around way too much. the beginning was a chore to read and get used to. i dont see what all the hoopla is about with this, it really isnt anything great. there are some original ideas in it, that are weird. Chuck writes some interesting sentences, some good descriptions, but i didnt find the plot very satisfying. its just okay, nothing great. oh well, hope this helped.
Rating: Summary: Anything for attention Review: Chuck Palahniuk has his themes down at the point of "Choke". His protagonist, Victor Mancini is partially self-loathing but attempting to redeem himself. His friend, Denny is at worst one of the most screwed up piles of nerouses. Victor is a sexaholic, a scam artist desperate to pay for his ailing train wreck of a mother who much of his self-loathing is directed at and is created by. He scams to be touched, to bring meaning to others lives, to make them his emotional parents who will dote on him with money and affection. He makes them feel special by choking at nice restaurants where there look to be well to do patrons. As a day gig he works in a theme village which results in many of his scenes as caretaker with Denny. At once a dispicible charater, one he makes not question of in the narrative, we still feel for him as he hurtles down the road towards rock bottom, again a typical Chuck Palahniuk theme. Beyond trying to give away the plot or even explain too much of it some differences are clear in Choke compared to Fight Club and Survivor. The pace is a bit slower and there is more empathy engendered towards Victor and Denny. In fact all the characters while deeply flawed are very human and often humaine which is a bit different from Palahniuk's usual mode of character development. While still a fast paced, tightly written novel Choke shows a lighter side, mind you when I say lighter I'm saying bleak rather than morbid, but it's there and welcomed. You feel for these characters. There is a delusional segment that runs in Choke as in Palahniuk's previous books but this time it is a sad and well meaning situation instead of the flaming train wrecks from characters degenerating in previous books. There is even hope in Choke. To me it is a sign that Palahniuk is examining his ideas and testing new waters. Think of Choke as a quest style book. It is less broad in it's spanse but focuses more on the duality in humans in a way that is sad and elegaic. Another strong Chuck Palahniuk novel.
Rating: Summary: Definition of Deus Ex Machina Review: While still excellent, I was grossly disappointed by the lack of depth in the ending of this novel. Palahniuk's sophomore effort, following the cult classic "Fight Club," ended up like most writers' with excellent first novels: woeful. Despite the way this review started off, I did like the book. Victor Mancini is as Palahniuk-esque as can be, and the plot line is refreshing and original. It just all goes downhill when Palahniuk tries another Fight Club-ish trick ending, and, unfortunately, it doesn't work out. So many questions left unanswered, so many loose ties well, untied, the author scrambled to finish the novel in the last, oh say, 20 pages. Let me rephrase: compared to other novels, this effort was spectacular. Compared to Palahniuk's other works, however, it was bleak.
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