*warning: this post contains a few racy words that may not be suitable for eyes of all ages*
Chuck Palahniuk's writing sucks. I don't care what anyone says to convince me otherwise - his writing sucks. Oh, but he's so edgy. His writing pushes the limits. Duh! that's his schtick, kinda like it's Sarah Silverman's, and I don't really like her comedy either. How many times can one person say cunt and pussy and make racial jokes before they just aren't funny to people anymore?!?!
I haven't even thought of dear old Chuckie once in the last year. The last I did, it was because a friend suggested I try reading Survivor, his favorite book. "You know, by the guy who wrote Fight Club?" he said, and I was sold. Fight Club is still one of my all time favorite movies. I sometimes look back at my journal from that time to read the 10 pages I wrote about the movie and how it changed my ideologies on life. How could I not read another book by the man who wrote the book this movie was based on? Once I started reading it, I felt like I was reading a tabloid. Everything was sensational, sentences were choppy fragments if they existed at all, and the story was written as if it was going to be directly transposed into a screen play...which I think was good ol' Chuckie's intent when he wrote it. I couldn't even finish the book. And just to see if my theory was right, I looked at my friends' copy of Fight Club and I kid you not - the book is almost WORD FOR WORD the movie. Now a lot of readers have major beefs with books turned movies that do not stay true to the book. But c'mon, a book that is written like a screen play...? This leaves half developed characters, overly embellished scene descriptions and attention to surrounding details, a formulaic storyline, and little to no continual plot. I returned Survivor to my friend and never looked back.
Until Jason and I were at a bar last week and the bartender intoned you-know-who's name to another customer as though she were saying the forbidden name of a god. My hackles rose and my irritation surged as I was forced to listen to her extol the books' virtues and how oh so uber cool Palahnuik is. I in turn told Jason how much I thought his writing sucks. This did not stop me from going home that night to put on Fight Club to help me fall asleep on the couch (Jason later remarked how weird an effect that conversation had on me subconsciously if I came home and watched that movie not even realizing the connection, doi).
Which brings me to current time, tonight, June 15th, father's day 2008. The Celtics are on, tied with the Lakers, and I was reading the New York Times Book Review section. Lo and behold, Mr. Cool Pants came out with a new, snarky, one-word-titled hit one wonder - Snuff . (along with the aforementioned Survivor, Choke, Lullabye, Diary, Rant, and Haunted...wow, so clever, Chuck-o!!). Again, I vent my frustration to Jason and continue to read. only to find Mr. Edgy Mc Edgster has ANOTHER book on ANOTHER list in this NYT Book Review - Survivor. Gadzooks!
I wish I could add some disclaimer to this post...some way of talking about him and his writing without having to mention him...or his writing. Because by mentioning either, I'm calling attention to them and probably convincing someone out there to go out and purchase one of these so called "books," which is the exact effect I want to be having right now. Oh well.
End rant.
This post made me laugh. I could just picture you getting so pissed at the bar.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the guy, never seen Fight Club and never heard of the book Survivor, so I would love to chime in and rant with you, but no luck.
Thanks for the warning, though!
In college, I had a friend who loved Survivor so much that when I said I probably wouldn't read it, he started reading it to me over the phone. I usually fell asleep. I couldn't agree with you more.
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting that you are so worked up over another author's writing. I don't have much of an opinion, I have read some of his stuff, and I think it's ok, I wouldn't gush over it, but I also wouldn't feel compelled to get so pissed about it either. He's obviously doing something that the general populous likes.
ReplyDeleteI guess I would probably compare his writing to like Weezer and their ability to write songs for the masses.
Eh, I don't think his writing SUCKS, but he's not the best writer ever. I sure as hell like him a lot more than Sarah Silvermann who I want to punch in the face every time I see her on tv.
ReplyDeleteHI Erica - OK this is nothing to do with your post about the author (but that would really irritate me too!) - I was writing to you in response to the comment you left on the Common Threads blog. My advice to you is just go for it and start a quilting group of your own. I live in Hawaii and did not know (and still don't except through emails) any of the ladies in this quilting group. I got an email one day inviting me to join and I said yes. I think it just takes someone with the initiative to find a bunch of ladies and get the ball rolling. It is really fun and an adventure - stepping out of your comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI definitely say go for it - I'm sure there are other people who want to join.
Darn it - just realized I spelled your name wrong! Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI love Invisible Monsters by him. It's one of my favorite books. I also met him and he was pretty awesome. People hype him up way too much though. He's good but not THAT good.
ReplyDeleteI already had an instinct that I wouldn't like Palahniuk's books, and I think that you just confirmed it... thanks. I won't fault the people who like his books; I just don't like books where the author is trying too hard to be, like, *different*, man. Witness the fact that, while I'm sure the stories Cormac McCarthy is telling are great, I don't think I could ever get through one of his books without screaming... I would miss all the quotation marks, and apostrophes. I'd be continually taken out of the book.
ReplyDelete