Choke by Chuck Palahniuk Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Choke
Book Review: Dark and disgusting and wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
This book isn't for someone sensitive or with a weak stomach, but it is really a fantastic book. This is one of those novels that throws you into a world that you wouldn't otherwise know if you hadn't read it. I loved it very much, and it was my first of Chuck Palahnuik's books, and is still one of my favorites.Book Review: Dark, Strangely Funny and Enjoyable
Summary: 4 Stars
Chuck Palahniuk has achieved quite a following. His writing has captivated some, and disturbed others. His dark comedy has done the same thing. Chances are, if you didn't like Palahniuk before, there's little chance that Choke will change your opinion of him. If you're a Palahniuk fan, your mileage may very.
Choke centers on Victor Mancini. Victor, in real Palahniuk style, is not your average everyday Joe. He has his own problems. In this case he happens to be a sex addict. But there's more than that. His mother is in a psychiatric hospital and paying for her to stay is becoming a little harder over time. He's in a dead end job that doesn't get much for him, not to mention he's doing little to cure his sexual addiction as he doesn't do many of the steps. There's one thing he does to help his mother, though, even if there's little he can do for himself. He goes to restaurants and pretends to choke on food in hopes that the person who saves him will send him money out of pity later on down the road. As far as things go, it works out just fine.
The book is hardly about him choking on food and getting money for it. A huge chunk of the book isn't about that at all. The book is about Victor first and foremost. A large portion of the book is dedicated to his mysterious past and his fractured relationship with his mother, who can't seem to remember Victor anyway. It is this arc of the story that might entice readers to keep going.
On the other hand, like a few of his other books, you need to prepare for some dark humor and all around disturbing scenes. Palahniuk is no stranger to shock. And while Choke certainly isn't his most shocking book, he spares no detail in some of the books more disturbing sexual scenes and in some of the scenes from Victor's past. It's all built up fairly well. He also uses a few techniques such as repetition of certain phrases ("______ isn't the right word, but it's the first one that comes to mind."). The repetition may become annoying at times, however, but it certainly adds a unique style. It's a pretty quick read as well and wastes no time getting to the point. You could easily finish Choke in a sitting or two. Despite that, however, there are moments when Victor will go off on tangents that don't really move the story along. They're quick, but there are some moments where the story could definitely move forward. At the very least, these are minor issues that probably won't bother anyone in a book that moves so quickly, and rarely misses a beat in doing so.
There's not much that keeps Choke down. The narrative voice is very good, but as you read it you get the feeling your in the shoes of Fight Club's own narrator. It feels all too familiar. That's probably not such a bad thing for many people, but it's something to keep in mind for Palahniuk fans who expect a bit more variety in his work. The characters, while good in their own right, aren't nearly as fleshed out as Victor Mancini either. They are, at least, fleshed out enough given the books short, snappy length.
It is a good book overall. One that isn't kept down by much. Palahniuk fans will be pleased overall.
Book Review: Definitely not for everyone..
Summary: 2 Stars
This book is definitely not for everyone to read. It is very perverted and just wrong in so many ways. I couldn't even finish reading this book. I guess it just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm really not into the dark and perverted stuff that was in this book. If you are into stuff like this, I highly recommend it to you.Book Review: Don't care for the writing style, but entertaining
Summary: 3 Stars
I find the writing style in this book hard to follow. The dialogue between characters is often missing quotation marks from the first person's perspective which made me stop to analyze too much. I found myself thinking "is this deliberate?" or "are the quotation marks missing because these are thoughts and not speech?", however most often they are speech sans quotation marks. What makes it more confusing is the people he is having conversation with will have quotation marks.Book Review: Entertaining and Thought Provoking
Summary: 5 Stars
Most authors can provide ample evidence of their ability to write by describing for you a city at night, a lone tree on a prairie, or a dog sniffing on a trash can. They can provide ample evidence of their ability to research the topic of their novel with exhaustive narration. There's one particular book I read that just put me to sleep with its detail and its description and its narration. That book, and it's considered a classic of modern fiction, forgot to be entertaining. It forgot to be funny. It forgot to provide a reason to turn the page. There's only so much time some of us have to read, and Chuck Palahniuk more often than not makes the journey through his words worthwhile. For those uninitiated few who have yet to delve into the catalogue, I believe there are three essential reads from Palahniuk: 1) Fight Club. The classic. The movie follows the book closely, but it's still well worth the read. 2) Rant. This book is narrated in an unusual manner, but it's an excellent read. This is the book that I discuss with my friends ad nauseam. 3) Choke. It's a sad venture into the mind of a pathetic man. Another famous author informs wanna be writers that their main characters must have redeemable qualities for their readers. There must be a separation between the good guys and the bad guys, he says. Chuck has made a career out of debunking this advice, and he has done so with proficiency. His catalogue involves hit and misses, but once you read these three hits you will not be able to stop yourself from reading anything and everything that has come from this unusual, sadistic mind.