Choke by Chuck Palahniuk Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Choke
Book Review: Ammmmmmmazing
Summary: 5 Stars
whitten with amazing imagination, it's one of the best books i've ever read. it's very artistic and sexual and twisted. Every adult with a normal life should read it. it's such an inspiration.Book Review: An Enthralling Satire
Summary: 5 Stars
Protagonist Victor Mancini leads a disturbing life. Victor is a medical school dropout who is starved for sympathy. He works in an 18th century theme park during the day, but spends his nights purposely choking on food to create heroes out of ordinary people, caring for his mother who is stricken with Alzheimer's, and fulfilling his sexual addiction. Through Palahniuk's vividly depictive diction, I felt I was constantly peering over Mancini's shoulder during his journey. While initially Palahniuk's diction comes across as overkill, it is what keeps one from putting "Choke" down.
Throughout "Choke," one constantly sympathizes with Victor because of his pathetic situation. This sympathy is mostly evoked in his flashbacks to his childhood, which seem abrupt at times, however they consistently inform readers of how Victor winds up in his current situation. Palahniuk's sexually explicit scenes are the only time Victor seems to be "enjoying" himself however they only further deteriorate his character. While Palahniuk's diction may cause these be slightly overbearing, it's what enables "Choke" to be a fairly fast read. The only flaw I found in this book was Palahniuk's lack of development of his minor characters. However, with static minor characters, this brings all of the focus to Mancini and makes his flaws and actions all the more drastic. This novel may be too much for some readers, however because it is saturated with controversy, many will enjoy Palahniuk's "Choke" from start to finish.
Book Review: An amazing novel not to be overlooked!
Summary: 5 Stars
Choke is a great novel. Slightly disturbing, as is Palahnuik's style, Choke is a novel for anyone who enjoys twists and abnormality. Highly Recommended!!Book Review: An immensely satisfying and well-written read
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, this book is better than "Fight Club," and awfully hard to compare to "Survivor." This one's main character is a doozy. His name is Victor Mancini, and due to how much money he needs to help support his extremely ill mother, Victor pretends to choke on food at restauraunts, and the people who "save his life" send him money. If that's not enough, Victor is also a sex addict, who frequents sex addiction support group meetings to have sex with the women there. Wow. However, there's a lot more to him than meets the eye, and I think he is Palahniuk's best character yet. Like all of the author's books, the story is a very dark fable for our rather dark times, and it has a very good theme. The character's narration is great, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, but always intriguing and leaving the reader anxious for what happens next. Like all of Chuck Palahniuk's books, it's a very well-written story that can't be missed.Book Review: An interesting book you'll never read again...
Summary: 3 Stars
I picked up Chuck Palahniuk's Choke after seeing the movie preview for the same title a few weeks ago. The movie preview made absolutely no sense, was hard to follow, and tough to summarize - as Palahniuk's novel would turn out to be. But the preview was intriguing enough for me to go out and buy the book, and I'm glad I did... sort of.
There really isn't much of a story line to Choke. The book centers on a drop-out med school student, Victor Mancini, who works at a colonial theme-park; fakes choking in restaurants to ultimately pay his mother's institutional bills; and is a raging sexaholic. In a strange twist, he also may be a direct descendant of Jesus Christ.
That pretty much sums up Choke.
The book doesn't so much present a linear story line, as it is a tale of self-discovery for Victor, who is trying to figure out his ancestry as well as why he is the way he is. Along this path, Palahniuk describes detailed sexual situations, gruesome medical conditions and creepy mental disorders that follow Victor from scene to scene. Palahniuk's descriptions are so vivid, in fact, that you'll start to wonder, "Could this ever happen to me...?" And you'll then quickly pray that it does not...
On the plus side, Choke is certainly interesting, moves quickly, and is very funny in some parts. You can knock this out in a long weekend or two, and it's an easy read, especially after trying to absorb The Unbearable Lightness of Being, as I did previously.
But along the same lines, there are better options out there if you're into books about 20- to 30-somethings looking for answers on the road through life.