Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Lullaby
Book Review: 3.50 stars
Summary: 3 Stars
well, hes always good and this is no differant. this one just wasnt my favorite.Starts out great, but towards the middle, it turned into another story and became a little weird and confusing.
A reporter begins researching the deaths of babies, whose parents all have mysteriously sung them a lullaby (culling song) from the same book........
thats how it begins.
that ISNT how it ends.
a good read but very strange
he is very "readale" and keeps your attention,
but
this wasnt his best work
even though it was good
Book Review: A Fast-Paced, Thrilling Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Lullaby is a fast read, full of magic and movement. The premise is unique and it captures the reader's attention with ease. The book moves as quickly as its characters. His charatcer, Carl, Helen, Oyster and Mona, are full bodied but different to each other in ways that complement each other.
In true Palahniuk style, it is an allegory, but it is not so obvious that the reader is distracted. His style is smooth, yet somehow choppy, so Palahnuik fans will get their dose of his writing through this book.
The story is a powerful one, and I recommend this book highly to those looking for a 24 hour fix.
Book Review: A Good Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I greatly appreciated this book, I thought it was finely written, the characters were well developed, and it was an interesting story. At certain parts where it would start to drag the author (whos name i cannot spell for the life of me, much less say) would interject humor, or add a twist to the plot. The author has an excellent idea of modern humor, and many modern feelings, I would suggest this book to anyone, proudly, knowing i had done them a service.Book Review: A Review by Dr. Joseph Suglia
Summary: 1 Stars
Here is the premise of Chuck Palahniuk's LULLABY (2003): A news reporter discovers a book of spells. When its culling spell is recited, it kills anyone within earshot.
Wait a minute! The writer changes this premise slightly. Anyone who THINKS the culling spell can kill anyone he or she chooses.
No, that's not quite right. The writer modifies this premise further: Anyone who INTENDS TO KILL someone KILLS THAT PERSON.
Do you find this premise interesting? Do you think that the premise is logical? If so, LULLABY is the book for you!
Is LULLABY "anti-intellectualist"? No, it's merely anti-intelligence. It has been said over and over and over and over and over again that media messages infiltrate human consciousness like a plague, that our minds are murderously colonized by the media in the same way that a book of spells may kill those who hear them when they are read aloud, paraphrased, thought, or misread. Indeed, about forty years before LULLABY was published, media theorists said precisely that. The problem with all of chuckpalahniuksnovels is that they think that they have "things to say"---but everything that they say has been said before ad nauseam.
In the future, Palahniuk tells us, "people" will be mandated by law to wear soft-soled shoes. Because of the culling spell, you see.
The form of the novel is just as atavistic as its content. Chuck Palahniuk's novels are written in "Tarzan-speak"; no educated person would ever write in this way. He has a self-confessed, stubborn obsession with "dumb words." No one with a shred of intelligence is likely to be impressed by sentences such as:
1.) "I'm not the pioneer brain of anything" (42),
2.) "She had a decent little p***er in tight jeans" (91),
or
3.) "There are so many people with infants, my editor said" (13).
A more accurate title for LULLABY would have been AMATEUR NIGHT AT TARZAN'S BAR AND GRILL. Tarzan trawls the internet for information on "some dude called Plato" while his editor attempts to correct all of his typographical mistakes -- a genuinely herculean task.
Dr. Joseph Suglia
Book Review: A Very Unique, Wonderfully Written Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not overly familiar with Chuck Palahniuk's work. I've read "Fight Club" and I've seen the brilliant film adaptation as well. "Lullaby" is a short novel (260 pages) and can easily be identified as a Palahniuk novel. Much in the same way you can instantly recognize a Yes or Elvis song when it comes on the radio; you can instantly see echoes of "Fight Club" in this work. Critics aren't joking when they say that Palahniuk's novels almost seem to fall into their own category. Carl Streator is a reporter investigating SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Soon, Carl notices that before the infant's death they were read a poem...And, soon after his discovery, after a tip from his friend Nash (a necrophiliac paramedic) he meets Helen Hoover Boyle, who sells haunted houses. She confirms that there is a poem called a "culling song" and Carl unwittingly kills a few people using this poem. About halfway through the novel; Helen, Carl, and Helen's assistant Mona and her boyfriend Oyster begin searching for the books with the intent to destroy the poem and keep anyone else from getting ahold of the "culling song." From that brief synopsis, it's hard to deny the story sounds unique at the least. This is not a book short on uniqueness. But, beyond that, "Lullaby" is entertaining and beyond interesting. Palahniuk himself has a unique writing style that is incomparable to anyone else. If you want to read something that's entertaining, a quick read, and completely unlikely anything else you've read...Read "Lullaby." If anyone decides to adapt another novel by Palahniuk, this one would be terrific...Some pages scream "motion picture."
GRADE: A-