Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Lullaby
Book Review: A compelling tale that twist and turns into every dark chasm.
Summary: 4 Stars
The future of civilization in a metaphoric and macabre tale. In his typical no holds barred fashion, Palahniuk engrosses the reader with disturbing and humorous imagery. Palahniuk is my favorite writer cause he digs deep into the taboo that most writers find ineffable. I believe we all have dark inhibitions & curiosities; and Palahniuk plays on them.Book Review: A goodie.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite Chuck Palahniuk Books. If you like this you should also read Survivor, Diary & Rant by Chuck Palahniuk. Katherine Dunn's Greek Love is also a good read.Book Review: A killer lullaby and a vegan road-trip
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first heard the premise behind "Lullaby", I thought it sounded rather flimsy: there exists a lullaby that causes anyone who hears it to drop dead as soon as they fall asleep, and it is, thus, the cause of all SIDS deaths. I could work out how a book with such a concept could begin, but I couldn't figure out anything beyond that. This is why Chuck Palahniuk is such a great author. He did, and he came up with such a convincing and exciting story that it kept me wondering what was going to happen next right to the end.
Here is a more detailed synopsis of the plot, for those with the same doubts as I had: after being assigned to write a series of human interest articles on SIDS deaths, journalist Carl Streator discovers that the one linking factor behind all of these deaths is a particular lullaby in a book of children's poetry. Then, along with a real estate agent who specializes in selling haunted houses, the real estate agent's Wiccan secretary, and the secretary's Wiccan boyfriend, Streator embarks on a road trip across America to locate every copy of the poetry book, and the original magic book from which they believe the lullaby came from, and destroy every one of them.
Yes, the premise of this novel is far fetched (and that's just the parts of the book that I've told you - wait until you get read the end) and yet, every character within the novel's reality behaves in a thoroughly believable way. This is one of the most original books that I have read, and as a result, it is virtually impossible to guess the next twist of the plot.
This if Palahniuk's fourth novel, and the first of his trilogy of "horror" novels, along with "Diary" and "Haunted". I have now read all of Palahniuk's novels, with the exception of his latest book, "Snuff", and I would consider "Lullaby" to be among his best. I used to be able to rank all of the Palahniuk novels, but the more of his books I read, the more I realize that he has written so many good books, that I find it impossible to pick just one favourite, and even a bad Palahniuk novel is better than most of the novels that are being published at the moment.
Book Review: A novel that's truly `culling', the master of satire serves up another instant classic...
Summary: 5 Stars
Palahniuk has a gift for creating a thought provoking read while maintaining a fast pace laced with sarcasm, wit and intellect. `Lullaby' is no exception. Truth be told, I am not as in love with this novel as I am with `Invisible Monsters' or even `Fight Club' but I am impressed with his prose and development, and that is something that speaks volumes. As any fan of his previous work will know, Chuck loves to create characters from the lowest walks of life with this strangest of hobbies and put them in the weirdest of situations. Here, in `Lullaby', he does the same thing with haunting results.
The main characters, four of them, are all distressed in their own ways, all suffering from something. Carl Streator, a newspaper reporter, has lost both his wife and child and is dealing with that on his own terms. When he's assigned to write an article on SIDS, what killed his child, he's sent on a strangely gratifying journey for some answers. This is when he meets Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent who sells possessed homes in order to assure an instant turnover. She herself lost a child to SIDS and it's her knowledge of what `really' killed their children that begins this witch-hunt so-to-speak.
The killer here is called a `culling song', an ancient lullaby that was sung to the dying to ease their journey to the other realm. Unbeknownst to parents, when they sing this song to their children they are in affect killing them. After hearing this Carl and Helen become determined to find every copy of this song and dispose of them. Helen's secretary Mona and her boyfriend Oyster decide to accompany the duo, but as the novel progresses we, the reader, become aware that intentions are shady (on the part of almost everyone) and no one is really who they seem.
Palahniuk's writing style is engrossing, and here he ups the ante almost with mesmerizing imagery and impressive character development. Chuck constantly wants to make a statement, and here is no exception as he rips apart the media and their constant impact in our lives and their grip on our decisions. Whether or not you buy into his views rarely makes a difference for the talented web he weaves here is worth the ride either way. With characters that will both endear and repel you, `Lullaby' is classic Palahniuk and thus should make it's way into any avid readers lap. Sit back and be mesmerized!
Book Review: A review of a reviewer from one star from Chicago
Summary: 4 Stars
Have read "Fight Club", "Choke", and "Lullaby". All excellent books. Reviewer from Chicago, Il has written reviews on all of Palahniuk's books, giving all of them one star. The reviewer gives long rants about how the books are crap and people simply carry them about in public as a means of achieving some sort of social recognition. Yet in any of the reviews given, there has yet to be any analysis of the books themselves. Reminds me of when right wing conservatives call for the banning of certain books because of their content without ever reading the books themselves.Palahniuk is good at exposing the darker side of modern day society through fiction. If you like books along the lines of the classic "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", check out any of Palahniuk's books.
If you're too afraid to read them, leave the reviews to those that aren't.