Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.79 You Save: $7.21 (51%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.48 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Lullaby
Book Review: Chuck Palahniuk's Best!
Summary: 5 Stars
Every single one of Chuck Palahniuk's previous books are unique and fantastic landmarks in modern literature, and Lullaby is no exception. There are many things in Lullaby that you can find in Chuck's other books: a first person narrative, lonely, obsessive and somewhat psychotic protagonists, detailed insight on seemingly trivial topics, and plot twists that you can expect but never see coming. However, Lullaby seems to have at least two things that Chuck's other books don't: completely 3-dimensional characters and true emotion. Some of the best scenes in this novel are when the narrative takes a short break from the cynical, dark, cold stance that it usually has to dive into moments of true melancholy, or utter joy and love. Because of this and the characters that I can truely feel for, I place Lullaby as my number 1 Chuck book.Book Review: Chuck is Chuck
Summary: 4 Stars
Chuck Palahniuk is if anything predictable. His books seem to always explore the big picture through details. He seems to take the normal and dissect until it is absurd. Lullaby is his standard example and innovated brilliance in as much of a combination as you can get. For those of you who watched Fight Club and enjoyed figuring out how soap making could degrade social destruction by way of the essence of male bonding; you will enjoy how a detail oriented reporter can degrade to mass murder by way of a the essence of dysfunctional nuclear families. This was Chuck's funniest book, like watching someone meltdown because three-bean salad is not a vegetarian dish. However, reading three of his books in six months became a little repetitive for my tastes.Book Review: Chuck's supernatural page-turner
Summary: 4 Stars
Lullabye is a story about a poem that can kill any person who hears it. Once the poem is memorized by Carl Streater, it slowly begins to affect his life and the lives of those around him for the worst. Carl, with the help of Helen Hoover Boyle plans to find every copy of the poem and destroy it. Palahniuk is entertaining, interesting, unique, and delightfully offensive in Lullabye. The story sets itself up for an interesting climax and unsettled ending. The characters become lovable in their own hatable ways. The supernatural aspects of Lullabye stretch the mind just the right amount to keep most any reader attentive.
While this story may not be as dense as Palahniuk's other works, it definately earns its place in his collection of oddly entertaining and unique novels.
Book Review: Clever
Summary: 5 Stars
Mr Palahniuk has again delivered a surprising story with some clever plot.
Nicholas R.W. Henning - Australian Author
Book Review: Counting one, counting two, counting three...
Summary: 4 Stars
Helen Boyle is the most clever - and probably profitable - real estate agent on the planet. She researches houses that are supposed to be haunted. Once confirmed, she preys upon new home owners, facilitates the purchase, and then patiently waits for them to get spooked out of their new home. Along with her hippy assistant Mona, it's wash, rinse, repeat for the haunted house realtor, creator of mortgage misery.
Meanwhile, Carl Streator is attempting to track down the cause of SIDS when fate brings him a book of poems, one of which is a deadly African lullaby. A magical verse, a culling spell so powerful that when memorized and recited mentally, it can cause instant death.
As the groups collide into a cohesive story, they cross with Nash - a detective with an affinity for post-mortem intercourse - and Oyster, a hipster who spouts social commentary ad nauseum. He's one of those people who know a lot of facts, but really have no clue; he's an idiot in sheep's clothing (I wished him dead instantly). Although, he does provide one of the more comical aspects of the book by constantly submitting ads to the paper for class action lawsuits. The cast of characters make their way across country, searching out the benefits and risks of their new found discoveries and power, deciding on the best course of action, and all the while plotting to enact their own plans and vision of what's right in the world.
Like most Palahniuk book, this is a collection of lists. It's his schtick. It's the seemingly inane details that provide the mortar for the bricks - facts about fancy jewelry, noxious weeds, expensive furniture, hauntings across the United States; they all tie the story together. Although this time around, they are perhaps the story's strength and weakness. At times the litany of facts gets a bit tedious and repetitive.
When a reporter investigating SIDS crosses paths with a hippy throwback and a haunted house real estate agent, you know it's a Chuck Palahniuk concoction. As always, it's bizarrely imaginative, with off-the-wall characters with even more insane situations. The details are rich visual effects, the satire thick, the character descriptions thoroughly involved, and the story itself is captivating; I could picture the entire vivid world in which lullaby exists. Running throughout are clear themes of morality and mortality mixed with a look into ultimate, god-like power. While it may not be my favorite of the growing Palahniuk canon, it's definitely a worthwhile ride. It's guaranteed for shocks, laughs, and a story nearly impossible to stop before the wacky ending.