My reading has slowed considerably with the advent of the TiVo box, sitting passively underneath the television, it is a time-suck of productivity and I often find myself struggling to "catch up" with the shows that I haven't been watching consistently. We've made a concerted effort to "take back the night" in essence and omit the television from the bedroom, removing our two single-tuner boxes with a dual-tuner box for the front room. This gives us more flexibility, but most of all, it gives me an excuse to try and settle down my brain before drifting off to sleep by picking up a book and reading. Via this great experiment, I've finally finished one of Chuck Palahniuk's novels that I've received (quite some time ago, I might add), "Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey."
It's about a years old now, and it's been quite some time since we saw Mr. Palahniuk do a reading, but it's safe to say this has to be his strongest effort in a while. Compare it to "Haunted" and "Survivor" this is on par with "Choke" as one of the novels that really defines him as an author. Typically, it's shocking in places, but moreso than with "Haunted" the shock value is dialed back in favor of characterization. Graphic at times and alarming at others, it's very Palahniuk, but it never seems out of place or gratuitous, it's mostly textural. It gives you a sense of grittiness and maybe even adds a bit of reality to the story, as unreal as it can get.
Summarizing the plot would be a disservice, but the themes of family, generations, and a bit of science fiction thrown in really thrash the reader's brain. With the first science fiction sort of element thrown in offhandedly, I was a bit taken out of the setting that had been established, but hindsight really shows that it was a necessary evil. It seems as if the book had been a series of two stories thrown together, but towards the end, it serves its purpose, even as Mr. Palahniuk throws in his third major element. It's not subtle, but it's effective. There are a few narrative tricks that the author employs to accomplish this, but none are more effective than that of the oral histories being relayed. You always get the sense that each snippet is unreliable, but compiling them all is just one piece of a delicious puzzle.
Any complaints I might have could stem from the author tending towards an essay style of writing and philosophizing, which again, is typical. Many times, I felt there was a distance between the reader and the page, as if being the "interviewer" wasn't enough to draw me into the story, but perhaps this was intentional. I do give him credit for being able to convey scene and tone via the varying viewpoints, but I would have enjoyed more of the longer passages if there were any to be conveyed.
What's most interesting to me is that there are two purported sequels in the works. I'm not sure how successful these will be, as "Rant" itself left a lot to be revealed at the end and its discovery was part of the fun. Being able to reveal new mysteries may be difficult, but I am more than willing to see where Mr. Palahniuk is headed.
Read it. Hardcover if you will.
It's about a years old now, and it's been quite some time since we saw Mr. Palahniuk do a reading, but it's safe to say this has to be his strongest effort in a while. Compare it to "Haunted" and "Survivor" this is on par with "Choke" as one of the novels that really defines him as an author. Typically, it's shocking in places, but moreso than with "Haunted" the shock value is dialed back in favor of characterization. Graphic at times and alarming at others, it's very Palahniuk, but it never seems out of place or gratuitous, it's mostly textural. It gives you a sense of grittiness and maybe even adds a bit of reality to the story, as unreal as it can get.
Summarizing the plot would be a disservice, but the themes of family, generations, and a bit of science fiction thrown in really thrash the reader's brain. With the first science fiction sort of element thrown in offhandedly, I was a bit taken out of the setting that had been established, but hindsight really shows that it was a necessary evil. It seems as if the book had been a series of two stories thrown together, but towards the end, it serves its purpose, even as Mr. Palahniuk throws in his third major element. It's not subtle, but it's effective. There are a few narrative tricks that the author employs to accomplish this, but none are more effective than that of the oral histories being relayed. You always get the sense that each snippet is unreliable, but compiling them all is just one piece of a delicious puzzle.
Any complaints I might have could stem from the author tending towards an essay style of writing and philosophizing, which again, is typical. Many times, I felt there was a distance between the reader and the page, as if being the "interviewer" wasn't enough to draw me into the story, but perhaps this was intentional. I do give him credit for being able to convey scene and tone via the varying viewpoints, but I would have enjoyed more of the longer passages if there were any to be conveyed.
What's most interesting to me is that there are two purported sequels in the works. I'm not sure how successful these will be, as "Rant" itself left a lot to be revealed at the end and its discovery was part of the fun. Being able to reveal new mysteries may be difficult, but I am more than willing to see where Mr. Palahniuk is headed.
Read it. Hardcover if you will.
