The next look back is of a book that many probably won't have heard of. It's author, Chuck Palahniuk, is more famous for his novel, turned cult movie favorite, "Fight Club", but his CV is full of many strange and dark novels.
Chuck Palahniuk's newest novel 'Snuff' is firmly located in the grotesque, defined in the OED as (1) comically or repulsively distorted (2) incongruous; absurd. Palahniuk alone is capable of setting a story around a world record breaking gangbang, and keeping the tone only mildly sexual, focusing instead on the dark humor of the situation at hand. 'Snuff' is narrated by four characters participating in the sex film aimed at being the last, and most spectacular record setting sex act ever. In Palahniuk's other books the characters are all fully fleshed and believable, each one having some mental or emotional instability which allows the reader to connect with them. In 'Snuff' the characters seem to be very shallowly created, to the point of Pastiche.
Mr. 600-Branch Bacardi-is the stereotypical ancient male porn actor; he is hoping to resurrect his career with this film. He judges everyone by their tan, Acapulco vs. San Diego, and is surrounded by TVs showing him and Cassie (the star of the show) in many of their previous films; including Blow Jobs of Madison County, The Da Vinci Load, and To Drill a Mocking Bird. He is the leather skinned, loose waisted, wrinkle covered version of the handsome man on screen, so changed he doesn't even recognize himself. Mr. 137, the washed up TV star whose show has been cancelled because of rumors of homosexuality. He figures if he's seen in heterosexual porn his reputation will be cleared. From him we learn all about Cassie's movie career, and learn that he is obsessed with her in a purely aesthetic way. His real desire is hidden away in his closet along with the life like dildo molded from the perfectly proportioned Branch Bacardi erection. Mr.72, the youngest participant we meet is hoping to lose his virginity to Cassie, we think. To him she's the perfect woman, and we begin to see oedipal tendencies that would put even Freud on edge. Finally there is Sheila, the only female narrator. She is Cassie's assistant and allows us our only insight Cassie's state of mind. Sheila finds men ridiculous in general; this is most obvious by her continual reference to men with hilarious euphemisms for masturbation, Hoagie Honker being my all time favorite. She is the brains behind the whole operation, yet continually ridicules it at the same time. Don't be fooled by her seemingly innocent appearance, she has a dark secret driving her actions, just like every other character we meet.
The dark humor that Palahniuk is so known for is rampant in this novel, but without the intensely real characters to bolster the plot it simply doesn't compare to his earlier work. Although I must admit it is worth reading simply to find all of the hilarious ways Palahniuk comes up with for saying, well, Palm Pilots or Bacon Banger, these are laugh out loud funny even if the novel itself falls short.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
A look back on past work
Life has been busy, and I've been negligent. I've been wanting to create something new and fun for this spot, but haven't been able to find the time. This month, in light of my packed schedule, I'm going to post some older pieces, book reviews that I wrote a couple years ago. The books may not be new, but the great thing about print is it's timelessness. So, with no further ado, today's look back in time is my review of Knockemstiff, a collection of short stories:
Welcome to Knockemstiff, Ohio, the unhallowed playground of Donald Ray Pollock's imagination. This group of short stories is different than most, as the stories are all interconnected creating an almost novelesque story line. Each story is located in Knockemstiff, and is narrated by a different resident, except the first and the last; these are both narrated by Bobby. Doing this provides a frame to the intriguing collage Pollock creates with his snapshot like stories. In the first story we see Bobby as a young boy; he's at the drive in with his mom and dad. His mom forgets dad's favorite cup and he refuses to drink out of the bottle, like an alcoholic, so he drinks out of the ashtray instead. We begin to see that this type of thing is pretty common, and that both Bobby and his mom become more leery the more dad drinks. Bobby and his father share a rare bonding moment, what appears to be their first and last, when they get into a fight with another father and son, and Bobby is praised for whopping the other boy. Bobby is never able to regain that connection with his father, which becomes apparent in the last story. Here Bobby is a grown man, trying to fulfill his AA obligations, but can't seem to come clean where his family is concerned. His dad, although he's lost his physical prowess, still manages to browbeat his family into submission. Of all the stories in this collection this is the most optimistic.
Knockemstiff, named after a fight between two women over a man, is a place where money has no value, sex and drugs are the only currency worth anything, and a useful inheritance is a prescription. The cycle of abuse is so strong here that it is virtually unavoidable. The characters all have a unique voice and each one reveals a different, depraved aspect of Knockemstiff. Characters meander in and out of each other's stories, allowing us a more complete picture of each other than is provided by the characters themselves. What is clear is that nothing good can come out of Knockemstiff, Ohio; nothing that is except Donald Ray Pollock and this spectacularly bleak set of stories. You'll love to read this book, the writing is superb, and even learn to love Knockemstiff-which is a real city-despite, or maybe because of its self destructive nature.
Welcome to Knockemstiff, Ohio, the unhallowed playground of Donald Ray Pollock's imagination. This group of short stories is different than most, as the stories are all interconnected creating an almost novelesque story line. Each story is located in Knockemstiff, and is narrated by a different resident, except the first and the last; these are both narrated by Bobby. Doing this provides a frame to the intriguing collage Pollock creates with his snapshot like stories. In the first story we see Bobby as a young boy; he's at the drive in with his mom and dad. His mom forgets dad's favorite cup and he refuses to drink out of the bottle, like an alcoholic, so he drinks out of the ashtray instead. We begin to see that this type of thing is pretty common, and that both Bobby and his mom become more leery the more dad drinks. Bobby and his father share a rare bonding moment, what appears to be their first and last, when they get into a fight with another father and son, and Bobby is praised for whopping the other boy. Bobby is never able to regain that connection with his father, which becomes apparent in the last story. Here Bobby is a grown man, trying to fulfill his AA obligations, but can't seem to come clean where his family is concerned. His dad, although he's lost his physical prowess, still manages to browbeat his family into submission. Of all the stories in this collection this is the most optimistic.
Knockemstiff, named after a fight between two women over a man, is a place where money has no value, sex and drugs are the only currency worth anything, and a useful inheritance is a prescription. The cycle of abuse is so strong here that it is virtually unavoidable. The characters all have a unique voice and each one reveals a different, depraved aspect of Knockemstiff. Characters meander in and out of each other's stories, allowing us a more complete picture of each other than is provided by the characters themselves. What is clear is that nothing good can come out of Knockemstiff, Ohio; nothing that is except Donald Ray Pollock and this spectacularly bleak set of stories. You'll love to read this book, the writing is superb, and even learn to love Knockemstiff-which is a real city-despite, or maybe because of its self destructive nature.
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