Too many carrots, rabbits never wear glasses, briar patch of love

books:

	• Survivor Chuck Palahniuk Blackstone Audiobooks, 2006 average customer review:based on 386 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Amish people like cleaning...and porn

An odd story about a journey from obscurity to fame to infamy, "Survivor" is a perfect jab at several aspects of American culture. It is also, in my opinion, a look at a foreseeable future; where left unchecked, society could decay from within.

While lampooning religious extremism and celebrities, it's as if Palahniuk wanted to show the ridiculousness of each life style. Similar to the group-think of extremists like the Heaven's Gate folks, the protagonist, Tender Branson, is a follower of Creedish beliefs (a bizarre cult and Amish blend), and his obligation is to commit suicide when his religious leaders declare that the apocalypse is nearing.

Instead of suicide, however, he's telling his bizarre story at 39,000 feet in an airplane on its way towards a guaranteed crash/explosion. It's a countdown until the explosion (literally - the book's page numbering is descending), and Branson is trying to squeeze every bit of info, every quirky dance in a burning building, every suicide hotline, cleaning tip into the flight's black box.

It's quirky, funny and purposeful; each chapter introduces a new situation, character, plot-twist, interesting fact, or Martha Stewart tip for household cleaning. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and recommend it without reservation. If you like to read, or if you liked Fight Club, don't hesitate to pick up this book.

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Palahniuk delivers again; great intro book to this author

This was my first Palahniuk book, and it got me hooked. I recommend it to others looking to test the waters. He's got a style all of his own, and each book is wildly different. In this one we learn the story backwards (it has decreasing page numbers), which seems like an odd gimmick, but in this case, it works well. The book starts out with a mysterious ex-cult member cleaning a house for a voice on a speakerphone, and the fascinating story of this man, Tender Branson, slowly unravels. Only two other characters in the book, Fertility and Adam, ever get proper names. Everyone else is referred to my common nouns.

Palahniuk hits home on the theme of marking, of the selling of an image, and this is so relevant as marketing continues to overtake American life. The marketing of Tender Branson is a hilarious satire that almost hits too close to the truth as our culture gets more and more image-conscious.

Unique style, fascinating narrative, wacky characters, important themes, poetic writing. What more could a reader ask for?

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Outstanding Gritty Fiction

This guy can write. If you like commentaries about the underbelly of society, this is your kind of book. Fiction at its finest. True page turner.

Enjoy.

Too many carrots, rabbits never wear glasses, briar patch of love

Survivor is yet another twisted offering from author Chuck Palahniuk manic wasteland of what is probably a mind, but more like a creative machine run off of cosmic dust and LSD. Protagonist Tender Branson is assumed to be the last survivor of a Nebraskan Death Cult following the group's "deliverance" to heaven years before. Undeniably, Survivor is a Chuck Palahniuk book. It exudes that morose sense of humor that characterizes all Palahniuk books. I don't think I prefer this book to others in the series, but it is definitely worth consideration. It just seems slightly lacking in the confounding dimensions of perceptual textures or whatever else you might call the x-factor present in these books. Probably not the best starting book for someone not attuned Palahniuk; still it's a worthy book for people a fan of Palahniuk.
"The only difference between suicide and martyrdom is press coverage." Tender Branson has full intention of becoming a martyr. The media stories, spiritual self-help books and televised miracles are all just part of the plan to deliver himself to god, but not until he's perfectly ready. With the opening of the first page there can be no doubt that Tender is ready and that this is the end for him, but it's just the beginning for us (the readers) of course. Before the end, Tender was quietly counting down the survivors, waiting until he was the last, hoping for the time when he would be the only one. There are certain problems though. Tender knows another survivor is alive somewhere, killing people, and it just happens to be his older brother. If the media uncovers the truth, his fame will be ruined.

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Survivor an apocalyptic joyride

Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk's second novel, just on the heels of the runaway success of Fight Club. He has the same M.O. in this novel, which is to create a scathing, screaming social commentary that features outlandish story points and a biting sense of humor that leaps off the page. Palahniuk accomplishes his goals, creating a story that is constantly going around curves on two wheels and would probably fly off the rails and blow up if the track itself wasn't so irresistible.

The sharp wit and undeniable insight behind Palahniuk's ridiculous story infrastructure seems to place the book on a type of pedestal, where throwaway comedic moments and epic story points that defy realism are excusable, perhaps even welcome because, in America, at the right time with the right amount of press, what couldn't happen?

Even more pleasant than Palahniuk's intelligence is the quality of his writing, which ensures that practically every sentence is a joy to read. He is never without an unconventional description that sets the scene just right, a fun motif that unexpectedly shows exactly what a character is thinking, or a loop of skewed logic that will make the reader think, "That's insane, but he has a point."

After reading several of his novels, one might be inclined to think that Palahniuk is preparing for the apocalypse. Maybe he is, or maybe he thinks it's already here. But after falling into the matchless cavities of his mind, experiencing the power and urgent pulse of his writing, and understanding his ever-poignant outlook on the meaning of it all, there's no one I would rather be standing next to when the s--- really hits the fan.

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reviews: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, page 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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