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Choke

3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 · rating details · 93,156 ratings · 3,746 reviews

Victor Mancini has devised a complicated scam to pay for his mother's hospital care: pretend to be choking on a piece of food in a restaurant and the person who 'saves you' will feel responsible for you for the rest of their lives. Multiply that a couple of hundred times and you generate a healthy flow of cheques, week in, week out.

Victor also works at a theme park with a...more

Paperback, 293 pages

Published August 1st 2002 by Vintage (first published January 1st 2001)

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Jun 17, 2012 Adam rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I deleted this review. It was old and inflammatory, and I just don't want to talk about Chuck Palahniuk in 2012. Argue somewhere else, guys. Happy reading.

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Feb 22, 2008 Chris rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: piss someone off

“Excrement” isn’t the right word, but it’s the first word that comes to mind.
See also: Crap
See also: Absolute penguin shit.

For serious, probably the most pitiful rubbish ever published. Anyone who says ‘for serious’ is a total assclown; it’s that simple. Until having the misfortune of plodding through this drek, I thought I’d read some truly piss-poor shit; I know better now, so I can at least claim to have learned something from the time I invested reading this sealshit.
I didn’t expect to be t...more “Excrement” isn’t the right word, but it’s the first word that comes to mind.
See also: Crap
See also: Absolute penguin shit.

For serious, probably the most pitiful rubbish ever published. Anyone who says ‘for serious’ is a total assclown; it’s that simple. Until having the misfortune of plodding through this drek, I thought I’d read some truly piss-poor shit; I know better now, so I can at least claim to have learned something from the time I invested reading this sealshit.
I didn’t expect to be thrilled, seeing that I only knew one thing about Chucky-P and suspected another; I knew that he was responsible for the garbage that is Fight Club and I was under the impression that he was another one of those nu-skool f-gs that think they’re such hot shit rapping about the absurdist difficulties that have defined their lives (I’ve always just lumped him in the homo-heap of hubris with such untalented wastes of sperm such as Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris, and have basically always figured if I cared to look on the internet I could probably find a video-blog of them having a 3some). I didn’t know until recently that he actually is queer, and the level of shock I experienced was akin to being told I've blinked today. Just what the world needs; another hack that thinks he’s plumbed the depths of life and has something to say due to the thrilling credentials that he’s gotten effed in the a.

There is exactly one worthwhile sentence in the whole story, and unfortunately, Palahnuik blows this load prematurely on the first page; “If you’re going to read this, don’t bother”. Caveat Lector. I wasn’t about to take heed. Choke is the tale of a regrettable jackass raised by a boringly-over-the-top frenzied mother, who drops out of med school and now works amongst fellow failed nimrods in a slice-of-life recreation of colonial America when he isn’t pretending to choke on food at restaurants as a means of copping free meals and getting people to feel responsible for him after heroically saving his miserable life. For some reason, these people send him money and shit all the time, completely defying my own sense of logic. To show his range, Chucky also has this lameass (Victor Mancini) troll around recovery groups prowling for ass since he’s a life-long sex addict. Someone might correct me, but that sounds familiar. Most authors take decades before they start rehashing their own ideas; Chuck probably couldn’t go three books without resorting to his favorite crutch. The rest of his banal piddle is just trite filler; flashbacks to supposedly-poignant moments when the Mommy escapes to liberate her son from the corralling conformity of life (be advised, all such sequences are hella lame), preposterously insipid and uninspiring sexcapades, and Victor’s bland visits to his mother’s death-bed between shifts at the colonial reenactment which I think were intended to be comedic instead of tedious. Nothing lived up to the acclaim that the book is given: the dialog is stale and dunderheaded, anything intended as social satire comes across as useless due to the particular point of view from which the story is told, and the general concept of some life-long loser needing a hug is just weak. If you’re looking for flimsy characters, rampant cretinism, and pointless appraisals of life, Choke should be the next book on your reading list. If you like your characters a little beefier with something interesting to say and perhaps a purpose, pick up The Fountainhead.

At this point I have to say I’m done with the new homo-hilarity genre, having found absolutely nothing worthwhile in Dry or Running With Scissors by Augie-B, thought that Dress Your Family…by Sedaris was trash, and now Choke...... I’m thinking maybe it’s time to find a real realm of literature, maybe those Supernatural Erotica series, or Alternate History concerning such enlivening figures as Pol Pot or Idi Amin.
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Jan 20, 2012 Meg ♥ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, z-2011-reads, favs, books-2-movies

As with every Chuck Palahniuk book I've read so far I really enjoyed Choke.

This book had a lot going on for one that was a mere 159 pages (on the Nook). I just want to say that this book was amazing. If you're one of Chuck's fans I am guessing you will love this, since it's got his usual satire, style, humor, and repetition. Also, great writing of course. There are some great messages in Chuck's books, some are less obvious, some are hidden completely, some are in your face, and some are crammed...more

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Nov 18, 2007 Darga rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

"There is no human soul, and I am absolutely for sure seriously not going to fucking cry."

reading a chuck palahniuk novel is like one of those long booze-soaked all-night discussions with someone you've just met. by the end of it you're convinced that you've solved all the world's problems, and how to proceed seems so clear. once you wake up in the morning you remember how good it was, but details are hazy and the big plans are gone.

his books all share similar themes, but i find this to be at t...more

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Sep 23, 2007 Max Ostrovsky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, fiction

I'm getting tired of Chuck Palahniuk.
This the fifth book I've read by him and I wasn't the least bit thrilled. I hate it when authors get formulaic. And I hate it even more when it's from an author that I really really like. I can't read Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, and others because of this. And loved their stories! It's just that I figured them out. I knew what to expect. And what's even worse than that, is that I knew who the characters would be. I knew their mannerisms, their quirks, the...more I'm getting tired of Chuck Palahniuk.
This the fifth book I've read by him and I wasn't the least bit thrilled. I hate it when authors get formulaic. And I hate it even more when it's from an author that I really really like. I can't read Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, and others because of this. And loved their stories! It's just that I figured them out. I knew what to expect. And what's even worse than that, is that I knew who the characters would be. I knew their mannerisms, their quirks, their motivations.
Because these authors never change them.
I don't want to say anything negative about the quality of their writing or the quality of the story. They're all great; they wouldn't be best sellers otherwise. I'm just bored with the same thing over and over again.
Choke gave me nothing new from Palahniuk. I opened the book and I instantly knew who I was dealing with. I understood the ancillary characters.
First of all, since reading Edgar Allen Poe in high school, I now know to never trust a first person narrative. It's just a too too skewed perception. Authors use it for misdirection. And Palahniuk is no stranger to misdirection. His readers expect a twist, so he hints at an obvious one. Well, his readers now know not to fall for the obvious one so we look for clues for the real twist. And that's when people stop taking Palahniuk seriously.
Just look what happened to Shyamalan when he wanted to tell a good story, just without a twist. People didn't want that.
He's a good writer and story teller, but people now want only one thing from him: a Fight Club-esque twist. Isn't this the type of thing that his characters actually fight against? To turn the mores and expectations of society on their ears? And here he is, pandering to that.
Or maybe that's the only thing he can do, and that is somehow even more disappointing.
Then, each of his characters must have a "thing." A quirk, something unusual that they do, that actually has nothing to do with the story. It's to make these characters seem more unique, but in reality, it just makes them seem Palahnuik-esque. And that's not a real person; it's a caricature.

I remember knowing someone who once told me about a conversation she was having with a friend. The entire time they were having this conversation they were taking out every screw they could see in the girl's restroom they were in. Why were they doing this? Who knows. I thought it was brilliantly strange and unique and "Palahnuik-esque" for them to do that. It's great when it happens every once in a while...but when every Palahniuk character does this, all the time...it just seems silly.
And redundant.
I like Palahnuik's writing and story telling style. When I first saw Fight Club, it blew me away. I knew I would love the book. And I did. And what surprised me was how much more and differently, I liked the book. While the twist is the same and a lot of the same things happen, the book, it turns out, was more intense. And funny.
Next came Invisible Monsters. Even though I was expecting a twist, I loved it. Each character had weird quirks that, at the time, made them very interesting. Plus, this was the only book I've ever read to ever make my stomach queasy. Believe me, I'm jaded and there's nothing new under the sun for me. The most disgusting and revolving horror movie will never make me flinch, but Palahniuk did it.
When I read Diary: A Novel, I was interested. It was a wholly unique and exciting idea. One, that I would never expect to have interested me. The book is a Diary of a character reading another diary. Exciting, right?
And then came Lullaby. Talk about putting me to sleep. Nothing was new under that sun. Every quirk, every "unexpected" twist was dry to me. It was an interesting story, but I was no longer interested.
And that's how I feel about Choke. It's an interesting and well written story...just one that I'm no longer interested in.
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Jun 25, 2008 Madeline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-list

"If you're going to read this, don't bother.
After a couple pages, you won't want to be here. So forget it. Go away. Get out while you're still in one piece.
Save yourself.
...
What happens here is first going to piss you off. After that it just gets worse and worse."

I always feel a little stupid reviewing a Chuck Palahniuk book. It always seems like a futile effort. Especially with Choke, which opens with the above quote. How can you review a book like that? If you like it, you're an idiot who's...more

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Oct 07, 2007 Nathan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Martians who aren't sure whether or not to settle here.

Shelves: books-i-hope-die, fiction

Wow! A book about a suburban white boy with low self-esteem and mommy issues! How novel! I've been told time and again by friends I otherwise respect to read Chuck Palahniuk. Well, I finally did, and it made me realize I've got too many friends. Choke is deeply funny in places, but at times it very much does not feel like it has any kind of natural rhythm, and it often seems contrived purely for the sake of the sick laugh. I haven't lost faith in Palahniuk and will probably read something else b...more

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Nov 05, 2008 Nicholas Karpuk rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Palahniuk Fans Only

Recommended to Nicholas by: Colin Miller

I have choked in public on two different occasions.

The first was at an Olive Garden with my mother, where an extremely lanky busboy had to give me the Heimlich to dislodge a chunk of poorly chewed steak consumed during a meal of Alfredo.

The second involved another steak-related dinner at QDoba shared with about a dozen friends. An ambulance was called much to my irritation.

Choking, at least in my experience involved vomiting up ropes of phlegm as the body attempts to dislodge the offending artic...more I have choked in public on two different occasions.

The first was at an Olive Garden with my mother, where an extremely lanky busboy had to give me the Heimlich to dislodge a chunk of poorly chewed steak consumed during a meal of Alfredo.

The second involved another steak-related dinner at QDoba shared with about a dozen friends. An ambulance was called much to my irritation.

Choking, at least in my experience involved vomiting up ropes of phlegm as the body attempts to dislodge the offending article. There's nothing comical about it, and nothing pops out like a cork, splashing comically in someones drink. It is disgusting, it is frightening, and generally feels unpleasant for everyone involved.

That's why I can't really view the plot of "Choke" as being all that credible these days. No one who saves you is going to feel like they need to take care of you their whole life.

I didn't buy into the strictness of his period correct theme park. I wasn't convinced by his notion that there was loose sex waiting around every corner of society. The notion of any one mother having as many quirky ticks as his did wasn't a sell. There was no plot thread that didn't break my suspension of disbelief. While the flashbacks seem deliberately unrealistic and exaggerrated, the present tense fares only slightly better.

And that's the flaw with about half of Palahniuk's novels; they just flat-out don't seem plausible to me. It's just ridiculous in a way that he's trying to sell to the audience as secret facts.

"Invisible Monsters", "Haunted", and "Snuff" also fall into this category. He goes into waters he doesn't know how to navigate, but never loses the swaggering authority that brought him so much attention with "Fight Club". There was a certain point in each novel where I cried foul and couldn't get back into the setting.

So much of "Choke" is like that, which is why I don't understand how it's the favorite of so many Palahniuk fans. The story is ludicrous without being genuinely surreal, and the eye-rolling threatens to damage my vision after a while.

The only real saving grace is that good or bad, a book by him won't take a regular reader more than an afternoon to clear, especially since the style is exceptionally breezy, and that's all the recommendation I can really give it.(less)

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Aug 28, 2008 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy, 1001-books-before-you-die

If you pick this book up, don't even bother looking at the back cover, what is written there cannot even begin to tell you what you are about to read. I picked this book up based off of a few different people's recommendations and hearing the author's name dropped by several of my favorite authors. I had been told over and over how absolutely hysterical this book is, so of course I had to read it.

First let me warn you this book is not for everyone... in fact it's not for most people, but there i...more If you pick this book up, don't even bother looking at the back cover, what is written there cannot even begin to tell you what you are about to read. I picked this book up based off of a few different people's recommendations and hearing the author's name dropped by several of my favorite authors. I had been told over and over how absolutely hysterical this book is, so of course I had to read it.

First let me warn you this book is not for everyone... in fact it's not for most people, but there is a select group out there that this book is perfect for. In this book you will find addictions, depravity, sex acts of all kinds, death, pain, obsession, profanity, blasphemy, and enough repetition to drive an English major insane. But don't let that stop you from reading... this is actually a very strange yet disturbingly profound book.

Short Summary: Our title character is a sex addict who fakes choking in restaurants to make people feel like heroes... he's had a terrible childhood with a completely insane mother who kidnapped him on multiple occasions. She's now in a home and is fast approaching her end, while her son, Victor, attempts to deal with his past, his problems, and his future.

If you are looking for a book about redemption, this isn't it. Victor is a failed med student who is riddled with psychological problems raging from sexual addiction to severe childhood trauma. He wanders through life searching desperately for meaning, purpose and hope... all while fighting to keep from being a "good guy." The only truly multidimensional character in the story is Victor, and the book is told stream of conscious from Victor's point of view. Victor behaves badly and fights to mentally defend his behavior to both the reader and himself. We swap between the current day and his childhood, or actually his memories of his childhood which are told with a bitterness not toward his mentally unstable mother, but toward himself.

Victor is filled with a deep rooted self loathing that comes across clearly to the reader, however he constantly defends his actions and feelings but his defense is hollow. It is clear that he knows that his life is pathetic and his future is going to be devoid of true happiness should he continue on his current path. As a reader you follow his mental wanderings, excuses, and find yourself hoping that he latches on to something healthy.

I don't want to give too much of the plot away, although there really isn't much of a plot. This is more of a character study of an addict, and addict who knows that things should be different but rejects and rebels against society to the point that he cannot even comprehend a healthy existence. As I said this book will not be for everyone, it is harsh, gross, filled with bodily fluids, depraved sexual acts, profanity and bad choice after bad choice. Most of supporting cast is filled with stereotypes and one dimensional jokes, also the way that this is written is very repetitive and the style will be jarring to many readers. It is not an easy read to whip right through due to the way that it is written. I am glad that I read this book, but I don't really know who I know that I would recommend it to.

Oh, and yes, parts of this book are very funny... but on the whole I was left feeling rather sad for the people in it. Perhaps I'm just feeling sensitive today, but the hopelessness of the situations that these people put themselves into is a rather sobering idea. The concept that keeps reiterating itself through the book is the idea of reality and who we are, do we create ourselves or do we let society decide who we are... if we try to fight against society are we just dooming ourselves to unhappiness and ultimate misery?(less)

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Apr 23, 2008 Lisa rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one I liked

Recommended to Lisa by: Nora's Dad

If I could give it negative stars, I would. So many things I didn't like about the book...here's a few in list format!

1. No paragraphs...only phrases. It's hard to feel like youre reading a complete thought, when....you're not.
2. I know using the word "Dude" is addictive, but oddly enough, it's even more annoying to read it over and over than to hear/say it.
3. The way he always (and when I say always, I mean every time, every other page) referred to his penis as his 'dog' was nausiating. Really....more

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Mar 07, 2008 Austin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Palahniuk Fans

Recommended to Austin by: I Read It At Work When It Came Out

Chuck Palahniuk cannot end a book to save his life; none of the ones I've read were very satisfying in the end. But what he does do - extremely well - is tell short, interesting, and often funny anecdotes that are nearly all based on real, actual events that happen to people every day, and that is not something to be taken lightly.

If it could be read as a series of events that are all interesting in and of themselves, Choke would be his best book, a hilarious and compelling series of slice-o-li...more Chuck Palahniuk cannot end a book to save his life; none of the ones I've read were very satisfying in the end. But what he does do - extremely well - is tell short, interesting, and often funny anecdotes that are nearly all based on real, actual events that happen to people every day, and that is not something to be taken lightly.

If it could be read as a series of events that are all interesting in and of themselves, Choke would be his best book, a hilarious and compelling series of slice-o-life narrative and takes you to your own backyard and points dramatically at the insects that live beneath the nearby rocks (or, in this case, inside tin-pans full of beer). However, when he tries to create connective tissue that ties these bits together, he often falls flat, and leaves me wanting more than he can deliver.

Don't get me wrong, this book is worth your effort. The story about the girl who wants to be mock-raped, and her continual frustration at her partner's inability to "do it right" is fantastically funny, and their "masturbation race" at the end made it a little difficult to not laugh when I went back to work. (In fact, most of the book centers around sex, in lots of extremely perverse ways. Sadly, it is rarely sexy, but very, very funny.)

Then you realize what you're laughing about. And now that's funny, too. It's something that Palahniuk does extremely well. However, when the end comes stumbling toward you, there is a sense that the effort to tie it all together falls short. All the elements themselves are fantastic, but to force them to be parts of a larger whole seems to miss the point of what makes them work as scenes. The title itself refers to what is ultimately such a small amount of the book, perhaps a nod to the fact that he himself sees that as the strongest part, which is not a ringing endorsement.

Still, check it out from the library and give it a shot. You won't loose any money, and it's a quick weekend read. And then you'll have something really dirty to bring up at your next fancy dress party, which is always a good way to make friends. (less)

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May 30, 2008 Bree rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2006, fiction

"Psychotic" isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind.

Seriously, this book is WEIRD. But, having said that, it's what made it so entertaining. The story never really WENT anywhere, though the ending was a surprise. The whole book was random, jumping from one thing to another - choking here, going to work, visiting his mom, going into his past...and there was a lot of pretty graphic areas regarding sex. On the whole, I pretty much hated the main character, he seemed like su...more

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Jun 16, 2008 Kecia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: 18 year old boys

Shelves: 1001-books

I just couldn't do it! I could not read this drivel. It's not subversive. It's not funny. It's not interesting. It's not shocking. It is juvenile.

Franzen's The Corrections, Roth's Portnoy's Complaint, and BBE's American Phycho are not in my favorites by any stretch of the imagination...but at least these three have ideas and can actually write even if I didn't want to read what they were writing about.

And PLEASE don't compare this guy to the genius who was Kurt Vonnegut! Just don't even go there...more

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Nov 28, 2007 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who liked 'Fight Club' and 'The 6th Sense'

So much better than 'Fight Club.' It's not as grotesque, but it's much more, oh, I don't know, how can I put this... fucked up. It's one those books that don't make any sense at all while you're reading it. Why are they doing that? Who the hell is she? But at the end of the novel, everything, everything comes together and it all makes sense. Plus, you will get one the most insane mind-fucks of all time IF you make it to the end. It was the last book to make gasp out loud and scream out, 'Holy sh...more

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Feb 28, 2008 Naomi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those interested in personal growth

Once again, Palahniuk provides perfect social commentary. Essential to understanding America and ourselves, Choke invites you to consider your life holistically, question what you know, and examine the quotidian anew. In addition, Palahniuk challenges us to find the best of ourselves, to focus less on "Saint Me," and to experience fully those near-life experiences he documents so well in Fight Club. Another marvel, another marvel.

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Feb 18, 2009 Patrick Gibson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-literature, lasciate-ogne-speranza-voi-ch-intra

So much less terrifying than “Lullaby,” I finally settled into a Palahniuk novel where I could laugh without feeling like I am going to hell. Even though much of the humor is subversive and at times disgusting, it’s that psycho edge which is so compelling. There were times when I put this book down and thought I would give it a rest. But quickly, I found my self reading again just to find out where the author was going and by what bizarre means he would take me there. Having placed my mother in...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Con McVeety rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Almost fifteen years I read Choke. Amlost fifteen years ago I was fifteen, more or less an akward loner though I had friends but they weren’t in my grade and to make matters worse during B Lunch, none of my friends had B Lunch, so I sat with two other kids we couldn’t find a fourth kid to sit at our small table that sat four, all the preps and skater kids sat a tables that sat twenty they would often ask my group of lunch companions if they could take a chair, twenty chairs weren’t enough

The fir...more Almost fifteen years I read Choke. Amlost fifteen years ago I was fifteen, more or less an akward loner though I had friends but they weren’t in my grade and to make matters worse during B Lunch, none of my friends had B Lunch, so I sat with two other kids we couldn’t find a fourth kid to sit at our small table that sat four, all the preps and skater kids sat a tables that sat twenty they would often ask my group of lunch companions if they could take a chair, twenty chairs weren’t enough

The first kid that was at my table was Kevin, he eat his lunch slow and barely talked, the other was Ethan who eat fast and always talked but stuttered all the time, hot girls liked him and would come say hi to him, while ignoring Me and Kevin. During that time I read a lot of books by Michael Crichton until I seen a movie I rented with friends after school one night called “Fight Club”, I remember all of us loved that movie, we identified with its anti attitudes and cool cult vibe, during bond fires in my back yard we’d listen to The Deftons, Rammstein , and Mushroomhead, we’d build the fire too big , we took ice cubes held them in our hands and poured salt on the ice to see which one of us could close their fists the longest. I think I watched “Fight Club” like twenty times during high school and I wanted to read the book, but when my Mom took me to Barnes and Noble and told me I could buy one book I thought for sure it would be “Fight Club” I left with Choke. I read it on the ride home thinking wow, I never knew books were written like this, that understood my anger, shame, and awkwardness, I wonder if my mom knew of the words that I was reading that she might of not liked what I was reading, She always give me books to read books mostly books about teens and YA, teens whose fathers weren’t in the picture like mine. I read Choke in the week and then read it again.

Chuck Palahniuk just got me as a teenager, knew just what to write, looking back I still remember much of Choke , Victor and his friend drinking beer from pie tins meant to kill slugs, Victor telling a striper she might want get the lump on her breast checked out, victor fucking a sex addiction group member on the cold bathroom floor. I’m sure If I read Choke today I might not like it, Chuck Palahniuk’s writing is juvenile and gross to be gross, and back than his books read fast and were so cool in my head, back then I loved it, so five stars even if near thirty me strongly disagrees with such a high rating.

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Nov 30, 2008 fri-'net-ik rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anybody who's only read one or two Chuck Palahniuk books

I enjoyed this as a Chuck Palahniuk book, but was decidedly "whelmed" (neither over nor under). I appreciate that he has a style, but "see also:" and "the first thing that comes to mind" were less involving motifs than Fight Club's hypnotic lost-dreamy "you wake up in" and visceral "I am Jack's", and couldn't hit the vapid disconnection of Invisible Monsters' "give me . FLASH". It came across as merely formulaic as opposed to really drawing me into the character. I realize a case could be made t...more

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Aug 08, 2008 Bresdin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Bresdin by: Nicholas C Encinias

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well first of all this is not exactly my type of writing but I was however impressed by Chuck’s style. It is interesting and crude but Chuck pulls it off. When my boyfriend read this book he laughed out loud through the whole book. I personally never found it to be extremely funny however. I let out a few chuckles usually when he was in 1734; which was a brilliant twist behind the scenes of a tourist attraction. After the book however I felt unsatisfied. I felt like a lot of ends were not tied u...more Well first of all this is not exactly my type of writing but I was however impressed by Chuck’s style. It is interesting and crude but Chuck pulls it off. When my boyfriend read this book he laughed out loud through the whole book. I personally never found it to be extremely funny however. I let out a few chuckles usually when he was in 1734; which was a brilliant twist behind the scenes of a tourist attraction. After the book however I felt unsatisfied. I felt like a lot of ends were not tied up very nicely. I felt that way through most of the book however it might be the style of writing. I had a hard time believing he was ever a medical student because of the language he used throughout the book. Not only does he say “For serious” but he also says “Dude… and then three words following.” The way he spoke was nice if I wasn’t thinking of him as being a medical student somewhere in his past. It easily could be the charade he puts on for other people but I have such a hard time imagining him in medical school. In fact I have a hard time imagining him in school at all. I feel like he was “dumbed” down just a little too much. The only time I picture him as being smart is when he explains how he keeps records of all of his “hero’s” at each restaurant and when. This shows major organizational skills which is usually picked up from college and shows maybe he is not as dumb as you might think. Personally I think that the movie will be funnier for me than the book was because I will not take it so seriously. However I did not despise this book.
Denny was an amazing character. He put himself whole-heartedly and passionately into everything he did. He cared so much about stopping his addiction and only a quarter through the book I knew he was not as idiotic as Chuck might have led you to believe. Sure enough by the end I found that to be true. Denny was probably just about the best thing in the book.

Victor however is another story. He was created to be a superficial jerk and be universally hated. However how could he be? He takes care of his mom as much as he says he only wants her barely alive so that he finally has some power over her. Although he could easily have her in a hospital that did not cost $ 3,000 if that’s truly what he wanted. His dark “un-Christly” soul still had the decency to make sure his mother got the best care for a crazy woman he could find. Even in the end he wanted to save his mother’s life so badly that he truly believed he was a son of God and thought he could. The ending throws so much karma on his head that I’m still at a loss to say if he truly deserved it or not. He also had a pretty hectic childhood as well; it’s a wonder he did not grow-up even worse off than he was. He was a pretty shitty human being however I can’t decide if learning he was stolen by his fake mother, not Jesus, the girl he likes is crazy, kills his fake mother, starving and completely constipated, all of his hero’s attack him and have two detectives find out his complete and entire life story while choking to death for real all happen within two or three chapters is a bit much.

After reading the entire book and disliking Victor somewhat Chuck seems to twist your original judgment and make you feel extremely sorry. He goes from being a complete jerk, sex-addicted conman to being a lost, scared, alone and unloved individual. The readers’ idea of this character is instantly flipped and you feel the need for him to be comforted. To be taken care of.

For the record, Paige Marshall is truly crazy. However if anyone has ever seen Twelve Monkeys then quite possibly she isn’t.
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Oct 05, 2007 Johntaylor1973 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who loved Fight Club

Victor Mancini is a very troubled guy. From his sex addictions to his mother issues to Palahniuk's favorite well to draw from--the disillusioned 30 something who is trying to find his personal Jesus--Choke is BY FAR my favorite of Chuck's books to read.

The last one I read, Haunted, was extremely uninteresting and forced, but I digress.

Choke starts out both shocking and hilarious, and I read the entire book in one happy sitting. His misadventures in the old-timey town, his quest to build the what...more

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Apr 16, 2007 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Excerpt:

"Here, I'm supposed to tell her the truth. I admire addicts. In a world where everybody is waiting for some blind, random disaster or some sudden disease, the addict has the comfort of knowing what will most likely wait for him down the road. He's taken some control over his ultimate fate, and his addiction keeps the cause of his death from being a total surprise.

In a way, being an addict is very proactive.

A good addiction takes the guesswork out of death. There is such a thing as plan...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Felina rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: didn-t-finish-and-won-t, star-1, 2009

Okay...Really? I couldn't even finish this book.

Aside from the fact that it has disgusting and over-descriptive sex, where is it even going? It was just depressing scenes of his twisted and perverse life with a flash back of some totally f*%&ed up childhood tramas. I put up with it until about 50 pages from the end and realized its not going anywhere. Nowhere.

His mom is really that bad...really? She is every horrible parental stereotype ever invented? In one person?

I've been to the zoo mil...more

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Apr 07, 2007 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: hipsters? people who like fight club?

Generally Chuck Palahniuk and I don't really get along. I always found him to be the kind of guy that would come to a point in his writing and say, "Something POIGNANT needs to happen here. What could be POIGNANT?" and then makes up some kind of metaphor or flashback to fit the moment. I don't even know what I have against it; I guess it seems forced? Eh.

I think my complaint is that all of the things that could be subtle, all of the stuff that usually hides between the lines is just laid out, ri...more

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May 31, 2008 Tory rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“We spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or Insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heroes or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe its our job to invent something better.”

“Awesome” isn’t the word, but it’s the first word to come to mind.

Fight Club was good, and this one was good. I think I might have a little crush on chuck. If I knew that I wasn’t butchering his last name, I might be...more

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Sep 01, 2009 Jenny Cheung rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ap-english

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. “Choke” by Chuck Palahniuk is a story, which I do not dare to say as the best, nor the worst. How can I describe such a story?
“Psychotic” isn’t the right word, but it is the first word that comes to mind.

See also: bizarre

See also: drastic

See also: disturbing

See also: mind-wrecking

This “so called-story” describes of the protagonist Victor Mancini’s “adept methods of becoming another Robin Hood”. We all know at least the breakdown of Robin Hood. He steals from the rich and gives it to the poor. Th...more “Choke” by Chuck Palahniuk is a story, which I do not dare to say as the best, nor the worst. How can I describe such a story?
“Psychotic” isn’t the right word, but it is the first word that comes to mind.

See also: bizarre

See also: drastic

See also: disturbing

See also: mind-wrecking

This “so called-story” describes of the protagonist Victor Mancini’s “adept methods of becoming another Robin Hood”. We all know at least the breakdown of Robin Hood. He steals from the rich and gives it to the poor. This story is a little bit of a remake copy of Robin Hood with a very explicit and graphic twist. Victor Mancini “scams” strangers and the elite by “choking” on food of all sorts in a wonderfully grand restaurant, which attracts “a brave soul” to come and save him. After saving him, “these saviors” sending extravagant presents, money, cash, cards of all sorts caring for him as though he’s a pitiful lonely soul being taken into an orphanage. With these excessive presents and money, he uses it to pay for supporting his dying mother who’s inflicted with Alzheimer’s.

His mother takes and even more drastic ride in the history of Victor Mancini’s life. When Victor was younger, his mother had kidnapped him several times after losing custody of him because of her own “unique mental issues that needs to be cared of”. After kidnapping him, she teaches him a little bit of what is shown in the famed “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain whereas Huck’s father kidnaps Huck and teaches him things that should not be taught such that include of skipping school. Now as we see a replay of the little episode in Mark Twain's famed novel in “Choke”, it is understandable that Victor did not have that great of a childhood. In fact, he never even has to live what was called a “childhood” properly. He had to learn to become independent on his own at a very young age. However, can we really put all the blame on his mother? I guess probably not after we see what else is in store within Victor.

Victor is a sex addict. Period. He cannot control. He goes to this rehab like lessons in order to control only to worsen it and agitate a sex addiction he has even more. Within every single chapter of this book, there is at least one mini episode of a sexual reference, a sexual action, a sex scene, a sexual metaphor of some sort, or even more sexual references. Victor is a failed medical student who is actually suffering of mental problems of all types ranging from his failed childhood to his uncontrollable sex addiction.

To be honest, this book isn’t something I really love. It was an extremely confusing and especially disturbing book with sexual references and repeated words such like “dude” in almost every single chapter. Sexual references and metaphors are made in every single chapter, which soon becomes dull and rather annoying in fact. Sure, the first couple of chapters containing such references wouldn’t be so dull because it’s something you wouldn’t normally read for a literature class. Something so explicit and graphically described wouldn’t be something normally read for a literature class and be asked to be carefully analyzed into a review. However, it soon started irritating me. You get tired of the “so called many” metaphors they come up with just so to indicate the main item they’re talking about is a penis. From “magic stick” to “my secret weapon” to describe something such like a penis, it becomes quite not just disturbing but actually annoying. To add on, the other sexual references to other else body parts and bodily fluids really adds on to irritation and the limit of patience you’re able to handle within yourself.

The book drives around these few kind of topics but the part that really actually makes you feel for it is probably the little bit of time between Victor’s psychotic mother and Victor. His own mother doesn’t even recognize Victor, which makes you feel quite pitiful actually. In other cases, it drives around in circles to literally nowhere honestly. It seems like an endless drive toward an unknown destination literally.
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Mar 15, 2013 Dalia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Felt like a really honest book.

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Mar 03, 2009 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Utter filth, but really rather good. His tendancy to add plot upon plot, upon quirk upon quirk, does get annoying after some time - but he gets away with it just about.

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Sep 07, 2011 Lucy Tan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

You know those movies where you can tell they wrote the trailer before the actual movie? This is like that. Someone needs to tell this wannabe Irvine Welsh that just making your story shocking doesn't make it good. It makes it "Battle Los Angeles" (except it takes you longer than a couple hours to finish).

Palahniuk, stop jerking off to your own writing and do your characters the favor of investing them with some semblance of truth.

ETA--

It gets on my nerves when post-modern writers think that the...more You know those movies where you can tell they wrote the trailer before the actual movie? This is like that. Someone needs to tell this wannabe Irvine Welsh that just making your story shocking doesn't make it good. It makes it "Battle Los Angeles" (except it takes you longer than a couple hours to finish).

Palahniuk, stop jerking off to your own writing and do your characters the favor of investing them with some semblance of truth.

ETA--

It gets on my nerves when post-modern writers think that the inclusion of miscellany guarantees a good book. Though we may be a generation of Wikipedia fanatics, I don't think it's tidbits and random facts that make people read literature. A fiction author should make the study of people his first priority... otherwise we would turn to other fact-based genres. Palahniuk might have done all the research on what one would learn in the first few years of medical school and true case studies of nymphomaniacs, but there are some pretty gaping holes in the construction of his main character and plot.

Why would a medical student turn around and take a job working at a re-enactment museum shoveling shit? If he was serious about making more money to support his mother, then surely he would have used his undergrad degree to find a better paying job with salary increases. I really don't buy the "maybe he's just crazy because his mom fucked him up when he was little" argument. Even crazy people have patterns of behavior that are logical (if only to them). Victor's behavior isn't consistent.

Also, I think the whole premise of getting someone to support you after having saved your life is ridiculous. If someone saved MY life I would be likely to give him or her money, but not the other way around. I think that peoples' bullshit alarms would go off big time if they saved someone's life only to start getting fleeced for cash as well. For Victor, part of the reason he becomes a conman is to feel for a moment that he is wanted and loved by the world. So why would he do this just so he could start asking people for money and risk becoming the guy that is annoying and unwanted? The idea of people needing to be needed may be true, and even work to the extreme degree necessary to pull of a stunt like Victor's in his own head, but in real life I just don't see how it could happen. (less)

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May 28, 2008 Danya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who eats out on a regular basis

His best ever! This is one of the few books that actually made me laugh out loud !

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Jun 12, 2012 Matt Linder rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, best-of-the-best

Amazing! Might be my new favorite book.

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Cocaine Pages: March 2013 - Satire - Choke by Chuck Palahniuk	1	17	Mar 04, 2013 07:57am
Choke the movie-- thoughts?	38	384	Oct 17, 2012 01:40am
Banned Books Club : Choke-Favorite Quotes	2	25	Sep 25, 2012 02:03pm
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Banned Books Club : Paige Marshall	6	15	Sep 20, 2011 05:21pm

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About Chuck Palahniuk

Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk is an American Transgressional fiction novelist and freelance journalist of Ukrainian ancestry born in Pasco, Washington. The press release for his book, Rant, states he is now living in Vancouver, Washington. He is best known for the award-winning novel Fight Club, which was later made into a film directed by David Fincher.

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Quotes from Choke

“What I want is to be needed. What I need is to be indispensable to somebody. Who I need is somebody that will eat up all my free time, my ego, my attention. Somebody addicted to me. A mutual addiction.” — 4,279 people liked it

“The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create.” — 2,495 people liked it

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