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Oct 30, 2010

Emma rated it:

Chuck Palahniuk is the hugely popular author of modern, edgy books like Fight Club (also a movie with Brad Pitt--go ahead, act surprised) and Choke. For this reason I did not expect to like Invisible Monsters, originally published in 1999.

The story is told by a nameless narrator: a young woman who used to be beautiful. After a series of bizarre, haunting events involving a freeway, birds and a few other things those days are gone forever. Her face disfigured, her voice gone, the narr More...

3 comments like (23 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Meg ♥ rated it:

The main character in this book is nameless, and disfigured. She was once a beautiful model, and now feels invisible. She hides under a veil after being called a monster. When she lost her face she saw the true colors of everyone in her life. Her fiance leaves, and her best friend constantly steals her clothes while she's in the hospital. In speech therapy our main character meets Brandy Alexander, and the story unfolds.

This is probably my least favorite book so far by Palahni More...

11 comments like (25 people liked it)

Mar 19, 2008

Ash rated it:

It made me want to blow my own jaw off...but in a good way.

4 comments like (43 people liked it)

Dec 03, 2008

Erica rated it:

I'm too old for this stuff. Shocking doesn't do it for me alone, and he works SO VERY HARD at being vulgar and violent and crass. Don't get me wrong; those are three things that can make for a great story. But it was so unrelenting and contrived, and not as funny as it was supposed to be. There were some clever turns of phrase, and it wasn't entirely unenjoyable, but I was not really impressed.

8 comments like (18 people liked it)

Apr 24, 2008

Sara rated it:

Check the shelf I put this on. Now you're ready: This book is insane. There's something on practically every page that makes you say, "What the *%$#!?" You'll keep reading anyway, though, and you'll love it. The book's like a really hard-core Swedish massage. It hurts SOOOOO good.
The story is essentially about beauty: who values it, what it means, how it can be good, and how it can be a horror. Not only do the characters suffer FOR beauty, they suffer BECAUSE of beauty, and that More...

0 comments like (21 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2011

Jason rated it:

Quite possibly the most fucked up piece of literature I've ever read, this novel is a brilliantly executed train wreck from beginning to end.

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

May 08, 2008

Miko rated it:

****DO NOT LOOK THIS UP IN WIKIPEDIA IT GIVES AWAY EVERYTHING I REPEAT DO NOT LOOK IT UP! In fact, don't even read the synopsis, I would just dive right in knowing nothing.****

THE START:
So far it is pretty good. It says right from the start that you are going to read this book feeling like you are missing things and it's very true.

I am having a hard time holding on to any solid plot but am captivated from what I can grasp. It's the same author that wrote Fight Club More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Feb 16, 2008

Darga rated it:

"it's an old woman who owns this house, i figure. ignored and aging and drugged out old women, older and more invisible to the world every minute, they must not wear a lot of make-up. not go out to fun hot spots. not boogie to a party froth. my breath smells hot and sour inside my veils, inside the damp layers of silk and mesh and cotton georgette i lift for the first time all day; and in the mirrors, i look at the pink reflection of what's left of my face.
mirror mirror on the w More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2011

Alana rated it:

Tengo altas expectativas porque 1. Es de Chuck Palahniuk 2. Es sobre una modelo transfigurada.

It had me at: "Don't expect this to be the kind of story that goes: and then, and then, and then. What happens here will have more of that fashion magazine feel, a Vogue or a Glamour magazine chaos with page numbers on every second and fifth page. Perfume cards falling out, and full-page naked women coming out of nowhere to sell you make-up".

===

Mini coment More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 26, 2011

Kelanth, in tenebris lux tua rated it:

Anche i migliori amici, a volte, ci fanno incazzare.
Così anche i libri dei nostri autori preferiti a volte ci deludono, così com'è successo a me con l'ultimo libro che ho letto di Palahniuk; le aspettative erano alte perchè abituato al fatto che l'autore sa come sorprendermi sempre con le sue storie straordinarie e il suo stile di scrittura crudo, diretto, imprevedibile. Per la sua manifesta superiorità nel sorprendere.
Sebbene in questo romanzo tutto ciò che ho appena descritto è pres More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 09, 2008

Billfrog rated it:

I've been reading this book while wondering if this is the book I'd recommend to someone looking to begin their Chuck Palahniuk experience. Through the rare luxury of a slow day at the hospital, I got to read a lot of it at once, getting through the second half of it today (though the first half of it was read in rather short bursts). I just finished the last 50 pages at Allegro pizza, a UPENN undergraduate hangout, full of people who are all equally convinced that their life is the dominant sto More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 23, 2007

amanda rated it:

The narrator was once a gorgeous model, now left monstrously disfigured after a messy drive-by. Her jaw was shot off, leaving just her tongue & top row of teeth to show as a trophy for her pain. Quickly, nearly everything she once had (fiance, seemingly wonderful modelling career) is gone. Enter: Brandy Alexander. An amazingly sassy and gorgeous transgender woman, who pushes the narrator (whose name is revealed 3/4 of the way through the novel) to do what scares her most and forget about the pas More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 21, 2007

Alexis rated it:

Pages: 200+

So, it's safe to say that Chuck Palahniuk owns my soul. Not even a little bit of it. The whole thing.
Invisible Monsters blew my mind. I spent a good chunk of the book stuck in confusion and my mind felt like it had just been exposed to the trippiest thing ever. But, as I like to think, what is a Chuck Palahniuk story without mental mind trips and without confusion? It is not a Chuck Palahniuk story at all!

Right off the bat Palahniuk leaves his print by More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2007

Leslie rated it:

Wow, I have always liked Palahniuk ever since I listened to him narrate Choke on audio a few years ago. I love how his books always deal with some dark side underworld. In this one, he deals with the dark side of beauty, fashion, and the Hollywood lifestyle.

The main character was a beautiful model, but now she her face is disfigured from a gunshot wound and she can't speak except to us, the reader. My favorite scenes were with her parents, in a series of flashbacks, who, feeling guil More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 15, 2010

oriana rated it:

About halfway through this book, I was talking to my roommate, and I said, Gosh it's not nearly as fun reading this book the second time around, because I remember all the twists and everything, so it's way less exciting getting to them.

Omigod I was wrong.

Sure, I remembered who shot Shannon, which is maybe the biggest twist, and sure, I remembered who Brandy was, but really, that's revealed almost immediately and barely counts as a twist.

Because actually? Thi More...

9 comments like

May 18, 2008

Chris rated it:

A bleak and revelatory examination of the world of High Fashion, and a culture obsessed with beauty, Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters started strong, but reading the last 40 pages is like pulling teeth (or, to use a more apt metaphor, like losing a jaw).

The book went wrong somewhere near the climax, and though the impact of Palahniuk's message depends on themes such as narcissism, greed, and megalomania, the lack of a sympathetic main character just couldn't hold my interest for 300 pag More...

0 comments like

Jan 12, 2008

Buffy rated it:

I have a theory about Chuck Palahniuk books.
If somebody is starting to read Chuck Palahniuk for the first time...the first book they read of his will always be their favorite. I have found that to be the case with many people.
I really enjoyed Invisible Monsters and it was the first Chuck Palahniuk book I read. It was such a new approach to writing that I had never seen before, and I found myself really engrossed and moved by the now-usual Palahniuk twisty ending. It was such a shock More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Miki rated it:

Fun quirky read. The protagonist is a woman who used to be beautiful and is now grotesque. It reminds me of that Diane Arbus quotation about freaks being aristocrats. Book covers gender identity, loneliness, superficiality, etc. It has the edginess of "Fight Club" but with a girly-catty twist.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 13, 2008

Chelsea rated it:

Didn't knock my f---ing socks off like I was expecting. Maybe because I read it in 2 days and didn't have time to let the crazy soak in. I would still recommend it. Still very clever and nihilistic. It's interesting that Fight Club got tagged as the quintessentially "masculine" nihilism novel, and this one pretends at first to be the "feminine" counterpart. I'd recommend it. But I still recommend Survivor first.

hm...interesting how the most self-destructive More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2009

Helen rated it:

My reaction to Invisible Monsters was much the same as my great Aunt Kack’s to Northern Exposure back in the 80’s. She couldn’t believe what “they” were putting on TV, and I can’t believe what “they” are putting in print. And yet, just as my great Aunt Kack could be found in front of the boob tube every Monday night, for the past week or so, I could be found sprawled on my sofa reading Invisible Monsters.

When Shannon McFarland’s jawbone is shot off in a drive-by shooting, she winds More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 03, 2009

Aj rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Dec 03, 2008

Skip rated it:

I had really wanted to read something of Chuck Palahniuk's. I had never read any of his novels, and did not want to read Fight Club because I felt it would be too "pop" of an introduction to his work. Consequentially, my fiance bought me this novel. I have to say, I really really like the author's style. The story is dark and gory and brutal, but the writing style is humorous rather than vulgar, and the subject matter is treated with a black comedy feel. I got the impression from readi More...

0 comments like

Dec 06, 2011

John rated it:

He may recoil at the comparison, but Chuck Palahniuk is a modern day Vonnegut to me. His humor is often overlooked by pundits who concentrate on the more extreme elements in his work - and I understand that. But they not only miss not only his humor but also his brilliant ability with dialogue and structure.

While the nonlinear structure of "Invisible Monsters" seems almost haphazard, it is a haphazard the way a jazz artist riffs on themes and timing to fit the mood. Improv More...

0 comments like

Oct 24, 2011

Lydia rated it:

This one was recommended to me, and I am really glad that I read it. The story was really entertaining. I really liked how the author jumped around, and didn't just stick with a chronological telling of the story.

My biggest issue with this book was the fact that it was written as if it was being spoken by the main character. So, there is a TON of [intentional] grammatical errors. And those of you that know me well will understand how crazy this makes me. I am easily distracted by More...

0 comments like

Aug 16, 2011

Danny rated it:

i really actually wanted to give this book a 4 and 1/2 stars just cause it was the book i read while away and alone for 1 and 1/2 years at a boarding school in the middle of nowhere, witrh nowhere to go, etc.... basically i was a bad kid and got shipped off to a middle of nowhere hell pit for a year and a half.
i found this book on the ground in the "confiscated" mentors area and tucked it under my shirt to leave with it only to find myself not in hellish reality but living with t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 09, 2011

Jenn rated it:

The first time I tried to read it, I only made it through about five chapters. Two years later, I have given it another chance, and I'm really glad I did! It was a little slow starting out, but once you get into it, it's hard to put down. Interesting character twists for sure. Somehow Palahniuk takes the superficial, makes it something of gritty substance, and turns around to spit it out again. While sexuality is the focal point of this, it kind of leaves a bitter aftertaste of anti-trans/an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 14, 2011

Krystie rated it:

Personally, I loved it. But it’s like marmite, you’re either going to love it or hate it. If you’re into novels with beautiful language then you might not like this, it’s a bit crude. Well, more than a bit. Sometimes I just thought ‘I can’t believe this guy had enough guts to put this onto a page’. It’s quite taboo, but not to the point where it’s careless and meaningless, it’s really interesting. I guess you have to be a bit cynical to really get this book, because it’s basically critisizing so More...

0 comments like

Jul 01, 2011

Brittany rated it:

Just finished Invisible Monsters. I really loved this novel. Mainly, its about beauty, and what people would do in the name of being beautiful. The main character, Shannon McFarland, was a model who was shot in the face and lost her jaw. She is now so disfigured that she looks like a monster. In the hospital, during speech therapy, she meets Brandy Alexander, a queen supreme who is beautiful in every way that Shannon is not.
The twists in this book can kill you. Just when you think that you More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 03, 2011

Nikitabanana rated it:

When the author’s most famous work hinges on anarchist overthrows funded by soap sales, the reader should be prepared for anything. In Invisible Monsters author Chuck Palahniuk continues his trend of holding up a funhouse mirror to all the ugliest facets of humanity and warping them for his pleasure.

Narrator Shannon McFarland, once a gorgeous fashion model, has been hideously disfigured in a mysterious drive-by shooting. Her jaw has been shot off, leaving her not only bereft of a care More...

0 comments like

Apr 04, 2011

Totoptero rated it:

Hace poco hablaba con un amigo que me recordaba con sorpresa el carácter cíclico del mundo (un saludo Jaime). Cuando me lo dijo, me di cuenta que esa frase era parte de ese carácter cíclico. Estaba en una librería de cuarto pisos, afuera llovía y las perneras del pantalón se me mojaban con el rebote de las gotas en el piso. Comprábamos una versión de “2001, una odisea espacial” de Arthur Clarke igual a la que había comprado yo hacía ocho años. Ese día, hace ocho años, llovió. La compré en ese lu More...

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