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Pygmy

by Chuck Palahniuk

2.94 · rating details · 6,612 ratings · 980 reviews

“Begins here first account of operative me, agent number 67 on arrival Midwestern American airport greater _____ area. Flight _____. Date _____. Priority mission top success to complete. Code name: Operation Havoc.”

Thus speaks Pygmy, one of a handful of young adults from a totalitarian state sent to the United States, disguised as exchange students, to live wit...more

Paperback, 256 pages

Published April 20th 2010 by Anchor (first published May 5th 2009)

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Feb 19, 2009

Imogen rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm giving this two stars because it's better than Snuff, but only because it's better than Snuff. Like, in hope that ol' Chuck's on an upswing?

Okay so. Did you see that M Night Shyamalan movie The Village? If you're like me, five minutes into that movie you were like, 'clearly these puritanical folks are modern-day back-to-olden-times people! Otherwise why would a director like Mr Shyamalan, who normally pays so much attention to details and specifics, have them all talking like pe...moreI'm giving this two stars because it's better than Snuff, but only because it's better than Snuff. Like, in hope that ol' Chuck's on an upswing?

Okay so. Did you see that M Night Shyamalan movie The Village? If you're like me, five minutes into that movie you were like, 'clearly these puritanical folks are modern-day back-to-olden-times people! Otherwise why would a director like Mr Shyamalan, who normally pays so much attention to details and specifics, have them all talking like people in the oughties?' And then in the end you felt very smart for having such brilliant insights when you were proved right.

My point is not that I am a brilliant, insightful genius. My point is that, if you are going to have people talk a specific, idiosyncratic way, there had better be a goddam reason for it, y'know? The whole hook of this book is, oh hey, this is fragmented English because English isn't the narrator's first language! Which is a legitimate conceit, except that when the narrator is someone who's mastered the periodic table of elements by the time he's four, there had better be a goddam reason that he can barely grasp another language's syntax. And also, while we're at it, if the book is told in the form of reports back to his home country, why the fuck is he reporting in this language he sucks at? It just doesn't hold up.

Oh, wait, no it holds up in the context of xenophobia!

Which is complicated, right, because here is what the book is about: America is full of jerks (a thesis I'd agree with) and other countries don't always like it (a thesis I'd agree with) and sometimes people from other countries do something about it via terrorism (true). This is all fine fodder for a novel, for sure. Let's even make it science fiction, and instead of having the terrorist be from a real country America has declared war on, let's have him be from a made-up, futuristic coalition of countries- that might cut down on the potential for real-world political insight or commentary, but hey, it's fiction, Chuck can do what he wants. Plus they were made-up countries in Brave New World, weren't they? Oceania was, anyway. And Brave New World worked.

That is a good idea for a book! So Chuck, why did you have to waste it on jokes about vibrators and how foreigners can't speak English right? Oh, because you're Chuck Palahniuk and you pander to an audience of manly, bro-ey duders (and me, I guess) who want titillation, not insight. Who want you to play with but ultimately reinforce their prejudices and snappy judgments.

Of course this is old news to everyone except me. Chuck Palahniuk's reputation is: famous dunderhead, churning out stupid bullshit. I think it's more complicated than that, though! Dude has a giant brain, comes up with good ideas- brutal criticism of America from an oppressed outsider's perspective!- he just always then completely blows them with jokes about that murderous vibrator, or fucking your sister or something. (Whereas when he just lets his brain goes and gets less, like, sensationalistic- see Rant or even Invisible Monsters, although I guess Invisible Monsters was pretty ridiculous- he can be pretty amazing.) When you strip away the vaguely xenophobic conceit, Pygmy is just a bunch of goddam predictably outrageous Chuck Palahniuk hijinx: "Oh, Pygmy thought that he could bake the cake in half the time if he turned the heat twice as high! Oh, Pygmy ate all the chocolates!" Whatever.

It's a shame. I want better from you, Chuck! At this point, I almost wish you hadn't written Rant, because Rant was absolutely brilliant and is one of my favorite books and if I'd never read it I certainly wouldn't keep reading this shit. (less)

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Jul 01, 2009

Misha rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, novel

Questing again after the elusive interview.

I'm struggling with the voice a bit. I imagine I'll hit a point where it will click into place and flow a little more smoothly in my head, but right now I'm struggling.

I may have hit a wall with this book relatively early. There was a scene I found disturbing and repulsive, and now I'm in the hands of a narrator who makes my skin crawl. I'll continue, because clearly Palahniuk wants to challenge me, and I don't like to back down ...moreQuesting again after the elusive interview.

I'm struggling with the voice a bit. I imagine I'll hit a point where it will click into place and flow a little more smoothly in my head, but right now I'm struggling.

I may have hit a wall with this book relatively early. There was a scene I found disturbing and repulsive, and now I'm in the hands of a narrator who makes my skin crawl. I'll continue, because clearly Palahniuk wants to challenge me, and I don't like to back down from a challenge. But I shall say a heartfelt "Ew!"

Pretending the operatives are extraterrestrials rather than foreign-born terrorists is helping me swallow some of the narrative a little better.

But then Dispatch Fifth just pissed me off. I'm starting to wonder if this book isn't all just a big joke on the sycophantic fanboys (and grrls) who praise Palahniuk's every bowel movement as pure genius, like he said, "Let me throw in every depraved thing I can think of and watch them lap it up. Fucking losers." Well I'm not lapping it up, Palahniuk. In fact, I think it's kind of crap and I'd much rather be reading one of your earlier works instead -- you know, from back when you were still a writer and a storyteller and didn't have your head shoved up your own ass.

Alas, I suspect I'll continue because there are glimmers of something here, and it's early yet, and I'm hopeful I may yet uncover something golden.

5.12.09 The plot unfolds. I think this must be the most incompetent group of revolutionaries ever. Even worse than the ones in Che, Part Two. So, they're infiltrating American culture with no knowledge of said culture? Again I return to the hypothesis that they must be aliens rather than foreign nationals, because that's the only way the plot makes any friggin' sense.

6.7.09 Done! That three-star rating is really more like 3.5. There were parts that infuriated me, parts that grossed me the fuck out, parts that made me laugh (the vibrator attacking the science fair), but the ending left me saying, "Eh." Good message -- prejudice and hatred is based on lies, and if we get to know someone from a group we don't understand, then they start becoming people instead of the Other. But the execution was flawed. The ending was rushed and lacked the emotional punch it should have had, perhaps because the pidgin was a barrier to ever engaging with the book on an emotional level. I like books that make me feel something. This one didn't do that (except for some early revulsion), although it was entertaining enough. I'm just left thinking, "Eh. Could've been better."(less)

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Oct 28, 2011

Jacob rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

Begins here account of reader me, Agent Jacob, located rural area _____, date _____. For official record, here review novel “Pygmy,” tenth fictional account written master of mediocrity Chuck Palahniuk, borrowed community literature repository of city _____.

Pygmy novel written strange style, uneducated broken English like dumb child. Much time reading, but eventual comprehension. Still not like. Other authors try, much mocking critics. However Chuck much genius, many hipsters ...moreBegins here account of reader me, Agent Jacob, located rural area _____, date _____. For official record, here review novel “Pygmy,” tenth fictional account written master of mediocrity Chuck Palahniuk, borrowed community literature repository of city _____.

Pygmy novel written strange style, uneducated broken English like dumb child. Much time reading, but eventual comprehension. Still not like. Other authors try, much mocking critics. However Chuck much genius, many hipsters want fellate, so this voice narrative much celebrated.

Reader me...oh, fuck it, I can’t go on like this. There’s no way I’m writing an entire review in the same stupid gimmicky voice Chucky P. uses in his latest crapfest. I suppose I have to give the man credit for maintaining this charade for 241 fucking pages, coming up with new and exciting and mostly tired ways to poke fun at American institutions, but that’s all the credit he gets. Ooh, his narrator speaks in hideously broken English, what a novelty. It reminds me of Rant, in a way: the only way Chuck can keep recycling his favorite nihilist-outsider-rebel-type-infiltrates-and-subverts-system storyline and not get called out on it is to change his style: on one hand, we have a jumbled and distracting oral biography, on the other, a jumbled and distracting game of let’s-mock-the-foreigner.

It doesn’t help that our English-challenged narrator, an undercover terrorist agent shipped to America in the guise of a foreign exchange student, is supposed to be a super genius, the best of the best, having memorized the periodic table and other things by the time he was four (we know this because he lists the elements, in good ol’ Chuck fashion, periodically--ha!--throughout the book), yet he somehow can’t grasp the workings of a second language. Better reviewers have already commented on this, but the way I see it, this is just Chuck trying and failing to make astute and ironic observations about America by giving everything a funny description: Church is a religion propaganda distribution outlet, classes are structured compulsory education sessions, Wal-Mart is a retail product distribution facility, etc. etc. The jokes feel old before they even shuffle off the page, but luckily Chuck manages to fill in the rest of the book with even more wit and insight: Americans are fat and stupid, ha-ha! Teenaged girls are promiscuous! Flowers resemble genitalia, giggity-giggity. And there are many exciting and fascinating names for breasts--almost as many, say, as there are fun porn movie titles and slang terms for masturbation, eh, Chuck? And now for a quote from Hitler! How droll.

There really isn’t anything else to say about the book: without the narrative style, which starts to feel tired and forced after the tenth page, this isn’t anything new: Chuck took an idea with potential--a novel about America told from the observations of someone sent to destroy it--but watered it down with weak jokes about vibrators, shallow and faceless (but quirky!) characters, a violent male-on-male rape (in the second chapter, probably a personal gross-out record for Chucky Boy) and plenty of other bits of name-brand Pahlaniukshock!™, and mixed it with one of his weakest endings ever. Had this been written with his usual Fight Club/Survivor/Diary/Snuff narrative voice, no one would give a shit. At least, it wouldn’t feel so pretentious.

EDIT: Apologies for those first two paragraphs. This guy did it better.
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Jan 13, 2010

Kemper rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: humor

I got so caught up at reading the mangled English that I forgot I was reading a Chuck Palahniuk book, and I had not properly mentally braced myself when the first horrible thing happens in Chapter 2. After getting that shock, it was easier to remember who I was dealing with.

This has got everything you'd expect from a Palahniuk novel. Dark humor, graphic violence, and a bunch of disturbing characters with an outlandish plot with outrageous twists.

This story of a spy tr...more

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Jan 28, 2011

M rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: the uncharacteristically intelligent who does not have sticks up their a**es

Pygmy is focused on the experiences of Agent Number 67, a 13-year old secret agent from an unnamed totalitarian state. Agent Number 67 along with 11 other young men and women take a journey to America disguised as foreign exchange students with the ultimate goal of executing a terrorist attack named Operation Havoc upon the American society.

When I was watching Angelina Jolie's movie, SALT, I couldn't help but think of this vintage Palahniuk novel. It left me wondering if the people w...morePygmy is focused on the experiences of Agent Number 67, a 13-year old secret agent from an unnamed totalitarian state. Agent Number 67 along with 11 other young men and women take a journey to America disguised as foreign exchange students with the ultimate goal of executing a terrorist attack named Operation Havoc upon the American society.

When I was watching Angelina Jolie's movie, SALT, I couldn't help but think of this vintage Palahniuk novel. It left me wondering if the people who wrote Salt's screenplay have used this novel as a pattern. Although Pygmy and the movie's stories have great disparities, you can not deny that there are obvious common grounds as well.

At first, I was a bit disappointed when I read the first few lines from the book. It was written in "Broken English" or as other readers call it "Pygmy English". I browsed through the other pages only to have a confirmation that the whole book was indeed written in the same manner... I thought to myself, "What was Palahniuk thinking?!"...with that and my insatiable curiosity, I pushed to give it a try... a few hours later, I was half way through it.
Every word was intoxicating! There is a common misconception that if a person can not communicate well in English, he is as dumb as a cardboard. But in Pygmy, this way of thinking is greatly challenged and was proven wrong countless of times.

Chuck chose the right writing style for Pygmy. It gives the readers a genuine feel of the narrator's point of view. Not to mention that Agent Number 67 is such an innocently witty and funny character. The novel gives the point of view of the "other guys"... the "bad guys" branded by the society. Because of Agent Number 67's musings, you learn to sympathize with him and his group. The readers will also see how very different sets of people could have so much in common.
(just read the book and find out for yourself. I don't want to spoil anyone with my ranting ;p)

Chuck Palahniuk berated the ridiculous lifestyle most people have through the eyes of this new comer. There is a subtle juxtaposition that speaks so much about the differences between the totalitarian culture where the Agents grew up in and the lifestyle practiced by the majority. Through the eyes of Agent Number 67, Chuck once again attacked consumerism, pop culture, racism, the educational system, religion, sexuality, familial living and much MUCH more. It is so refreshing to read all of it.

I think this novel is a wake up call in disguise care of Mr. Palahniuk's genius mind.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not only because of its "entertainment factor" but mainly because of the messages and moral lessons beyond every "Dispatch". You can actually learn morality from a seemingly dark and flawed character just like the ones in Pygmy better than if you read the generic tales of heroes and heroines.

This book is a challenge! Both intellectually and spiritually!
I recommend it to those who are craving on deviating from the "sometimes annoyingly boring" norms of the literary world.(less)

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May 25, 2009

Jeremy rated it

· review of another edition

Let my biases ring clear: I typically love Chuck Palahniuk. No single author has influenced my love of reading and writing more than Chuck has over his career.

"Pygmy", as the book jacket says, is a romance and a comedy (satire would be closer to the truth). It is by far the most obviously humorous of his books (the running joke about Colonel Sanders made me chuckle several times). It's at once a biting send-up of American values (the observations about public education...moreLet my biases ring clear: I typically love Chuck Palahniuk. No single author has influenced my love of reading and writing more than Chuck has over his career.

"Pygmy", as the book jacket says, is a romance and a comedy (satire would be closer to the truth). It is by far the most obviously humorous of his books (the running joke about Colonel Sanders made me chuckle several times). It's at once a biting send-up of American values (the observations about public education were absolutely priceless) as well as a well-balanced satire of totalitarian socialist states. In the end we find out that Americans are not so much actively evil as just dumb and unaware. It's an interesting conceit to see the world through the eyes of a narrator you initially loathe but then come to understand and even pity. That alone completely reversed my early condemnation of the book as trite, unimaginative drivel. In Chuck's hands this book works and I don't think anyone else could do it so well.

That being said, I saw the ending coming a mile away. But I don't see how I couldn't have.

Pygmy isn't the best thing he's written or the worst. I feel like he made similar points that resonated with me much more in Fight Club and Survivor. And after the early promise of Choke, Lullaby and Diary it seems he's drifted into a strange period (even by Palahniuk standards) and I'm not sure it's totally for the best. For example, I have very little desire to read "Snuff", though I probably will just because it's Chuck.

I guess there's a reason you don't review books based on the first thirty pages. Probably not the book to pick up if you've never read Chuck before. It's difficult to build momentum, given the broken English of the narrator. As usual, Chuck puts in an early shock and, as per my early thoughts on the book (below) it comes off as sort of hackish and attention-seeking. If you give up after thirty pages you'll probably feel about the same as I did at first, but press on and you might be surprised at how much the book redeems itself and its narrator.

These are some initial thoughts on the book: So far this resembles something a talented high school student might turn in for a creative writing assignment simply to freak out the instructor.

More initial thoughts: Less than twenty pages in and there's already been blood, crap and semen as well as an anal rape. The gross-outs are starting to wear thin and even become, gasp, predictable in his hands. It's like he's trying oh so hard to offend me, again like a teenager.

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Jun 12, 2010

Adam McDonald rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Chuck Palahniuk fans and people who enjoy twisted fiction.

CLASSIC Chuck! Hard to read (literally, hard to read in the way it was written), gross, yet making great points about consumerism and how it has infected the American Way. Trust me here, you won't like it at first. It takes at LEAST 20 pages to get into the dialect it's written in (if you've read Trainspotting, you'll understand what I'm talking about) and even after that, there were times I had to re-read the same paragraph a few times to get what was going on.

Chuck presents an a...more

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May 20, 2010

La Petite Américaine added it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-want-my-money-back, sucked

Honestly, what the FUCK?

I wonder how much money Palahniuk made on sales of this piece of shit from fools like me who wanted to give the author one more chance.

Behold, one sentence (just pages after the ass-rape scene in mangled English in the Wal-Mart bathroom): "Here worship shrine, all male neck must bind around with knotted banner, silk banner knotted at windpipe so dangle two long strands down chest to waistband trouser." I get that the main chartacter is su...more

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Jun 29, 2009

Nicholas Karpuk rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Masochists

"Pygmy" is not a good book. Unlike some of his other works, I'm not even going to praise him for experimentation, because what he did doesn't feel like all that much of a risk.

You will not find a review of this book that does not address the prose. If you haven't already read the book or an excerpt, please do so before continuing this review.... go ahead, I'll wait.......alright, now that we're on the same page on the ridiculous way this is written. It's hard to adapt to be...more

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Dec 04, 2009

Stephanie rated it

· review of another edition

Cult American author Chuck Palahniuk of Fight Club fame can usually be counted upon for entertaining, eye-opening dissections of the ridiculousness of contemporary American culture, through his deft wielding of satire, hyperbole and gratuitous violence.

Indeed, it wouldn't be a Palahniuk novel if it weren't bristling with vulgarities, crassness, physical torture and sexual mayhem, and in that sense fans won't be disappointed with his 10th novel.

Pygmy has scenes of carnag...more

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Jul 03, 2011

Sammah rated it

· review of another edition

I just started this book yesterday, and I can already tell that I'm going to despise it. The broken English is absolutely horrible. I read for pleasure, not to spend ten minutes a page trying to figure out what the hell is being said and trying to follow along.

Further review to come once I've finished it. Providing that actually /do/ finish it.

(Update)

I could not finish this book, and I do NOT just put books down. It annoyed me so badly that I closed it and re...more

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Jan 26, 2012

Mnava rated it

· review of another edition

"In realtà è una commedia, romanica per giunta"

Così esordisce lo scrittore sulla copertina del libro non senza una vaga ironia, e non ha tutti i torti. Dopo averlo abbandonato per un pò di tempo, questo Pigmeo è stato un felice ritorno ad uno degli autori da me preferiti. Chuck Palahniuk torna qui in grande spolvero, presentando come sempre una storia al di fuori di ogni ordinaria amministrazione. Con una grandissima vena ironica ci presenta l'America attraverso gli occhi di un ragazzi...more

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Feb 05, 2012

Timothy rated it

· review of another edition

Pygmy provides a fascinating approach towards writing that is rare and shocking in its magnitude, dynamic in its eclecticism and sometimes horrifying in its implications. Before looking at the positives though, I think it's best if I talked about the negatives. The style that Pygmy is written in is non-traditional and, while bold, can sometimes be grating, and oftentimes presents a challenge for accessibility. When the narrative in Pygmy fails, it fails horribly, and can swing your opinion of th...more

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Jan 24, 2012

Scriptopus rated it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

Pygmy is one of those books you don't enjoy but on balance, when it's all over, are glad you read. It feels like a worthy literary experience rather than an intellectually or emotionally satisfying one. The weirdly constructed first person English in which the story is told is initially difficult to decipher, but then strangely hypnotic. It emerges as literally the language of propaganda; not just that into which the eponymous narrator had been indoctrinated in his unnamed, cartoon-totalitarian ...more

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Sep 29, 2011

Mandy rated it

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Shelves: couldn-t-finish, reviewed

I once heard someone say, "Only read Pygmy if you have a lot of patience," but I really think they gave the book too much justice. As one of my favorite authors, Chuck Palahniuk has consistently let me down with his new publications and Pygmy was the worst of the worst.

Told from the perspective of a supposed foreign exchange student who actually plans to commit massive acts of terrorism, the entire book is written in broken English with attempts made to sound like a spy. ...more

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Aug 09, 2011

Opiated rated it

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

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Jul 28, 2011

Rob Dewitte added it · review of another edition

Pleasantly surprised, especially in light of Snuff, which felt more like a long, deleted chapter of Haunted than a book in itself. Where that was recycled, Pygmy is mostly original--though it's hard to ignore the nod given by "Operation Havoc" to "Project Mayhem." In a way that's the same as the book here. The reader gets the idea that what Chuck did was write a short story, and then go back and rewrite it in broken English. It sounds painful, and at times it is, but it's als...more

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May 27, 2011

Robyn rated it

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Shelves: reviewed, i-love-this-author-but-wtf, hard-going-in-places, tricky-prose

I never thought that when I was considering "Worst books I have ever read", something by Chuck Palahniuk would be on the list, but here we are; One Star.

I'm not even sure I know where to start with this. Listen, I've read books with messed up prose before; Illuminatus and A Clockwork Orange are easily in my top five favorite books of all time. But this is largely because I managed to fall into the rhythm of those books, and after the first few baffling chapters, was able to ...moreI never thought that when I was considering "Worst books I have ever read", something by Chuck Palahniuk would be on the list, but here we are; One Star.

I'm not even sure I know where to start with this. Listen, I've read books with messed up prose before; Illuminatus and A Clockwork Orange are easily in my top five favorite books of all time. But this is largely because I managed to fall into the rhythm of those books, and after the first few baffling chapters, was able to read them with fluidity. Heck, I was thinking in Nadsat for like, a week after reading ACO.

That sort of flow just never happened here. The entire time I read it I was acutely aware that I was reading a book, and had to stop every few sentences to try to mentally translate what the narrator was saying. Palahniuk is trying for broken english, (I think?) but this borders on unreadable gibberish in places. Other works which make such whimsical use of the language have a purpose and logic behind them but I could never quite figure out what was being conveyed with this tricky writing. The narrator is obviously intelligent, and understands english well enough to hold his own pretty well in a spelling bee, so the idea that he just doesn't speak the language seems off. If it's simply a by-product of the super regimented lifestyle the narrator was brought up in... Well that doesn't fit either.

You see early on the narrator is supposed to be this super proficient spy, but how did his teachers just overlook the entire idea of making him somewhat able to speak the language of the country he's infiltrating? I can understand wanting to play the fish out of water angle for the kid, but seriously how are we supposed to believe that this agency is smart enough to co-ordinate the kind of plan they have in place and completely overlook any and all cultural training?

Sometimes when Palahniuk goes through such great lengths to exaggerate something, it's to a good effect, but this just didn't make any sense. Was there supposed to be some symbolic reason behind all this muddle? I didn't see one, and so I'm firmly saying the execution was sloppily done.

Aside from the prose, there really isn't anything here to hold me like his other works have. There wasn't a question in this book that pulled me through, making me desperate to get to the end. It was like this "Shocking thing, Shocking thing, Some stuff about capitalism, Shocking thing, broadly drawn side characters, predictable twist, the end."

C'mon, Chuck. Jeez man, get it together.

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Nov 29, 2010

Derek Wolfgram rated it

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This is Palahniuk's best storytelling since Lullaby, without a doubt. The narrator/title character is a 13 year old terrorist masquerading as an exchange student in order to gain access to the USA in order to carry out Operation Havoc. The details of the operation evolve throughout the story, but the intent is always to do serious harm to a large group of American citizens.

The patois in which the narrator speaks is sheer genius - I don't know enough about linguistics to know whether Pa...more

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Nov 14, 2010

Cina rated it

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The first couple of pages where hard to get through for me (literally, the broken english that it is written is hard to follow when you first read it) but once I understood the voice of Pygmy I started to get involved with the book. Pygmy a seemingly normal exchange student, finds himself in normal town USA, where his adventure begins. His adventure however is far from normal and so is he. I found the situations in the book a bit jarring but it went with the flow of the book, it became some k...more

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Nov 08, 2010

Diego Navarro rated it

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“Pygmy” by Chuck Palahniuk is a satirical, romantic, and hilarious novel. Written by the perspective of Operative 67, a teenage-trained terrorist who is sent to the United States as an exchange student, whom was to live among the Americans and to launch a massive terrorist act that will bring the country and its inhabitants to there knee’s. Agent 67 is intergraded to a “normal” American family, along with his added Operatives. His “family” and peers give him the name of Pygmy, due to his small s...more“Pygmy” by Chuck Palahniuk is a satirical, romantic, and hilarious novel. Written by the perspective of Operative 67, a teenage-trained terrorist who is sent to the United States as an exchange student, whom was to live among the Americans and to launch a massive terrorist act that will bring the country and its inhabitants to there knee’s. Agent 67 is intergraded to a “normal” American family, along with his added Operatives. His “family” and peers give him the name of Pygmy, due to his small stature. Through the story Pygmy, a brain-washed agent of a totalitarian state, was told that Americans were swine and mere puppets of the state. As the story progresses Pygmy begins to question what he was told to believe, and begins to ponder over his actions and motives.

I choose this book to read because it seemed like something that I would like, and it turned out that I did like it. The genre of the book is satire; it’s pretty apparent when one reads the first or second page. It is written in Engrish; Palahniuk shows his satirical genius by writing in this style. Since it’s written in a journal entry way, and the protagonist is an Asian who doesn’t have very good English, it’s completely justified and appropriate. The occurring conflict in the novel is that of man vs. self, and of man vs. society. Pygmy struggles with what he thinks is right, and over wheatear the plans are justified for the massive terrorist plan. Pygmy is caught in the middle of reaching his life long goal of bringing the swine nation of the United States to there knees, or to become a traitor and foil the plans. A repetitive theme that is suggested among the novel is the importance of the individual. The over all theme that I got from this book was exactly that; that the individual is as important and valuable as anything else. My conclusive critique of this book is simple; I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is urging for a good read, a laugh from time to time, or simply to anyone who loves original brilliant pieces of literature.
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Sep 16, 2010

Dan MacTough rated it

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Like most of Palahniuk's novels, Pygmy is shocking, exciting, violent, sexual, repulsive, enjoyable -- and the wheels fall of the cart by the end. Unlike his other novels, Pygmy is not easy to read. It is written in first person from the point of view of the main character, for whom English is not a first language and who has a rather limited English vocabulary. I hesitate to invoke Faulkner because Pygmy is not on the literary level of The Sound and the Fury, but the inner voice Palahniuk devel...more

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Sep 14, 2010

Nick rated it

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Shelves: satire

Like many of Palaniuk's novels this decade, we have a constructed premise, carried through in extremist. Here, the narrator is a teenaged Marxist terrorist from an unnamed African country who is embedded in a Midwestern white-bread family for purposes of blowing up the United States. His narration voice is faux-ignorant, the trope being that little "Pygmy" has learned English through indoctrination sessions back in the dictator-dominated home country. So we get formulations like "...more

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Aug 30, 2010

Benton rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Long ago, when I was but a young, immature high school student, I devoured Chuck Palahniuk books. He spoke perfectly to my adolescent angst. However, by the time I got to "Haunted," his seventh book, I was pretty bored with him, because his books are all really the same: strange, socially awkward man leads depressing life, meets weird girl, giant plot twist in middle.

I feel sorry for Chuck Palahniuk the same way I feel sorry for M. Night Shyamalan — both made big, career-...moreLong ago, when I was but a young, immature high school student, I devoured Chuck Palahniuk books. He spoke perfectly to my adolescent angst. However, by the time I got to "Haunted," his seventh book, I was pretty bored with him, because his books are all really the same: strange, socially awkward man leads depressing life, meets weird girl, giant plot twist in middle.

I feel sorry for Chuck Palahniuk the same way I feel sorry for M. Night Shyamalan — both made big, career-defining masterpieces (Fight Club and The Sixth Sense, respectively), then spent the rest of their careers trying to make lightning strike twice, only to tarnish their legacy. I pretty much swore off Chuck's books after Rant, a grotesque narrative that tried way too hard to be shocking and provocative and ended up just being gross. I couldn't even make it through the first 100 pages.

So a friend of mine recommended I read Pygmy, and it having been years since I last read Palahniuk, I figured it was worth a try, but in the end, I'm sad to say Chuck reads the same now as he did in 2003, the height of my Fight Club-mania. Artists must evolve to be good, and the fact that I could predict most of the book after the first few chapters (accurately, it turned out) was not a good sign.

The story follows Pygmy (not his real name), a terrorist coming to America in the guise of an exchange student, along with several other comrades. Immediately the book resorts to lazy jokes about America — Walmart, the Catholic Church (complete with pedophile priest), his sex-starved foster mother, his overweight foster father, and so on. The second chapter immediately goes into Palahaniuk-provocateur mode with a disturbing rape scene, I kid you not. Once Pygmy enters school, it's all downhill — no one will give him the time of day, and surprise surprise, he's awkward and weird, while secretly working on a plot to destroy America with the aid of his fellow exchange students.

Perhaps the only part I was actually surprised at was that the bully Pygmy rapes early on develops (Stockholm Syndrome-induced) feelings for him, then shoots up the school when Pygmy doesn't reciprocate his affections. Other than that, however, the plot is pretty tired; it's very obvious that Pygmy is going to fall for his preteen foster sister (for all the talk about it, I'm very glad Palahniuk had the taste to not include a preteen sex scene), and there's a not-quite-twist in which it turns out one of the supporting characters is also a spy for his fatherland. Probably most damning, the ending can be seen a mile away: he finds himself filled with affection for his stupid American family, and he effectively defects in the last pages. It's wholly unearned and cheap, which summarizes most of the book.

The writing style is a huge barrier to entry; Pygmy writes in poor English, so he constantly writes AROUND what he's trying to say, which never gets any easier (I was hoping his English would improve by the end of the book). So he constantly describes everything in a free-association way that gets tired fast. Furthermore, most of the other characters are very one-note or moronically stupid. And the sections describing Pygmy's life back in his home country don't hold up to scrutiny; his people pretty much worship Hitler, Mussolini, every totalitarian in the book, and they're never described as ever actually having their own culture. I recognize that Pygmy is supposed to be kind of warped because he's a terrorist, but his homeland is described as an incredibly generic caricature.

All that said, I will give Pygmy two stars — I don't think it was a complete waste, and the bully subplot was something surprising and original.

I feel like "Pygmy" (the book) was a chance for some seriously cutting satire, and instead we got a whole lot of obvious jokes. With a few more rewrites and an editor more willing to push Chuck to really go for the jugular, I feel like this could've been a good book, but as it is, i don't think I'll be reading Pygmy again.(less)

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Jun 29, 2010

Andi rated it

· review of another edition

Confession time – I have never read a Chuck Palahniuk novel, not even Fight Club. But my students rave about him, especially Brandon, and so when I saw his latest book on the new audiobook shelf at the library, I grabbed it. Now, I’m just starting disc two, and well, I don’t want to finish it.

The basis premise is that several children are sent to the U.S. as exchange students and are “adopted” by host families. These are special children, however, children trained as operatives for a...moreConfession time – I have never read a Chuck Palahniuk novel, not even Fight Club. But my students rave about him, especially Brandon, and so when I saw his latest book on the new audiobook shelf at the library, I grabbed it. Now, I’m just starting disc two, and well, I don’t want to finish it.

The basis premise is that several children are sent to the U.S. as exchange students and are “adopted” by host families. These are special children, however, children trained as operatives for an unnamed totalitarian government that wants to take down the U.S. The story is told from the point of view of one of the children – who calls himself “Operative Me.”

The premise is actually intriguing to me, partially because I like a good thrilled and partially because it’s kind of an old-school, Cold War idea. And the idea of having a child be a trained spy and killer gives the story a twist that is fresh in voice and perspective.

Yet, I find the story very difficult. One of the reasons is that Operative Me speaks in pigeon English, so everything requires a little more thought and consideration when trying to understand just the action, not to mention the underlying motives behind his actions. Maybe it would be easier to understand on the page (remember, I’m listening to the book on audio), but I doubt it. In fact, I might resent that more since it might seem like I was reading student essays.

But the real issue I have with the book is its violence. Within the first few scenes, there’s a bullying episode and then a violent rape. Because I don’t yet know the main character, these incidents – some of which are perpetrated by him – make me really loath him. This may be Palahniuk’s point, but I really don’t like hating the protagonist.

I’m not sure what I’ll do about my feelings for the book. Maybe I’ll give it a try again. But if I give it up, I don’t think I’ll regret that choice.

Has anyone else read Pygmy? What did you think of it? Apparently, some reviewers love it, so maybe I need to give it a go again, this time thinking “satire.”(less)

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Jun 01, 2010

David Barbee rated it

· review of another edition

I really liked Pygmy. It’s Palahnuik’s brand of demented satire, only this time it’s aimed at traditional American ideologies. Here, a group of youngsters from a far off communist state are sent to America as exchange students. It doesn’t matter what country they’re from, just that their native land is the pinnacle of everything America isn’t. The kids are drones that have been conditioned almost since birth to carry out the will of their hyper-socialist state. Basically, they’re everything...moreI really liked Pygmy. It’s Palahnuik’s brand of demented satire, only this time it’s aimed at traditional American ideologies. Here, a group of youngsters from a far off communist state are sent to America as exchange students. It doesn’t matter what country they’re from, just that their native land is the pinnacle of everything America isn’t. The kids are drones that have been conditioned almost since birth to carry out the will of their hyper-socialist state. Basically, they’re everything right-wing America is afraid of.

There’s plenty of humor in pre-pubescent communist killing machines infiltrating Middle America and plotting to destroy it. Scenes of the ultra-left country that Pygmy comes from show the flaws of that system, but so-called “mainstream” America is what’s on stage here. Through Pygmy’s eyes we see everything bad about ourselves. Ultra-consumerism, over-indulgence, religious corruption, greed, corporate culture, social gossip, and dysfunctional family dynamics are all on display. In other words, the traditional American ideal is a sham, and Pygmy provides the perspective to see it.

Iconic American rituals are seen on Pygmy’s journey. We see a school dance, a church baptism, trips to Wal-Mart, and a science fair. There’s even a mock U.N. meeting performed by the students that’s particularly twisted. These scenes along with flashbacks to Pygmy’s homeland show that both right and left-leaning systems are flawed and wrong. One is stern and cruel while the other is hypocritical and corrupt. And when these polar opposite cultures interact, they never seem to fully understand one another. The miscommunication and faux pas are funny, and I thought they served to shed more light on the schism of old politics (and how they’re carried on to this day).

And all that isn’t even taking into consideration Palahnuik’s style in Pygmy. He’s written the entire thing in broken English, the way a boy like Pygmy would say things. Some may find it hard to follow, but I didn’t. Mixed in is the usual wordplay you can expect from Palahnuik. He’s taken careful steps to weave lots of thematic phrases into the language, like references to breasts, martial arts, the periodic table, and quotes from various revolutionaries/madmen from the 20th century. The character of Pygmy always finds interesting ways to talk about his situation and the people around him. That character along with the political imagery made this book very entertaining.
(less)

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May 12, 2010

Matt rated it

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What a fun book to read! I will admit that the first chapter had to be re-read just because I wasn't used to the writing style. The broken english and unique descriptions were a little hard to grasp at first. However I quickly adapted my mind to the odd style and zipped right through this book.
The descriptions by Pygmy about everyday North American settings and events made me chuckle more than once. I particularly liked the description of the Walmart greeter. So true.
As for the stor...more

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Apr 16, 2010

Brett Starr rated it

· review of another edition

Most top priority....

Pygmy" isn't for everyone!

Chuck's new book is different, much, much different. As you have already read on every other review, its written in broken English, the way a foreign exchange student with very little knowledge of the English language might speak. It does'nt take long to get used to, if your a big fan of Palahniuk, don't let it scare you off, it's not that bad.

I love Chuck's books, I haven't read them all, but "Pygmy"...more

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Mar 29, 2010

Elmwoodblues rated it

· review of another edition

Wow.
I am new here, and must confess to 'reading' this via audio book...does that get the crowd slowly moving away from me? I drive for much of my job, and even New Jersey drivers notice when someone is in traffic on Route 17 with an open book propped up on the wheel...
Perhaps, then, it was the enthusiastic reading by Paul Michael Garcia that kept me in at the start. The 'Clockwork Orange' strange-language effect propelled me past what felt like a childish exercise after that, and...more

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Feb 26, 2010

Jenni rated it

· review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book. It was hard to get into at first. The writing style is very different. I found if I just relaxed, I could "flow with the book". I've read some other reviews on Amazon before I purchased this book and a lot of people didn't like it. But I think this is one of his better books and will probably turn into a pretty big cult classic. I liked it as much as "Survivor" and "Invisible Monsters". But beware this book is not for the person who like...more

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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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“Real smarts begin when you quit quoting other people……..” — 76 people liked it

“Looming visage noble American colonel. Courageous, renown of history, Colonel Sanders, image forever accompanied odor of sacrificial meat. Eternal flame offering wind savory perfume roasted flesh.” — 4 people liked it

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