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Beautiful You

Chuck Palahniuk (Goodreads Author)

3.02 · Rating details · 15,665 ratings · 2,106 reviews

Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk’s no-holds-barred approach to writing continues to win loyal fans and impress critics. Combining a sexually provocative story with a first-class thriller, Beautiful You exposes mega-billionaire C. Linus Maxwell’s plan to rule the world by marketing an extremely potent erotic device for women. Fiction
“His semi-erotic writing is efficacious. ...more

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Aug 22, 2014 Peter Derk rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I dug it.

On the one hand, not a perfect book. But I wanted to know what happened, and I wanted to keep reading, and there was a really interesting (to me) narrative voice that co-mingled a third-person omniscience with a first-person voice. Which is why I sometimes wonder if Chuck Palahniuk is unfairly maligned for the contents of Chuck Palahniuk's books.

Let me explain a bit.

Have you ever heard of the Fregoli delusion? It's kind of hard to explain. Let me explain it through the idea of mocking N ...more

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Oct 24, 2014 Rachel rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: palahniuk, ditched, 2014

NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO N NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

I'm done, Chuck P. Thanks for nothing. Bye.

P.S. I made it to page 158, but something about the lead character gently probing the sex witch's "bunghole" not only put me off my lunch for the next 3 weeks but also made me really unhappy about the state of the book in America today. Great job, asshole! ...more

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Oct 17, 2015 Edward Lorn rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey fans

I'm gonna go ahead and say what everyone else is thinking.

Chuck Palahniuk is the M. Night Shamalamadingdong of literature. And this book, ladies and gentlemen, is his Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Beautiful You is a godawful, unfunny joke of a book. I understand Chuck was going after the Fifty Shade and Twilight books with guns blazin', but this assassination mission was an utter failure. In fact, it pains me to say this, but ... Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey (what little I read of them) were b ...more

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Oct 04, 2014 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, read-in-2014

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Oh Chuck . . . I have a disappoint : (

I requested Beautiful You before ever even glancing at the synopsis. That’s how positive I was I would enjoy it. I’m a loyal fan and am prepared for whatever Palahniuk wants to throw at me. Even if those items are dildos. The premise of this book actually sounded pretty promising – a middle-aged millionaire (C. Linus Maxwell – a/k/a “Climax-Well”), known for having some serious voodoo when it c ...more

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Oct 22, 2014 Patrice Hoffman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: provided-by-netgalley

I'm not sure if I loved or hated Chuck Palahniuk's latest novel Beautiful You. I mean, any rational woman would run very far from this book after reading the first few pages of our heroine Penny Harrigan getting raped in a court of law by a bunch of sex-deprived men. The opening scene unfolds and provides little fragments of information that will either latch its ugly little claws on the reader or force many to chuck Chuck's latest weird novel.

Those who are aware of Palahniuk's work won't shy aw I'm not sure if I loved or hated Chuck Palahniuk's latest novel Beautiful You. I mean, any rational woman would run very far from this book after reading the first few pages of our heroine Penny Harrigan getting raped in a court of law by a bunch of sex-deprived men. The opening scene unfolds and provides little fragments of information that will either latch its ugly little claws on the reader or force many to chuck Chuck's latest weird novel.

Those who are aware of Palahniuk's work won't shy away and continue reading. This review is for you. Those die-hard fans (such as myself), who can't help but be entranced by Palahniuk's weird fiction. So... I stuck around to watch the story unfold. I needed to see why there were no more women, where they'd gone, and why they'd left.

What it all comes down to is that we women are easily manipulated by sex-toys and pleasuring ourselves to the point that we would even replace our boyfriends (or girlfriends), husbands (or wives), for these cute little pink toys called "Beautiful You" made by a billionaire genius. He claims he wants women to tap into their um... bodies and experience only the best sexual pleasures any man-made toy can provide. First of all, the fact that a man has to tell me what pleases me is ironic in itself but then things get weird, hence the opening scene of men tearing at Penny Harrigan like animals.

Beautiful You follows more of a traditional storyline than most of Palahniuk's other works yet the characters are still caricatures. Kinda fitting for a satirical novel, but still you want someone to root for when a book is written that way. Although having fully fleshed characters isn't necessary, I still felt it was missing. Penny was boring as hell. Her genius boyfriend C Linus Maxwell (the billionaire) was just as boring.

What wasn't boring was learning more about the va-jay-jay than I wanted to know. I imagine there was a lot of research into the female anatomy to make half of the toys created semi-plausible. So FYI if you're a prude, this is not the book for you assuming my first word of warning wasn't enough to shy you away from this book. Actually, the entire opening scene would be enough if you are a prude and don't like smut. Clever smut, but still smut.

Without going into too much of a tangent and giving away the entire plot I will close and say I liked Beautiful You. No, I didn't love this novel like his others Survivor or Fight Club but I won't soon forget it. Or that one guy from his book Haunted that got his intestines sucked through the pool thing-a-ma-jiggy. But I very much enjoyed knowing that we, all humans, want nothing more than to slip into oblivion by way of indulging in all pleasures, good or bad, right or wrong, until we wither away into nothing.

Copy provided by Doubleday via Netgalley ...more

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Nov 07, 2014 Imogen rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Yknow if Chuck could just back off the rape jokes and racist tropes for one single book, it would be so awesome. He's really good at making a plot gather steam and then sending it off the rails - but he always puts whatever momentum he's built into the most boring, predictable white dude misogyny and dick jokes. The most interesting thing in this book is a very elaborate rape joke! What if he had put that his very real storytelling skills toward, I don't know, like, anything else? It could be aw ...more

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Aug 28, 2014 Kathy Cunningham rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Chuck Palahniuk’s BEAUTIFUL YOU is a darkly satiric examination of our human obsession with pleasure. The novel begins with 25-year-old Penny Harrigan being raped on the witness stand in open court, with judge, jury, and a room full of eager witnesses doing nothing to save her. The story, then, flashes back several months to explain how this awkward plain-Jane girl from Nebraska ended up in such a predicament. Penny is a would-be lawyer desperately trying to pass the bar exam when she runs into Chuck Palahniuk’s BEAUTIFUL YOU is a darkly satiric examination of our human obsession with pleasure. The novel begins with 25-year-old Penny Harrigan being raped on the witness stand in open court, with judge, jury, and a room full of eager witnesses doing nothing to save her. The story, then, flashes back several months to explain how this awkward plain-Jane girl from Nebraska ended up in such a predicament. Penny is a would-be lawyer desperately trying to pass the bar exam when she runs into multi-billionaire C. Linus Maxwell, who for some inexplicable reason invites her to dinner at the most exclusive restaurant in town. Maxwell, or Max as everyone calls him, has already romanced the first female president of the United States, the new Queen of England, and a French superstar, so Penny is baffled – what could he possibly see in her? Ultimately, she becomes a pawn in his plans to introduce a line of female sex products (called “Beautiful You”), products that he tests on her for weeks on end. But Max’s plans go beyond selling sex products, and as the world’s women become increasingly addicted to the overwhelming pleasure produced by the “Beautiful You” toys, life as Penny knows it ceases to exist.

This is a wildly satiric novel, which turns the screws on many aspects of modern culture, from Obama’s presidency (the first female president started out as a “community organizer,” and then had a brief run as a US Senator) to the “Twilight” phenomenon (all those sex-crazed women who use Max’s products are also addicted to “a banal romance novel about vampires”). Palahniuk has fun tweaking women’s obsession with designer clothes (lots of references to Prada, Yves St. Laurent, DKNY, and Vera Wang) and the color pink (all of the “Beautiful You” products come in pink boxes and are sold in pink stores nationwide). His suggestion is that the easiest way to control the masses is to stimulate their pleasure centers and keep them orgasmically supercharged. Aldous Huxley would agree – his “Brave New World” was based on a similar principle.

But BEAUTIFUL YOU has little in common with “Brave New World.” The early section (where unkempt waif Penny is swept up in Max’s world of money and fame) suggests the film “The Devil Wears Prada.” Penny is the Cinderella character transformed from schlub to princess through dresses, jewels, and media attention. And as in that film, the more wrapped up she becomes in that world, the more she begins to wonder whether she’s losing herself. But once the story really gets going I was reminded more of Showtime’s “Masters of Sex,” about the real-life Masters and Johnson team of sex researchers. Max’s nightly experiments with Penny are performed under the guise of clinical scientific research – he takes copious notes as he stimulates her with his many devices and potions, and once the “Beautiful You” product line takes off, she demands equal credit for the “research” they did together. Anyone who has seen the Showtime series will see the connection.

Palahniuk’s point here is that we are all slaves to our basest instincts – whether it’s teenage boys submerging themselves in video games and internet porn or women holing themselves up with sex toys designed to produce mega-orgasms, we are all at our weakest when kept blissfully satisfied. Max’s plan for world domination is ridiculous and insane, but you can’t help but wonder whether a product line like “Beautiful You” really would turn the world inside out.

Be warned that there is plenty of explicit sex in this novel, although it’s not particularly stimulating. There’s something patently creepy about the way Max pleasures Penny, and the way the product-obsessed women pleasure themselves. Throughout this novel, Penny wants to do something that will benefit the world and make things better for women; she wants to be Betty Friedan or Gloria Steinem. What she ends up doing is being a part of something that undermines the very fabric of humanity. It’s a dark and sobering look at the things that really do control us (sex, food, money) and the people that manipulate them (politicians, marketers, magnates). As crazy and over-the-top as this novel seems, it’s familiar enough to be scary.

[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
...more

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Aug 07, 2014 Stay Fetters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What the fuck did I just read? It was the craziest book he's written to date. Lately, his books have been good but this one blows them all away. One of my favorites by Mr. Palahniuk.
I am Penny's smirking revenge.
Beautiful you starts off with Penny in a court room getting raped and no one is stopping it. She's screaming for help but everyone just sits and watches. Bizarre. After that it just gets weirder.
Penny is not quite an intern and not quite a lawyer. She just can't seem to pass the bar exa
What the fuck did I just read? It was the craziest book he's written to date. Lately, his books have been good but this one blows them all away. One of my favorites by Mr. Palahniuk.
I am Penny's smirking revenge.
Beautiful you starts off with Penny in a court room getting raped and no one is stopping it. She's screaming for help but everyone just sits and watches. Bizarre. After that it just gets weirder.
Penny is not quite an intern and not quite a lawyer. She just can't seem to pass the bar exam to become a lawyer. She still fetches coffee and sets up rooms for meetings at BB&B. Her boss is a complete jerk and treats her as a slave. Monique works with her and sends her on errands to degrade her. Even calls her Omaha Girl well because she's from Omaha Nebraska.
Monique sent her to get coffee and she's running late. Tries every door in the building to get in and she finally has success. As she goes through the door, she stumbles and falls. Flattening the coffee and intruding on a meeting between her boss and the richest man. His name is C. Maxwell.
She is embarrassed and her boss is fuming. He keeps screaming for her to get out but Maxwell tries to help. He suddenly asks her to dinner and she accepts. She goes and buys a fancy dress and tells people she's got a date with "climax-well". No one believes her. At dinner, she talks non-stop and he listens while taking diligent notes. Penny finds this weird but goes with it.
The next day her face is everywhere. She was seen with the richest most powerful man in the world. He's been known to date princesses, the most beautiful model/actress and even the president of the united states (who is a woman btw. Girl power!)
They start to date and his ex, Alouette D'Ambrosia is jealous. Well, that's what Penny thinks. She tells penny whatever she does do not sleep with Mr. Maxwell. This just intrigues her so she goes for it.
Penny is put through a lot of orgasms while Linus experiments with these gadgets to please her. He is making his own line of sex toys and testing them out on her.
They start to date but he's not affectionate. He tries all his sex toys on her but doesn't show love toward her which upsets her. So, she fakes it and he gets furious when she does.
All his exes look like hell after they split. He only dates women for 136 days and kicks them to the curb. No one knows why except that's he's a Playboy.
Linus Maxwell is one of those men you don't want to double cross. EVER!
Alouette crosses him by talking to Penny. She wins an award and is accepting. Linus pushes a button and kills her instantly.
Beautiful You launches and women are crazy over these products. They line up for days for these new sex toys. Women go missing and men are left without sex.
The dragonfly sex toy is the most dangerous. I will not spoil why this is so. Its genius and disturbing. So beware of the dragonfly. And dont say I didn't warn you....
Crazy shit ensues. Women become sex crazy zombies and men go about there day as horny crazed men.
Penny finds out what the hell is going on and decides to get her revenge when Maxwell dumps her 136 days later. She travels to Nepal to find out what the hell he got into there.
After Nepal shit just gets crazier with his off the wall ideas. I wonder what kind of mind you have to have for these ideas. Palahniuk is a complete crazy genius. Never in a million years would I of thought of something this outrageously fantastic. Please just read this book. It is really his best book in awhile. This will suck you back into his world and it won't let you go.

Please write more to this. It left me craving more like a Palahniuk zombie. ...more

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Jun 09, 2014 Jason P rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: chuck-palahniuk

Beautiful Blah is more like it....

Chucky, baby, buddy, my friend who used to write beautiful masterpieces like Survivor, Haunted, Lullaby, Diary to name a few - What the fuck happened!?

Serious. What happened, did you go through some life altering episode in your life that would make you create sub-par works like: Snuff, Rant (pffft), Damned and Doomed - I mean, shit man, Pygmy was kind of decent but this? For reals?

Beautiful comes out of the gate completely insulting to all women in my opinion, ...more

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Apr 09, 2014 Luis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: chuck-palahniuk, contemporary

"Why should sex be any different? Everything - films, music, painting - is calculated to manipulate and excite us. Drugs are designed to be as effective as possible. Why shouldn't we devote the same attention to the details of sex?"

-

In terms of the writing style, you would think this is written by an entirely different author.

Let me explain.

Fans and non-fans alike always complain/praise Chuck's experimental writing style. I think that's how he gains (and at the same time cuts off) his readers.

Re ...more

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Jun 10, 2014 Diana rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, 2014, sex

World domination via vibrators. It sounds funny and sexy, no? No.

I'd strangely never read Chuck Palahniuk, even though he's a local boy right here in Portland, OR. So when I found that it was available on a digital advance reading copy, and what the subject matter was, I decided it was time.

A slightly overweight Everygirl (who of course winds up being smoking hot by the end of the book) meets a corporate genius who tests his line of sex toys and other sexual products on her before releasing them ...more

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Dec 02, 2014 Korey rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Palahniuk's slump continues. This is a terrible book, the worse I have read of his. I really want to emphasize this is a bad, bad, bad book. It reeks of laziness. There is absolutely no character development. This seriously has some of the flattest, most one dimensional, cipher like characters I have ever read. The prose is completely devoid of style or wit. The dialogue is terrible. The plot, which is supposed to be oh so wacky and satirical, is badly undercooked. It reads like a skeleton draft ...more

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May 04, 2014 Christine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I can't believe I read this book almost without stopping. Now that I have finished it I still can't believe I read it. Did I just read that? ...more

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Jul 20, 2014 Clelia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I relished this grubby little satire but couldn't keep myself from speeding through it in three sittings. The story begins as a parody of "Fifty Shades of Grey" and snowballs into a story of world-domination through sex toys and one woman from Nebraska, Penny, pitted against a multibillionaire sociopath. There's even a pilgrimage to an ancient erotic guru who lives alone on a crag of the Himalayas. This all takes place in the near-future.

Without giving too much away, I'll say that it is mostly a ...more

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Oct 26, 2014 John Bruni rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a work of mad genius from a great writer. The cover flap-copy in no way will prepare you for the insanity you'll find here. Are you familiar with the term "arousal addiction?" You will be by the end. It's a great piece of satire, skewering our consumer culture from top to bottom. In PYGMY, Palahniuk revealed a terrorist act that would 100% work, even if you knew it was coming. In BEAUTIFUL YOU, he reveals the perfect plan for . . . well, I don't want to say too much because it's much bet ...more

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Mar 25, 2014 AmberBug com* rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, 2014, arc

www.shelfnotes.com review

Dear Reader,

Reviewing this is going to be HARD, really HARD, super rock HARD, throbbing rock HARD. Blushing yet? You will be after you read this. All you folks who read "Fifty Shades" and thought it was "so naughty" better not pick this book up... you might DIE from the lack of constraint Palahniuk uses. Just like all of Chuck's books, this should have warning labels slapped all over it. As the saying goes... if you don't have the stomach for it, get out of the kitchen?! www.shelfnotes.com review

Dear Reader,

Reviewing this is going to be HARD, really HARD, super rock HARD, throbbing rock HARD. Blushing yet? You will be after you read this. All you folks who read "Fifty Shades" and thought it was "so naughty" better not pick this book up... you might DIE from the lack of constraint Palahniuk uses. Just like all of Chuck's books, this should have warning labels slapped all over it. As the saying goes... if you don't have the stomach for it, get out of the kitchen?!? (Okay, that might not be the exact saying, but it works).

Right away, reading the description, we know this book is centered around sex, sex, more sex and sex toys. Nobody should be reviewing this book in shock about the subject matter, clearly if they do... they don't know Chuck very well. I almost want to say this book was made as a response to those who thought "Fifty Shades" so taboo (because it sure seemed like a complete farce of that book) but I think the intention was only to brushed upon it. This book is in NO way a better written copy but Palahniuk does include quite a few hysterical jabs here and there. Suck it, E.L. James! (which is what I imagine Chuck saying while writing this book). A friend of mine, Shane T. French (amazing/talented and up-and-coming graphic novel/comic writer), has brought it to my attention that Chuck Palahniuk waited until his parents died in order to write and publish this book. Nice little fact, one that gives you a better idea of what you'd be faced reading if you pick this one up.

Beautiful You might not have my favorite plot line in the Palahniuk collection, but I do think he has used his super power to bring his fans what we've wanted. Penny (such a classic and innocent name) finds herself tangled with a billionaire (cough, cough, fifty shades of PLOT line anyone?), where he proposes to pleasure her with all his newest techy toys, giving her the highest amount of pleasure imaginable. Little does Penny know, there is a plan in place to use these sex toys for his own evil plans. Beautiful You has sex, crime, danger, espionage, adventure, exotic travel, addiction, shall I go on? Who wouldn't want to read a book like that? If this review had a little too much shock for you, don't bother reading this. Palahniuk has his following and I'm always riding up front, salivating at the mouth for his next masterpiece. You don't have to like this book. However, I do. Pass the lube, because this book is like the biggest slip and slide you have ever seen.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

P.S. - Guess who has tickets to see Palahniuk in Brooklyn, NY on HALLOWEEN? Yep, both Arianna and I do. Stay tuned for that event post (as long as I can sit still enough to take notes). ...more

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Dec 21, 2014 Po Po rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This makes Bukowski seem like a prudish ankle-length-skirt-wearing school marm.

Delves in squirming, quivering, and hypnotically graphic detail the supreme pleasures derived from carnal enlightenment, with an emphasis on anal orgasms.

Not for the faint of heart or those easily offended-- this is a fiendishly crass, aggressive, deranged and politically-incorrect satire with totally ludicrous slapstick-y scenarios at every turn.

You will want to run, hide, vomit, throw the book against a wall, but t ...more

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Jan 31, 2015 Snotchocheez rated it liked it · review of another edition

2.5 stars

Surely you must be familiar with Chuck Palahniuk's m.o. by now: 'pushing the envelope', getting a rise out of his readers, eliciting uncomfortable laughter. With more than a dozen novels under his belt, he's certainly made a name for himself by straddling that tenuous line between the deliciously outré and outright tastelessness.

He wastes no time with Beautiful You to push readers' buttons by depicting his protagonist Penny Harrigan being raped in a courtroom, sometime in the not-so-di 2.5 stars

Surely you must be familiar with Chuck Palahniuk's m.o. by now: 'pushing the envelope', getting a rise out of his readers, eliciting uncomfortable laughter. With more than a dozen novels under his belt, he's certainly made a name for himself by straddling that tenuous line between the deliciously outré and outright tastelessness.

He wastes no time with Beautiful You to push readers' buttons by depicting his protagonist Penny Harrigan being raped in a courtroom, sometime in the not-so-distant future. We learn that this scene is an absurd climax (ahem) to a porny Cinderella-esque fairy tale, wherein Palahniuk channels the likes of Tom Robbins, Nicholson Baker (well, circa House of Holes and Vox anyway) and Hans Christian Andersen (at his misogynistic worst).

Penny, an aspiring attorney at a prestigious NYC law firm, by happenstance runs into billionaire C.Linus Maxwell (aka Climax-Well), a sex toy magnate hell bent on total global domination of the Women's Pleasure Enhancement industry. Penny, an ugly duckling of sorts, is swept off her feet by this dashing character, whose designs on Penny have a nefarious subtext. We find out that his prior female relationship conquests (including a multiple Oscar-winning actress, a princess in England, and the first female president of the US) all ended mysteriously after 136 days, with tragic consequences.

It's pretty obvious from the outset that this hyperreal tale is a farcical allegory for society's penchant for overconsumption and the dogged pursuit of pleasure. What is less clear: why Pahlahniuk chose women (not just our protag Penny, but all women in general) as his personal subjects of subjugation? Is the abuse heaped upon them really necessary for this allegory to work? And, worse, did he really have the temerity to frame topics such as rape in a comedic light?

Despite my misgivings as to Palahniuk's rationale in writing this, I still (kinda) liked it (though I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone). Even the pervy porny bits (and there are plenty) are so clinical in nature (perineal sponge, anyone?) only the most sexually-deprived wack-jobs would derive any titillation from Palahniuk's fairy tale. It pales in comparison to his best stuff, and by no means marks a Chuck renaissance (whose quality of books seem to get worse and worse as he runs out of buttons to push), but if I push down the *erp* forming in my throat, it queasily works for me. ...more

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Jan 11, 2015 Mizuki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Pre-review@14/01/2015:

Penny Harrigan is a low-level associate in a big Manhattan law firm with an apartment in Queens and no love life at all. So it comes as a great shock when she finds herself invited to dinner by one C. Linus Maxwell, aka "Climax-Well," a software mega-billionaire and lover of the most gorgeous and accomplished women on earth. After dining at Manhattan's most exclusive restaurant, he whisks Penny off to a hotel suite in Paris, where he proceeds, notebook in hand, to bring

...more

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Aug 23, 2014 Amy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Chuck Palahniuk has a strange but brilliant mind. Sometimes his books are a little too disturbing for me (Haunted, in particular) but they are always incredibly original and thought-provoking. His latest novel Beautiful You is no exception. I had already been reading all day when this book came in the mail and, though my eyes felt like they were dried up cherry pits by the end, I didn't (or couldn't) put this book down once I had started it.
Penny is a rather plain girl living in New York City, ...more

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Mar 07, 2016 SUSAN *Nevertheless,she persisted* rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Ummmm,what did I just read.
I have never read any of this author's work,perhaps this was an unwise starting point. I found it weird,and I like weird. Just weird in an unfunny,creepy way.
I will give Mr Palahniuk another chance,his writing kept me interested but this book was just baffling. ...more

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Nov 04, 2014 Claudia Recinos rated it did not like it · review of another edition

If you don't ask for things like character development, challenging prose, subtlety, or any sort of examination of the universal truths surrounding our shared human experience then, yeah, I can see how this book might do. Personally, I struggled to stay awake. ...more

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Oct 25, 2014 Phil Keeling rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, read-in-2014

Ugh.

This had its moments: I won't lie. But it isn't the female companion piece to Fight Club that everyone seems to believe it to be. It's got an interesting twist and a unique point of view--but the story itself is so boring I felt the need to read Choke back to it in order to remind it what beautiful sexual satire and vulgarity can really do properly.

Chuck, my friend--this isn't a finished book. This is a first or second draft. Don't publish your second drafts.

That's actually pretty good adv ...more

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Nov 20, 2014 Jerritt Hovey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I thoroughly enjoyed this Novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It's a complete satire, poking fun of today's society and the classic men versus women battle. It's brilliant, really. Not surprised that the first novel making fun of the current popular and "hip" stories was written by Palahniuk. He writes apologetically, creating such an over-the-top plot, you can't help but realize how society has become numb to the issues he addresses throughout the story (i.e. the classic battle of the sexes, feminism, th ...more

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Dec 07, 2014 Leanne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, read-in-2015, lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous

I'm stuck in a 3 star rut! This one started out interesting, and I've always enjoyed Palahniuk's writing style, but it just devolved into nonsensical madness by the end. Should be quite the book club discussion! ...more

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Sep 04, 2015 Iris rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015

I am about halfway through this book. I got it as a gift & I understand why - misandry is supposed to be fun, you know.

I have never read any Palahniuk before but like - has this dude ever met a woman before? This is both condescending & inept in terms of describing any woman's interiority at all. I keep reading to see if the feminist revolution is going to get here but so far I am continually saying to myself, "God, what an asshole!"

Ok I hate-finished this. The parts of the book that aren't sexi ...more

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Jul 05, 2019 Denisse rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Twisted. It mocks everything we are as audience and consumers. At the same time I wanted to stop reading and finish the book, which is probably what Palahniuk wanted us to feel. Anyway, didn’t enjoyed it at all, but I can see the importance of the idea, I wish the descriptions didn't make me throw up.

Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge 2019: A book you chose for the cover.

Eh? Vaya forma de dar una lección a la sociedad.

"La mano que mece la cuna decide en que se invierten casi todos los ingr ...more

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Oct 27, 2014 Megan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, f-ing-terrible

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

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Jul 28, 2014 Amanda [Novel Addiction] rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: wtf, contemporary

What the what. <- Initial reaction upon finishing the book.

Reaction after sleeping on it (not literally) - What the heck?! This was one of the oddest books I've ever read. There are no words to describe this thing, other than a trainwreck. But a fun trainwreck, where no one gets hurt and there are a lot of sex toys flying everywhere (fun might not be the best word choice).

I greatly enjoyed this book, and I learned that I have a plethora of awkward faces - all of which I employed while reading t ...more

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Nov 04, 2014 Rachel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014

Chuck P. is definitely one of my favorite writers. That said, this book was a huge let-down.

The plot for his newest release sounded interesting, and keeping in mind his ability to create funny, complex satires, I thought it would be pretty good. I was wrong.

I understand the jab at modern consumerism, sexual obsession, capitalism, etc. I appreciate the ode to the current revolution of female sexuality and feminism in general. All of these are themes that I would usually really enjoy reading abou ...more

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About Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk

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Written in stolen moments under truck chassis and on park benches to a soundtrack of The Downward Spiral and Pablo Honey, Fight Club came into existence. The adaptation of Fight Club was a flop at the box office, but achieved cult status on DVD. The film’s popularity drove sales of the novel. Chuck put out two novels in 1999, Survivor and Invisible Monsters. Choke, published in 2001, became Chuck’ ...more

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“The future had a way of breaking your heart if you expected too much.” — 14 likes

“Artificial over stimulations seemed like the perfect way to stifle a generation of young people who wanted more and more from a world where less and less was available.” — 11 likes

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