It's Different.

[Sarah]

A few weeks ago I started reading Rant by Chuck Palahniuk. So far I can tell from this book and Invisible Monsters that his writing style is different. In the beginning of Invisible Monsters, he describes the sequence of the story like a magazine, "What happens here will have more of that fashion magazine feel... Stories will start and then, three paragraphs later: Jump to page whatever. Then jump back." Rant is, like the title says, an oral biography of Buster Casey(who's dead). As an oral biography, it's a collection of entries from a variety of people who knew Rant.

I like Rant, but sometimes his actions seem to go a little too far. For example the haunted house. Just going to stop there in case anyone chooses to read it. It's pretty good so far and I can't wait to learn more about the much older Rant.

[Cheri]

Lullaby and Choke and Survivor is some of the best writing out there. Rant - not a favorite - so I would encourage you to read more C. Palahniuk work to get the best.

[Sarah]

Thanks. I was thinking of reading Fight Club next because Invisible Monsters was the first book I read from him.

[Will]

Fight Club is one of the few books where the movie is actually better (imo), so if I were you, I'd read his others first. Survivor I highly recommend.

[Sparrowlicious]

Actually, I liked it a lot because it was so different.
You get tiny pieces of information from different characters and that's really interesting to me. Halfway through the book it suddenly makes a big turn story-wise and that's exciting.

Well, but whatever, just the opinion of someone who didn't read Choke and Lullaby yet, lolol.

[Joanie]

Choke is by far my favorite Palahniuk book, the writing in Choke is amazing, almost like a gritty poetry. I always want to read it out loud. Well, obviously that's just my opinion, though, your results may vary. :)

[Luna]

Fight Club is one of his best..but I suggest also Survivor..anyway you have to consider that every Palahniuk book is different from the other..every one is written in a different style..that's the firt reason beacause I love him!

[Richard]

anything but Pygmy or Huanted, a truly attrocious pair of books. Rant was ok but the thing with Chuck is he gets old, and the first one of his you read invariably feels like the best as it is the only one that feels fresh, the others become predictable, same old same old

so for me Survivor was the first and is the best. it's been downhill since then with each book - but i still go back hoping for something as peerless as Survivor

[Will]

Sandyboy wrote: "but the thing with Chuck is he gets old, and the first one of his you read invariably feels like the best as it is the only one that feels fresh, the others become predictable, same old same old"

There's nothing "invariable" about your experience. Mine has been completely different. I read Invisible Monsters first, which I would probably rate a 3.5 or 4 out of 5. Then I read Rant, which I loved. Probably 5/5 for me. Then Fight Club, 3 or 3.5 out of 5. Then Survivor, again 5/5. Then Choke, about 4.5/5, then Haunted, 4/5... and so on.

[Richard]

but i like the word "invariable" - it makes me feel omnipotent.

acknowledged though, i was speaking entirely from my own point of view.

[Sparrowlicious]

Sandyboy wrote: "anything but Pygmy or Huanted, a truly attrocious pair of books. Rant was ok but the thing with Chuck is he gets old, and the first one of his you read invariably feels like the best as it is the o..."

Well, why are you reading his books? For the style or for the story?
I mainly read them for the style and because his plot ideas are sometimes a bit strange. So far, all of what I read by him was strange and used a similar style. You either like that or you don't. That's your choice.

[Hayley]

The first Palahniuk book I read was Choke, and I thought it was amazing. Loved the style. Then I read Haunted, which I loved also. Really cool book. I liked Invisible Monsters as well. So then I bought Rant.

wtf? I couldn't get past the smelling of the used tampons scene. I'm not easily disturbed. It wasn't that. I was just thinking, why the hell is this happening? It felt like shock for the sake of shock, but I am determined to give it another try.

But you're right: it IS different...

[One]

Yeah, Palahniuk has a very unique style. The only books of his I didn't like were Pygmy, and to a lesser degree, Snuff. Invisible Monsters, Choke, Diary, Lullaby, Haunted, Fight Club, Survivor and Rant were all great.

I do like the comments about Chuck going a little too far. It's one of the things that add to his writing. He has a distinctive way to tell a story and nothing is off limits. Like Rant for example, who doesn't enjoy a good old fashioned story about time travel incest.

[Danielle]

I loved Fight Club,loved Choke,loved Rant,hated Pygmy so much I gave up after a few pages.

[Brittany]

A friend just gave me Rant to read, but now I'm too scared to read it from all the negative reviews. I remember trying to read a Palahniuk book back in the day and was not a fan of his "syfy- ish" style, he seems like he's is trying to be edgy. I also have Invisible Monsters maybe I'll give that one a try first.

[Will]

Brittany wrote: "A friend just gave me Rant to read, but now I'm too scared to read it from all the negative reviews. I remember trying to read a Palahniuk book back in the day and was not a fan of his "syfy- ish" ..."

Honestly, I wouldn't let ratings sway you before you've tried him. His style is unique, but I'm not sure it's exactly "syfy-ish" just postmodern.

[One]

Yeah I agree, Chuck isn't trying to be edgy, he just has his own style of writing that is original and well worth a try.

[Alex]

Brittany wrote: "A friend just gave me Rant to read, but now I'm too scared to read it from all the negative reviews. I remember trying to read a Palahniuk book back in the day and was not a fan of his "syfy- ish" ..."

Brittany, I definitely consider myself a fan of Palahniuk, but I haven't liked all of his books. I didn't enjoy Pygmy at all and couldn't even finish it. I thought Tell-All was boring (mainly because I didn't get most of the old Hollywood references).

Rant is actually one of my favorite Palahniuk books, though. I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed Fight Club and Survivor, which I couldn't put down once I started reading them.

I think that Rant could be considered Science Fiction, but I wouldn't hold that against it if you're not a fan of Sci Fi. It could be considered a lot of other things as well. It is definitely mind-bending.