Andy Fitzgerald’s Reviews > Shock Induction: A Novel > Status Update

this book feels like an "inside joke compilation" for all Chuck Palahniuk fans. Just waiting for him to say "cornflower blue" and we'll finish off my bingo card.

The fact that Chuck Palahniuk is able to accurately write female characters (especially teenaged girls) is so refreshing. You know how he does it? He writes them with the same amount of humanity as his male characters. There's no trace of "women are a mysterious and absurd species" ideology in his writing. Samantha is not perfect or angelic, but she's not flawed beyond reason. She is dynamic. She is a complex person.

I've never understood the fantasy of living in a splendorous castle, consuming only the finest products, and having people do everything for you. It feels purposeless and empty. Of course, considering the life of the main character, she deserves a better life, and she deserves to feel like a princess. But this is turning into a weird "Get Out" mixed with "The Institute" situation.

Lord have mercy on me, if I had sticky notes and was free to annotate this book at will (unfortunately it is a library copy) I would be painting the pages rn.