Emily P. (mizparker) reviewed on 7/22/2009 + 87 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

This book is different from any other I've ever read...and I've even read most of Palahniuk's stuff (and liked it.) Thankfully my husband had read this before me and said it was worth it, because I nearly couldn't get through the first short story ("Guts.") I'd read about the "guts effect", where Palahniuk had read this story aloud at many book signings, and inevitably had a couple of people faint during the reading. I didn't faint, but neither did I want to read an entire novel of gross-out stories. It was worth pressing on, and hard to put down after the first story. The first story is a little out of place, it seems, for the rest are more psychologically bizarre than physically grotesque (although the behavior of the characters throughout is certainly grotesque in every sense of the word.) It reminded me of what Lord of the Flies would be like if the characters were highly damaged, depraved, adult sociopaths instead of children. I liked it (and would probably read it again, even), but like most of Palahniuk's work, it's not for everyone.

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