Snuff

I am a die-hard fan and will read anything he writes, but Snuff and his last one, Rant, never really did it for me. Interesting, well-researched as always, fun stuff you never knew, but never really climaxed, nor was the twist very fun. If you are not a fan, you probably wouldn't like it.

Just when I think I've figured out Chuck Palahniuk's next move he hits me head on with a book I'd never picture him writing before I read it. This is a great but very, very dirty book. I'm sure by the description alone you realize that but again it may not be the book you want to leave next to your toilet when you have company coming over! Nice quick and enjoyable read (there's a joke there somewhere). If you liked this book be sure to check out Chuck's other books including Invisible Monsters, Survivor and Choke to name a few.

Snuff is a little bit of nothing slathered in Palahniuk's usual verbal tics. There are occasional laughs and fewer insights in this grim tale of one dimensional characters on the set of the world's largest gangbang. Perhaps his worst book. It's a painless read though, as long as you're not easily offended. The gruesome punchlines lack the bite of those in "Haunted," or the over-the-top weirdness of "Rant."

Let's face it: sex sells. That's the reason Cassie, the porn queen in SNUFF, is making a film wherein she tries to "shag" 600 guys in order to break a record. It's also the reason I bought the book. Well, that and the fact that I enjoy Palahniuk's dark humor as a guilty pleasure like a good episode of Melrose Place - The Third Season. With that said, I was pleasantly surprised by the way the novel played out. The novel wasn't about the 600 men - er, shagging--the porn queen. It was primarily about a handful of the 600 guys in the waiting room, their connections to Cassie, and their desire to be something/someone better than who they are at that very moment. Furthermore, as the novel progressed, each chapter was told from a different person's point of view. It was a bit of a challenge at first to keep everyone straight (especially since the guys were known only as their number in line), but once you got into the story more and could distinguish each character, it became interesting and intriguing.

SNUFF also gave me some insight into the porn industry, including terms, and I thank Palahniuk for the research he did. More than that, I see somebody must have gotten Palahniuk The Big Book of Filth: 6500 Sex Slang Words and Phrases for his birthday one year. He scattered every word he could for masturbation throughout the entire book.

To sum up my brief book review, I was entertained reading SNUFF. It was a quick, enjoyable read (for those not faint-of-heart) on my flights to and from Vegas and I loved the crazy twist ending. It made me giggle as only someone with an equally sick sense of humor could. SNUFF definitely came from the same mind as the novel Invisible Monsters and the short story "Guts" (featured in Haunted: A Novel). I'd recommend it if you're looking for something "light" yet heavy with dark humor.

An avid reader of Chuck Palahniuk's work, I read Snuff very nearly as soon as it came out and am pleased, but certainly not overwhelmed. I feel his best works are Survivor and Choke, and that Snuff fails to even live up to the greatness of his more recent work like Lullaby.

It's good and has some writing remiscient of his Guts chapter that was made so famous by its inclusion in Playboy and for his readings having people fainting and it's filled with the same interesting side stories and anecdotes, but it fails to execute itself as well as his previous work.