Choke Book

"There is no human soul, and I am absolutely for sure seriously not going to fucking cry."

reading a chuck palahniuk novel is like one of those long booze-soaked all-night discussions with someone you've just met. by the end of it you're convinced that you've solved all the world's problems, and how to proceed seems so clear. once you wake up in the morning you remember how good it was, but details are hazy and the big plans are gone.

his books all share similar themes, but i find this to be at the top of the list. i think it's tied with haunted as his best work, and i think it's actually a more accomplished book than fight club. it's much richer.

for such a short read, this book manages to pick apart:

the nature of aging and death
the perils of being a med student
the dangers of too much knowledge
insanity and senility
sex and love or lack thereof
gender issues
language and semiotics
motherhood (and fatherlessness)
the need to have and to be a savior
the appeal and drawbacks of sarcasm and anarchy
tourism/photos/fetishes and other ways we cling to the past
religion/pornography/drugs and other ways we escape the present
idealism/ignorance/romanticism and other ways we avoid the future

it's all handled and balanced very delicately and well researched, which is a big deal for me. he's not an author who's stingy with his ideas.

he uses lots of gimmicks and touchstones in his books to hold together the narrative and make the reader feel comfortable even in his tangents, which is something i like in my novels.

some people will complain that all his books share some of the same themes, and they do.

this one has the same sort of alternating hopelessness and hopefulness that fight club has, and similar fucked up antihero characters. i always read his books when i need to be reminded how comparatively normal and pleasant my life really is.