Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk
"Haunted" is a collection of 23 short stories in between the narratives about a group of writers who answered an ad that says "Artist''s retreat abandon your life for three months" in an isolated writer's colony run by an old dying man named Whittier.
None of the characters were named by their real name, they were refered to by various aliases like; Mother Nature, Earl of Slander, Duke of Vandals, the Missing Link, Lady Baglady to name a few.
The narratives about their ordeal in the writer's colony are intertwined with the different short stories that these characters have written (which are mostly about them ), the cover of the paperback version of this book has a line from observer that says "brutally graphic".
Which is expected of any Chuck Palahiuk book and with the first short story called "Guts" is of any indication, readers are in for a horrific ride.
As i have learned, "Guts" has been in circulation prior to the writing of this book, Chuck P. has made some news around America during a book reading tour, wherein while reading this short story, scores of listeners dropped unconsciously on the floor, mainly because of the graphic details of the story.
"Guts" was about a teenage masterbation gone wrong, if you are curious. And as i found myself, i cringe halfway through it, finished the story without passing out, but still, true to it, i found it brutal and darkly funny, the true Chuck P. style.
So as the days goes by on the "Artist's colony", with lack of food and stable living condition sets in, the mental state of the writers are greatly affected, the stories they write soon becomes darker, their relationships towards each other becomes spiteful, starvation eventually leads to a suicide and more contempt with each other to the amusement of the old man Whittier...yeah i guess i should stop right here hahaha...
Over all the novel is what every critics have said it is, "full of gore" to some they find it as "worthless piece of graphic literature" (probably the same critics who gave John Grisham's novels a 5 star ).
Reading a book is an intimate experience, its like consentual sex, you wont go on if it doesnt pleases you, and i find reading this book as one of my joyful exuberant moments in reading just about anything ( that includes porn ), if i may say, this one isn't for everybody.
This book aint for the sissy readers who thought "Da Vinci Code" is the greatest book on earth and are foolish enough to watch the film, if you're a Harry Potter junkie, i suggest keep up with your reading habbits, no need in making a grothesgue and sudden change in genre.
But if you are a Stephen King, Irvine Welsh, Alex Garland, The Canterbury Tales reader? then this one is for you.
It will delight you to no end, its brutal content will either leave you laughing your ass of or it might produce some nightmares in the coming night.
Which coincidentally i did, night after i got done reading with "Haunted", i had a nightmare, even though i dont remember the details, it was enough to wake me up in the middle of the night, leave me sweating and unable to sleep the rest of the way.
I can say "Haunted" has gotten under my skin....hahahaha....
None of the characters were named by their real name, they were refered to by various aliases like; Mother Nature, Earl of Slander, Duke of Vandals, the Missing Link, Lady Baglady to name a few.
The narratives about their ordeal in the writer's colony are intertwined with the different short stories that these characters have written (which are mostly about them ), the cover of the paperback version of this book has a line from observer that says "brutally graphic".
Which is expected of any Chuck Palahiuk book and with the first short story called "Guts" is of any indication, readers are in for a horrific ride.
As i have learned, "Guts" has been in circulation prior to the writing of this book, Chuck P. has made some news around America during a book reading tour, wherein while reading this short story, scores of listeners dropped unconsciously on the floor, mainly because of the graphic details of the story.
"Guts" was about a teenage masterbation gone wrong, if you are curious. And as i found myself, i cringe halfway through it, finished the story without passing out, but still, true to it, i found it brutal and darkly funny, the true Chuck P. style.
So as the days goes by on the "Artist's colony", with lack of food and stable living condition sets in, the mental state of the writers are greatly affected, the stories they write soon becomes darker, their relationships towards each other becomes spiteful, starvation eventually leads to a suicide and more contempt with each other to the amusement of the old man Whittier...yeah i guess i should stop right here hahaha...
Over all the novel is what every critics have said it is, "full of gore" to some they find it as "worthless piece of graphic literature" (probably the same critics who gave John Grisham's novels a 5 star ).
Reading a book is an intimate experience, its like consentual sex, you wont go on if it doesnt pleases you, and i find reading this book as one of my joyful exuberant moments in reading just about anything ( that includes porn ), if i may say, this one isn't for everybody.
This book aint for the sissy readers who thought "Da Vinci Code" is the greatest book on earth and are foolish enough to watch the film, if you're a Harry Potter junkie, i suggest keep up with your reading habbits, no need in making a grothesgue and sudden change in genre.
But if you are a Stephen King, Irvine Welsh, Alex Garland, The Canterbury Tales reader? then this one is for you.
It will delight you to no end, its brutal content will either leave you laughing your ass of or it might produce some nightmares in the coming night.
Which coincidentally i did, night after i got done reading with "Haunted", i had a nightmare, even though i dont remember the details, it was enough to wake me up in the middle of the night, leave me sweating and unable to sleep the rest of the way.
I can say "Haunted" has gotten under my skin....hahahaha....
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