"Doomed" By Chuck Palahniuk

This is the sequel to Damned which I enjoyed. I listened to it as an audiobook.

Summary: Madison Spencer is a ghost. She spent time in Hell, and on Halloween she returned to the land of the living. If a ghost leaves Hell on Halloween, they must return by midnight, or be stuck in the mortal realm until the next Halloween. Madison missed midnight and began to settle in for the year. Like the previous book, this one has two intermingled stories. The story is presented as a series of blog posts, often referencing other users' comments and questions.

The first is a flashback to when Madison was a child, focusing on a long stay with her grandparents in upstate New York. She becomes interested in Darwin and goes on a Naturalist adventure. She then finds herself in a terrifying situation and recounts the death of her grandparents. Throughout these retellings we see the clues to a larger conspiracy to shape Madison's fate.

The other story follows Madison as a ghost while she stalks her parents. They hire a paranormal investigator to locate her. The investigator operates by overdosing on drugs and having near-death experiences where he then talks with ghosts. He finds Madison and escorts her to her parents who have built up a cult. In the previous book, Madison had instructed her parents to do a list of bad deeds in order to guarantee their family would be reunited in Hell. Madison told them she was in Heaven, and as they are world famous celebrities they shared the instructions with their followers. The cult of Boarism developed in which everyone is offensive, but no one takes offense. This new religion then takes an apocalyptic turn that has Madison worried.

What I Liked: This book builds off the first and answers many questions. It also develops the plot, bringing it to a new level. I love the little details Palahniuk includes, making the world feel immediate and real.

What I Didn't Like: This book has the single most disturbing death scene I have ever read or watched. It is described in careful detail and involves some very disgusting elements. It might haunt me forever.

Rating: I enjoyed this as a sequel as it fills out a lot of the story and builds on it, but it was not as compelling as the first book.

Also Read by this Author: Fight Club, Damned.

Reviewed by: Nick

"Damned" by Chuck Palahniuk

I liked Fight Club enough that when I saw more books by Palahniuk I picked them up. This one is the first in a series. 

Summary: Madison Spencer is dead. At the age of 13 she got high, blacked out and woke up in a Hell surrounded by other damned souls. The form of the book is a series of letters that begin with "Are you there Satan? It's me Madison". She narrates two distinct stories that unfold side by side throughout the book.

The primary story follows her experiences in Hell in which she meets other kids and tries to figure out how things are organized in the afterlife. Demons roam the land slaughtering poor humans, whose bodies are reformed after every death to be eaten, dismembered, stabbed or squished over and over for all eternity. There is also a formal bureaucracy which manages incoming souls, career assignments and appeals. Madison's friends show her the ropes, including how to use the currency and how to make the system work for her. She finds a job as a telemarketer and acts on some bold initiatives.

The second story is made up of Madison's memories from her pre-dead existence. She was the daughter of a famous movie star and a powerful business executive, spending much of her life flying from home to home all over the globe. Her childhood is a mixture of normal growing up and totally bizarre events that might only happen to someone so wealthy as her. Palahniuk uses this as an opportunity to highlight some absurdities in our culture, especially criticizing rich liberal Hollywood elite. Madison recounts events that ultimately lead up to her death and discovers what was originally hidden from her.

What I Liked: This book is written in a compelling style, where Madison tells compact, but satisfying tales about herself, all of which build up to create a coherent narrative with a proper plot. It builds in such a way you have no idea what to expect until it happens, at which point the story only becomes more interesting.

What I Didn't Like: When I read it, I did not know it was first in a series, and so I thought the conclusion would be more complete. Instead, this ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, which leads into the second book.

Rating: I am realizing that Palahniuk must only write disturbing books. I am somewhat embarrassed by the idea someone else might read this book and wonder if I am a psycho for liking it. So it's hard for me to say this is a Must Read knowing that basically everyone will find something highly offensive or overly gross to continue reading it, but I recommend it despite that.

Also Read by this Author: Fight Club

Reviewed by: Nick

"Fight Club" By Chuck Palahniuk

Fight Club was one of those movies I loved the first time I saw it, but never owned it. One day I saw the audiobook at the library and decided to listen. 

Summary: Considering how many stories don't survive the book-to-movie jump, it was to my happy surprise that the plot is very much that of the movie. Obviously, there were differences, but I am comfortable with the idea that it basically amounts to glossing over of the more complicated bits.

For those of you who have never seen the movie, the plot goes something like this. We follow the life of an unnamed protagonist, often referred to as Jack, due to his habit of saying "I am Jack's broken heart" or "I am Jack's cold sweat". Jack is a Recall Coordinator for a major automobile manufacturer and his job is to investigate accidents and determine if it is more profitable for the company to issue a recall or not. He suffers constant jet-lag and develops insomnia. His exasperated doctor tells him if he wants to see real suffering he should go to a support group for people with brain parasites and Jack quickly becomes a regular at several support groups, despite not suffering any of the ailments. Jack finds the emotional release is just what he needed to sleep soundly.

Jack then meets Marla, another "tourist" at the support groups, and then meets Tyler Durden while on the beach. Marla and Tyler trigger a series of events that are totally outside of Jack's control. Tyler becomes the leader of a fight club which grows into something more.

What I Liked: Palahniuk has a very clean writing style that is both detailed and nuanced but easy to understand. He has a fascinating technique of repeating sentences at different points in the story in order to link the events. By picking the right sentence to repeat, he can summon up exactly the right event from earlier in the book and reinforce an important theme in the book. Also, Palahniuk is very good at writing around important details so that important truths can come out as stunning revelations.

What I Didn't Like: This is an unsettling book.

Rating: People who don't like this book will think that people who do like are mentally ill, and for that reason I am hesitant to say that I liked it. A lot of people would be offended by the content of this book including language, sex, violence, disturbing mental states and more. I recommend it anyway.

Also Read by this Author: None.

Reviewed by: Nick