Monday, March 05, 2001
I just finished reading Chuck Palahniuk's (of Fight Club fame) third book, Invisible Monsters. I was disappointed. The guy needs to get a new trick. A quote:
But what I hate most is how she's just like me. What I really hate is me so I hate pretty much everybody.The same language, the same sentiments, and the same story structure (flashbacks) as the other two books (Fight Club and Survivor) . Granted, they aren't the same books in the same way that Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels are the same movie, but it's close. His constant cynicism is tired, though there's a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel of this one. His ranting against the meaninglessness of modern life, against corporatism and consumerism, his fascination for abnormal characters experiencing violent life changes, and his penchant for open-ended surprise endings are done. Very done. Do something else, man. Show me you're not a one-trick pony. Do something completely different. Otherwise it's just pointless.
I'd talk about White Teeth, a book I just recently finished, but that one was pretty good. That will take more time. I want to think about that one. It took me weeks to read, so I think I should give it some more effort. Invisible Monsters took a day. Read into that what you would.