Haunted, by Chuck Palahniuk

Haunted
Chuck Palahniuk

Well, well, well. Chuck Palahniuk, I am pleasantly surprised. I'm so glad I decided to give you another chance, because after Lullaby, I had vowed never to see you again. I have some level of respect for you because Fight Club is one of my favorite movies, but I have a feeling that is less because of you and more due to Brad Pitt and Ed Norton. I mean, shit, did you SEE Brad Pitt in that movie? To wit:

Holy Moses.

Besides, Fight Club's cinematography was just brilliant. (I'm not really a person who uses a word like cinematography but it looks good here and makes me sound all artsy-fartsy.) At any rate, I have steadfastly refused to read Fight Club simply because the movie, in my mind, is untouchable (and because part of me believes that Palahniuk is really a shit writer who had a few good screenwriters). Mind you, it was Lullaby that made me think such thoughts, but I read a few intriguing reviews of Haunted and, on a whim, I purchased it. I'm glad I gave Palahniuk another chance.

The book's premise is interesting: a group of writers gather for a three-month retreat. Not surprisingly given Palahniuk's previous works, each writer is REALLY messed up. As in, this book gets REALLY disturbing. But it works. And I loved every second.

The book has three types of "chapters," if you will. First, there are chapters which involve the writers themselves, as they discover their retreat is not so much a retreat but more of a forced withdrawal from the world. They must write, dammit. Unfortunately, they enjoy their captivity and procrastinate all the more. Then there are poems about each writer. Only a page or two long, they concisely capture the essence of the character and relay important information. The third type of chapter is the character's short story, almost all of which seem autobiographical in nature.

Each story was quite interesting (and some, I repeat, are VERY disturbing), but I didn't mind the movement from story to retreat to poem, etc. The only downside was that I kept hearing every word narrated by Edward Norton ("Jack" from Fight Club). I at first thought there was a reason for that, that ultimately every word was being written by the same character, hence the reason they all sounded alike. Alas, that was not the case. I found this a minor flaw, however; the stories' memorable plots and and the novel's cutting critique of a society obsessed with fame are the real draw here.

But be clear: Haunted isn't, by any means, literature. There are the above-mentioned problems with the voice, and some elements aren't believable at all (which is saying something for a book like this), but Haunted is one hell of a ride. And this is saying a lot, considering how reluctant I was to read Palahniuk ever again.

In a nutshell: If you are easily sickened or disturbed, I'd stay away, but if not, go for it. It won't be the best book you've ever read, but it is entertaining and will give you something to think about. Again, Palahniuk is far from the Bard, but as long as you know that going into the book, you should be able to have fun with it.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars