Tuesday, August 16

Book Review: Rant by Chuck Palahniuk


Author: Chuck Palahniuk 
Title: Rant
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, & Horror
Pages: 320
First Published: May 2007
Where I Got It: Friend let me borrow a copy


Buster “Rant” Casey just may be the most efficient serial killer of our time. A high school rebel, Rant Casey escapes from his small town home for the big city where he becomes the leader of an urban demolition derby called Party Crashing. Rant Casey will die a spectacular highway death, after which his friends gather the testimony needed to build an oral history of his short, violent life. 




This is my second book by this author. The other one was pretty good, so I had hopes. Sadly...I'm not sure about this one. 

Okay. This is a tale about a dude name Rant (a nickname of course). He was a crazy, crazy man who touched everyone's lives in a manner of ways. His "friends" all decide to share their stories and memories of this crazy ahole. 

I will admit that the way the story was told was pretty interesting and unique. I wouldn't call it "edgy" like others on other reviews say. It is not "new" or crazy. It is, however, interesting and new for the author. HOWEVER, I was majorly confused for the vast majority of the book. Why? Well, it was choppy and everyone was talking over each other and interrupting their story. I had to go back and forth to try and remember who's story is who's. At one point I grew extremely frustrated and went back to the beginning of the chapter and read one story from one POV and then I went back someone's else. Confusing? Here is an example of the format:

SoandSo: So yea, Rant was a crazy person. We to the store one day. He forgot the list.

Anotherbro: When Rant was a kid he got Rabies.

Yahoo#3: So yeah he did this and this and I was LIKE OMG!

SoandSo: So we had to go all the way home! I was so...like annoyed!

Anotherbro: Rant liked kissing da ladies with his rabies. IT WAS FUNNY! Let me tell you about this time.

Yahoo#3: I was so stunned that he did that! When I didn't think it could get worse...he did this! LIKE WTF?!

And so on. It scrambled my brain and I had to go back and forth and get through everyone's individual stories just so I could keep straight what was going on.

My next concern and question......................................HOW DID RANT HAVE THESE SO CALLED FRIENDS????? He was a total loony and psycho! He gave people rabies! WHAT? He was also a total creep. I can't elaborate...read the book and see the creepy ways of Rant.

Now, I will admit it was interesting and kept me entertained to see what other things Rant did. For me it was like watching some horror film. You can't help but look even when its gross and just BLEH! So yes, I couldn't stop reading this crazy, insane book that made me work REALLY hard to read. 

The only character I "liked" (and that is a loose term of the word) was Echo. I think her and Rant's relationship was strange and he was a super creep, but I liked her. Not sure why, but I was excited to read more from her then any of the other characters. 

Now...would I recommend this book to someone else? No. Read another Palahniuk book first before you tackle this hot mess of a book. He tried something crazy and I feel like his other book "Choke" was WAYYYYYY better to start off with. This....this is not the one to start with.

Would I have liked this better if I had any ounce of liking for Rant? Mmmmm, no. Rant was not my problem even though he was a loony to the extreme and I was surprised he lived so long (*cough* he died super young *cough*). My biggest fault in this was the style the author decided to do. There were too many people all talking over each other and it was honestly hard to follow. 

In the end, the concept was good. The characters were interesting. However, the layout and format was "edgy", but failed me as a reader. Kuddos to those who could follow along and not get lost in all the stories, but this style was not for me. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 2. 




























5 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

LOL...well ya know

Melliane said...

yeah it sounds confusing

Carole Rae said...

B, LOL. Can't win them all I suppose.

Melliane, I mean...after going back and reread the chapters it all made sense. But the format...GAH.

Anachronist said...

Sometimes you want to write something edgy and the result is just an unholy mess...won't read this one for sure, thanks for your review.

Carole Rae said...

Ana, for some it worked...for some (like me) not so much.