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Original Essays | April 26, 2012

Florence Williams: IMG Breasts

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When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a... Continue »
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Choke: A Novel

by Chuck Palahniuk

Choke: A Novel Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. He then allows himself to be "saved" by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for Victor's life, go on to send checks to support him. When he's not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, visits his addled mom, and spends his days working at a colonial theme park. His creator, Chuck Palahniuk, is the visionary we need and the satirist we deserve.

Review:

"Few contemporary writers mix the outrageous and the hilarious with greater zest....Chuck Palahniuk's splenetic, anarchic glee makes him a worthy heir to Ken Kesey." Newsday

Review:

"Sheer, anarchic fierceness of imagination....[A] raw and vital book." The New York Times

Review:

"In the course of his three novels, Palahniuk has become a master of depicting the dark and depraved underbelly of our society through the voices of mordantly existential protagonists. Choke is no exception." Library Journal (Starred Review)

Review:

"Puts a bleakly humorous spin on self-help, addiction recovery, and childhood trauma....[F]unny mantra-like prose plows toward the mayhem it portends from the get-go." The Village Voice

Review:

"Palahniuk is a cheerful nihilist with a mordant wit and a taste for scatological humor. Fair warning: some may find his language and imagery offensive." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"Victor is even more pathetic than Palahniuk's previous antiheroes....Still, the novel showcases the author's powers of description, character development and attention-getting dialogue handily enough to give this dark meditation on addiction a distinctive and humorous twist." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"As with his previous novels, this one lacks subtlety, but it will have great appeal with the legions of disenfranchised who flocked to see Fight Club in the theater." John Green, Booklist

Review:

"Clearly, neither plausibility nor coherence are priorities for Palahniuk. His subversive riffs conjure a kind of jump-cut cinema of the diseased imagination, resulting in an outlandish allegory that is as brutally hilarious as it is relentlessly bleak." Book Magazine

Review:

"Palahniuk's language is urgent and tense, touched with psychopathic brilliance, his images dead-on accurate....[He] is an author who makes full use of the alchemical powers of fiction to synthesize a universe that mirrors our own fiction as a way of illuminating the world without obliterating its complexity." LA Weekly

Review:

"Palahniuk displays a Swiftian gift for satire, as well as a knack for crafting mesmerizing sentences." San Francisco Examiner
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About the Author

Chuck Palahniuk's four other novels are the bestselling Fight Club, which was made into a film by director David Fincher, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, Lullaby, and Diary. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 4 comments:
Penni4, May 5, 2012 (view all comments by Penni4)
Not for the faint at heart, but by far one of the best Palahniuk books written. This is the first of his books I read. I enjoyed it so much I read 4 more of his books one right after the other. Yes it's a little sick but it does have some undertone humor to it. Though I wouldn't want Victor as a friend, he is an interesting character to follow around. If you prefer light hearted books this is not the book for you. If don't mind a bit of twisted, mind bending reading, read this book.
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leelerbaby, December 30, 2007 (view all comments by leelerbaby)
Hilariously funny, with an underlining emotional message.
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(11 of 17 readers found this comment helpful)
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uncle_loki, April 28, 2007 (view all comments by uncle_loki)
Choke is as intensely sexual as fight club was intensely violent (That's a good thing by the way). And it's wildly humorous. I spent much of my time with the book camped out on my big cushy reading chair, giggling mischievously.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780385720922
Author:
Palahniuk, Chuck
Publisher:
Anchor Books
Location:
New York, NY
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Psychological fiction
Subject:
Alzheimer's disease
Subject:
Sex addiction
Subject:
Alzheimer's disease -- Patients.
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
2001
Edition Number:
1st paperback ed.
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
June 11, 2002
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
7.89x5.35x.68 in. .49 lbs.
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Related Subjects

Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
History and Social Science » Pacific Northwest » Literature Folklore and Memoirs
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z

Choke: A Novel Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$8.95 In Stock
Product details 304 pages Anchor (UK) - English 9780385720922 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Few contemporary writers mix the outrageous and the hilarious with greater zest....Chuck Palahniuk's splenetic, anarchic glee makes him a worthy heir to Ken Kesey."
"Review" by , "Sheer, anarchic fierceness of imagination....[A] raw and vital book."
"Review" by , "In the course of his three novels, Palahniuk has become a master of depicting the dark and depraved underbelly of our society through the voices of mordantly existential protagonists. Choke is no exception."
"Review" by , "Puts a bleakly humorous spin on self-help, addiction recovery, and childhood trauma....[F]unny mantra-like prose plows toward the mayhem it portends from the get-go."
"Review" by , "Palahniuk is a cheerful nihilist with a mordant wit and a taste for scatological humor. Fair warning: some may find his language and imagery offensive."
"Review" by , "Victor is even more pathetic than Palahniuk's previous antiheroes....Still, the novel showcases the author's powers of description, character development and attention-getting dialogue handily enough to give this dark meditation on addiction a distinctive and humorous twist."
"Review" by , "As with his previous novels, this one lacks subtlety, but it will have great appeal with the legions of disenfranchised who flocked to see Fight Club in the theater."
"Review" by , "Clearly, neither plausibility nor coherence are priorities for Palahniuk. His subversive riffs conjure a kind of jump-cut cinema of the diseased imagination, resulting in an outlandish allegory that is as brutally hilarious as it is relentlessly bleak."
"Review" by , "Palahniuk's language is urgent and tense, touched with psychopathic brilliance, his images dead-on accurate....[He] is an author who makes full use of the alchemical powers of fiction to synthesize a universe that mirrors our own fiction as a way of illuminating the world without obliterating its complexity."
"Review" by , "Palahniuk displays a Swiftian gift for satire, as well as a knack for crafting mesmerizing sentences."
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