Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

I was going to put out a plea for student reviews but Steph came to the rescue! Here's her posting:

Hello to all of the awesome and knowledgeable librarians at library pop!!!!
Here is one review that I have been able to write up thus far into the fall semester! Stay cool!!!!

Now, I know that I have already written a review on Palahniuk’s work, however, I couldn’t resist Choke. Inevitably, I found myself reading it this summer---especially since the movie is due out this fall. I figured I would read it before the movie’s images were engrained in my mind, thus, automatically tainting my own interpretation of the characters and dialogue. Overall, I enjoyed the novel—heavy with Palahniuk’s ability to analyze and reveal a seedier side of the realities of our world, he once again portrays America as a society gone mad. However, it was not until the conclusion that I thought this novel was remarkable. The final chapter is one that marinates the mind and stays with you for days making you think about addiction, excess, and the delusions that we adhere to within each of our pasts and presents. In the end, Choke is about grasping onto the past. Palahniuk shows us how we evolve through learning to live with the past and attempting to escape it while needing it whether or not we want it to coincide with the present or the futures we create.

Steph C.