Saturday, May 23, 2015

Make Something Up: Stories You Can't Unread


Make Something Up:
Stories You Can't Unread

Chuck Palahniuk
4.5/5


Published May 2015

First Sentence
"My old man, he makes everything into a Big Joke."

Publisher's Description:

Stories you'll never forget—just try—from literature's favorite transgressive author

Representing work that spans several years, Make Something Up is a compilation of 21 stories and one novella (some previously published, some not) that will disturb and delight. The absurdity of both life and death are on full display; in "Zombies," the best and brightest of a high school prep school become tragically addicted to the latest drug craze: electric shocks from cardiac defibrillators. In "Knock, Knock," a son hopes to tell one last off-color joke to a father in his final moments, while in "Tunnel of Love," a massage therapist runs the curious practice of providing 'relief' to dying clients. And in "Expedition," fans will be thrilled to find to see a side of Tyler Durden never seen before in a precursor story to Fight Club.



Dear Reader,

Yes! Chuck is back. This story collection renewed my love for his storytelling capabilities. I don't know why but his past few books haven't been connecting well with me. There was a moment there that I wanted to chuck this against the wall (breaking my paperwhite) just because he starts off with some pretty terrible stories. Thankfully, as you trudge along, the light gets brighter and brighter. I don't know how else to do this but break down my thoughts in order by story. This should be in order but won't contain my thoughts on EVERY story - more of a progression of how I felt.

Knock-Knock - Not a strong story, this paved the way for my unhappiness on a huge level, I started thinking I would have to quit Palahniuk for good.

Huge skip of stories here because I was so frustrated and annoyed with them.

Eleanor - This story was really unique with the language, it was bad english mixed with some highly intelligent words. I even noticed the character would sometimes use words incorrectly which made it into a fun game for me, trying to find them.

How Monkey Got Married - Great story that reflects on how ridiculous humans are with commercialism and American life (very Palahniuk ala Fight Club).

Zombies - I loved this story, had some of the best quotes, "We're basically big animals, evolved to break open shells and eat raw oysters, but now we're expected to keep track of all three hundred Kardashian sisters and eight hundred Baldwin brothers. Seriously, at the rate they reproduce the Kardashians and the Baldwins are going to wipe out all other species of humans." Seriously, everything about this story was awesome, probably a favorite from this collection. I have some interesting thoughts about this the delve into the plot a bit, so if anyone would like to discuss, let me know.

Loser - Another fantastic story. This collection starts off like a train wreck but quickly switches over to deliver some of my favorite stories. This one is a must read - being on a gameshow while tripping on acid!?

Romance - This has got to be one of the funniest short stories I've read in a long time. I'm not talking about this one, just read it.

Cannibal - Back to the smutty - getting old Chuck... this talent, blarg... wasted! Thankfully the other stories overpower this because I just didn't understand his intention here.

Phoenix - Read and reviewed this already here.

Fetch - A haunted tennis ball? Where has this story been all my life?

Expedition - Love! Love! Love! This dark turn Palahniuk takes here is soooo good, I need more of this. I think he needs to pull a horror story out of his bag of tricks next.

So there you have it folks. Great stories, worth reading and buying. For those Fight Club fans, many references stuffed in. I would recommend this to any Chuck fan, especially those that have lost the faith in him. This one should restore that within all fans. I dare you to try it.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

Make Something Up: Stories You Can't Unread

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