Lullaby

Read August 2009.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia.


The Scoop: Horror-satire novel by Chuck Palahniuk (US), best known for Fight Club. Published by Doubleday in 2002. Nominated for Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in same year, and won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award in 2003.

The Ingredients: Reporter Carl Streator goes on assignment to write about a series of infant deaths and links them all (including his own wife and child's deaths) to a 'culling song'. With this knowledge, Streator becomes increasingly powerful and sets out to destroy all copies of the song, with real estate agent Helen Boyle by his side, Helen's assistant Mona, and Mona's boyfriend Oyster. They also endeavor to find the original grimoire which is the source of the culling spell, though each has his/her own reasons.

Serves: Adult audience. Contains very mature content (e.g. necrophilia and other sexual acts, violence, murder, etc.) with strong, explicit language.

Prologue: "At first, the new owner pretends he never looked at the living room floor." [4/5 Short but definitely inspires much curiosity.]

Result: A variation of a "frame story", Palahniuk starts at the end of the story and frames the series of events that led up to that endpoint within it. In other words, Carl Streator as narrator, tells us where he is and delves into the story of how/why he got to that point, and so it continues to alternate between the present time (distinguished by italic typeface) and the backstory. If it sounds confusing, it is. To a point. Of course the present story is full of foreshadowing, and everything is tied together at the end, leading to a huge 'aha' moment, which in and of itself is quite rewarding. Though many parts were hard to get through, and I just found myself confused and trying to make sense of what I was reading, I liked it. Lullaby, surprisingly, is the first of Palahniuk's novels I read, and if it is indicative of what his others are like, I am very interested in reading them. I am drawn to his writing style; I love repetition (he uses a style here referred to as 'choruses') and his succinct sentences and vivid detail are very satisfying. The themes and issues Streator explicitly questions are very thought-provoking (leading to me to actually take time out to ponder things like censorship, power, free will, addiction, the role of media). It is a dark novel that speaks of the degradation of our modern society. There are definitely a lot of strange, cringe-inducing, crazy, violent scenes, but if that doesn't deter you, give Lullaby a read. [4.5/5 High reread value because of its complex storyline and characters, and I'd like to re-experience it from the start knowing what I know now. Also made me want to read more of Palahniuk's superb writing.]

Running with Scissors

Read May 2009.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia.


The Scoop: A memoir by Augusten Burroughs (American). Published by Picador USA in 2002, adapted for film in 2006. Four weeks on New York Times bestseller list.

The Ingredients: Brief insight into childhood spent with dramatic mother (poetess and chain-smoker), aloof father (math professor at UMass and alcoholic), and dog named Cream. Turbulent adolescent period of divorced parents and kooky Dr. Finch (psychiatrist to Burroughs' mother). Bizarre lifestyle with the Finch household with minimal rules/structure, off-the-wall (some, literally) characters, and his mother's romantic escapades and psychotic episodes.

Serves: Adult audience. Contains detail of sexual encounters, both hetero- and homosexual, and other mature content. Occasional strong language.

Chapter 1 - Something Isn't Right: "My mother is standing in front of the bathroom mirror smelling polished and ready; like Jean Nate, Dippity Do and the waxy sweetness of lipstick." [4/5 An intriguing and vivid opening line.]

Result: I had wanted to read Running with Scissors for a long time because it got such rave reviews when it came out and it sounded intriguing, and admittedly, my review is not going to differ much. To risk sounding cheesy, Burroughs' memoir took me on an emotional roller-coaster as I attempted to put myself in his shoes and imagine experiencing all that he did (and his detailed writing makes it easy to do so). At times I was envious of all the adventure and disorder of his adolescence - it seems so romantic and glamorous in a way. But with every seeming upside to his life (running around in a household doing as he pleases, staying home from school, and a spontaneous best friend), there is a dramatic downside, making me grateful for the order and stability I had growing up and leaving me wondering how he dealt with all of it. But it's clear Burroughs dealt (and continues to deal) with the insanity that was his childhood with humor - twisted, unrestrained, and raucous. His ability to transport the reader into the heat of the action had me not just laughing, but also writhing and aching for this young teenager in his (numerous) moments of pain and discomfort. I read the majority of the book in a day - its momentum had a hold on my attention and imagination. After finishing, I had the urge to write my own memoir, and pondering what it'd be like, it simply paled in comparison to Running with Scissors and left me wishing I could recount memories with Burroughs' wicked sense of humor and honesty. [3.5/5 Might not read it again or purchase it for keeps, but piqued my interest enough to check out other works by Augusten Burroughs and possibly the movie, which he helped write and produce.]