Helpful Score: 5
No one can write utter dysfunction and madness like the master himself. Every time I sit down and open a Palahniuk book I get a bit giddy. I know this book will leave me wondering what just happened but give me one great ride getting there.
Mr. Palahniuk's 8th book, Snuff, tells the tale of Cassie Wright, an aging porn star out to break the mother of all records for the pornography industry. She, in her final role, will sleep with 600 men on film in one shooting.
As you progress through just the beginning of the book you soon realize that no one expects Cassie to live through this, not even Cassie herself.
In the book you read from 3 characters 1st person recounting of them at the shoot. Mr. 72, Mr 137, and Mr. 600. You also get a narration from the days leading up to the shoot and the shoot from Cassie's personal assistant, Shelia.
Mr. 72 believes he is Cassie's son she gave up for adoption after she conceived him during her first adult movie, Mr. 137 is an out of work actor who lost his show due to a gay film he had made, and Mr. 600 is the co-star and believed father of Cassie's child.
Don't worry, it's as messed up as it sounds, but not in the ways you are thinking.
I can't say much more about the book without this review being a spoiler, which I refuse to do in any capacity for any book. Just know that if you enjoyed Palahniuk's other works you know what to expect from this one.
You're not going to have a clue what hit you.
Mr. Palahniuk's 8th book, Snuff, tells the tale of Cassie Wright, an aging porn star out to break the mother of all records for the pornography industry. She, in her final role, will sleep with 600 men on film in one shooting.
As you progress through just the beginning of the book you soon realize that no one expects Cassie to live through this, not even Cassie herself.
In the book you read from 3 characters 1st person recounting of them at the shoot. Mr. 72, Mr 137, and Mr. 600. You also get a narration from the days leading up to the shoot and the shoot from Cassie's personal assistant, Shelia.
Mr. 72 believes he is Cassie's son she gave up for adoption after she conceived him during her first adult movie, Mr. 137 is an out of work actor who lost his show due to a gay film he had made, and Mr. 600 is the co-star and believed father of Cassie's child.
Don't worry, it's as messed up as it sounds, but not in the ways you are thinking.
I can't say much more about the book without this review being a spoiler, which I refuse to do in any capacity for any book. Just know that if you enjoyed Palahniuk's other works you know what to expect from this one.
You're not going to have a clue what hit you.
Helpful Score: 3
What happened, Mr. Palahniuk? My first exposure to your wit and philosophy was through Fight Club. Your novel, Choke, was the hit that got me addicted. And then I soared through Lullaby, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, and Haunted. Then Rant. I could see it coming with Rant. The beginning of the end, but I could still see some of the Palahniuk I loved in Rant....but Snuff? WTH? The only trademark Palahniuk I could even remotely find in Snuff was the outrageous ending and the constant referral to men as masturbatory pet names. I felt the same way, reading this book, as I do when watching a bad Ben Stiller movie. I do not know what this book is trying to accomplish--but if it is complete and utter disgust and dismay.....
Helpful Score: 2
Okay, so the premise of the book is pure Palahniuk.
From the back cover:
"Six hundred dudes. One porn queen. A world record for the ages. A must-have movie for every discerning collector of things erotic.
Didn't one of us on purpose set out to make a snuff movie."
-From Snuff
Okay, so it sounds funny and even intriguing. In reality it was extremely hard to follow. I kept wondering who was Mr. 137 again. I thought it drug along in the dust. There were a few classic funny moments. But I saw the 'surprise' ending far far away from the end. So it just didn't do much for me.
I think the genius of Mr. Palahniuk is that he takes things that are ordinary and makes us, forces us, to see them in an entirely different light. Lullaby is the best example of this in my opinion. For him to take his particular gift and turn it on the porn industry is to make himself the butt of the joke and not the industry in question.
I just didn't think it work. I hope his next book is better.
From the back cover:
"Six hundred dudes. One porn queen. A world record for the ages. A must-have movie for every discerning collector of things erotic.
Didn't one of us on purpose set out to make a snuff movie."
-From Snuff
Okay, so it sounds funny and even intriguing. In reality it was extremely hard to follow. I kept wondering who was Mr. 137 again. I thought it drug along in the dust. There were a few classic funny moments. But I saw the 'surprise' ending far far away from the end. So it just didn't do much for me.
I think the genius of Mr. Palahniuk is that he takes things that are ordinary and makes us, forces us, to see them in an entirely different light. Lullaby is the best example of this in my opinion. For him to take his particular gift and turn it on the porn industry is to make himself the butt of the joke and not the industry in question.
I just didn't think it work. I hope his next book is better.
Helpful Score: 1
My god...I don't even know how to start on this. At times it made no sense but at times it made me laugh my ass off. The scene with 72's experience with the used blow up doll was extra hilarious!
Helpful Score: 1
What can you say about a book by Chuck Palahniuk that tells the story of the making of an epic porn film? If you like Chuck you know what you're in for, and if you don't know him, this is not the place to start. With that said, it is your typical ugliness, great trivial bits, and irony at its finest. Not one of my favorites, but still...if you are a fan, it is a must read. The ugliness of porn!
Helpful Score: 1
Very interesting book from chuck palahniuk. Just like his other novels, you can't help but wonder where he gets these ideas. This book gets pretty raunchy, but you just can't but the book down. The ending will completely screw with your mind too.
Helpful Score: 1
True fact: You'll find a lot of bodily fluids, half-naked men, random trivia and hard-core pornography playing on the overhead televisions in Chuck Palahniuk's Snuff. You'll likely find annoying his gratuitous use of the phrases "dude" and "true fact." But if you can peel that away like the excess cheese on a slice of pizza, there's an interesting story at the core of this far-fetched plot centering around aging adult film star Cassie Wright's open casting call for 600 male participants. Does her record-breaking serial fornication attempt need to be a snuff film (e.g. someone has to die on screen) in order for her career to go out with a (gang)bang? The real action happens in the green room, as three men and the production manager alternate running the plot from their own perspective. Each has his own agenda: Mr. 72, a young man who is convinced he's the son Cassie gave up for adoption; Mr. 137, a disgraced actor facing his own demons; Mr. 600, Cassie's old co-star with his own flabby career; Cassie's assistant Shelia, quietly taking bribes and making sure things run along. This book is a dirty, intense, and ultimately thought-provoking experience and commentary about pornography, identity, and human nature which boils over into an explosive ending. I kept on imagining the story adopted into a play like Mamet's Glenngarry, Glen Ross.
Classic chuck, although not his best.
An absurd but very enjoyable book
