A Brief CaveatIt feels somewhat strange and almost in bad taste to be reviewing a Chuck Palahnuik book because this just happened. (If you don’t want to search through the link: Paquita (one of the coolest peeps on Goodreads) made mention of the fact that Chuck P. had recommended the book she had just read and if she had known that, then she probably wouldn’t have read the book because she doesn’t care much for the stylings of Mr. Palahniuk. Enter a crazed, rabid fan of Chuck P. who starts criticizing Paquita’s tastes. A bit of witty banter ensues which leads to the most insane, misogynistic troll tirade I’ve ever seen. That crazed fan was promptly shouted down by a loyal troll-fighting clan of goodreaders but then several sock-puppets joined in on the bashing). I’d like to leave all that emotional baggage at the door and continue this review as if none of this happened and attempt to address the book and its author on their own terms.Introductionary Quote, S.penkevich Style, to Set the Mood/Thematic Weight“Me and Death, separated at birth”PreconceptionsI’m drawing from an extremely small sample-size, but there seems to be a positive correlation between my fellow literature lovers and those who dislike the cut of Palahniuk’s jib. The opposite seems to be true as well: I know several people who fashion themselves as “casual readers” but still “love to read Chuck Palahniuk; haven’t you read Fight Club? It’s the greatest thing ever, dude!” It seems natural for a person such as myself then to associate the two together and draw a larger conclusion, given the data presented, that Chuck P., while very well being a good writer for the plebeians, may not be the writer that I could ever get into, only one about whom I could have a full-arms-extended appreciation and to which I could say “well, I certainly see the appeal, but it’s not my cup of tea”. Zounds! Induction be damned, because I’m here to say that I straight-up loved this book. Sure, it’s not perfect. Sure, he is “pulp” in a certain sense. Sure, he wears his Vonnegut/Pynchon inspiration on his sleeve but the guy still knows a thing or two about writing that I think we all can appreciate, hold hands and sing kumbaya to.Plot SummaryThis book centers around the enigmatic figure of Buster “Rant” Casey, a character that is involved in a variety of juvenile activities as a child and eventually joins a group of people called “nighttimers” that participate in party crashing (not what you’re thinking here. The act of “party crashing” involves tagging a target car and allowing everyone else to attack said targeted car in an attempt to destroy it/the people inside). Writing StyleThe book is told in “oral biography” format, which means that the book is a series of interviews with all the people in Rant’s life, as they talk about all of his misadventures and shenanigans. The only person who doesn’t get a voice is Rant himself (view spoiler)[and Rant’s father, because it is Rant (hide spoiler)]
Definitely the weirdest book I’ve read by Chuck Palanhuik so far. So bizarrely gross and sick I almost stopped reading it. But I was hoping the stranger the beginning, the bigger the payoff. It was worthwhile, but I wouldn’t recommend this to a casual acquaintance. They’d probably call a psych watch on me.It starts off about this crazy kid called Rant who intentionally catches rabies and spreads it to as many people as he can. But it’s written like a screenplay, with everyone chipping in their side of the story. It was hard to get into because I had no idea what anyone was talking about for the first 150 pages. Then you start to understand he lives in this Matrix-type future, and while he may be this incredible mastermind, he’s also the pawn of a time-travelling serial-rapist, in a bigger battle between social classes. He moves from his hillbilly town to the city, and that's when things get even crazier.This is my understanding of it:Green Taylor Simms is Rant. GTS is 23 when he crashes his car and goes back in time 60 years. He goes to his OWN house and had sex with his/Rant’s great-grandmother Hattie. Hattie had his/Rant’s grandmother Esther. Then he came back and raped Esther who had his/Rant’s mother Irene. Then he raped Irene, who had Rant. Every time, Simms’ senses are getting stronger because he’s multiplying his influence in the gene pool that ultimately leads to Rant. Simms is also killing all the mothers in their old age. Simms tells Rant to go back in time and kill his mother Irene to make them both immortal. Instead, Rant goes back to try to stop Simms from raping his mom. He’s too late, so he changes his name to Chester and marries his pregnant mom and raises the kid who turns out to be him/Rant. As a father he encourages Rant’s crazy rabies-seeking behavior because only people who have their ‘ports’ damaged by the disease are able to time travel. Green Taylor Simms crashes car as an old man and disappears. Chester Casey disappears in single car wreck, with Neddy in passenger seat.Questions:“Charles” Casey was a traffic flow engineer. 16 years ago, he rear-ended Echo’s parents, his body was never recovered. Does he become Green Taylor Simms?Tina Something disappears after crashing a Dodge Viper – is she the 25-year-old bride who survives the crash into a train? (Pg 265-7).
What do You think about Rant (2007)?
Yeah, I just read a Chuck Palahniuk book; I feel like I’m back in high school and should begin loudly listening to Garbage CDs and writing “I <3 Spike” all over my notebook any second now. In fairness, Palahniuk does finally seem to be breaking out of his mold at least a little; I skipped reading Haunted because I wasn’t in the mood to be squicked, but what had been irritating me about all his previous books was that they all seemed the same. They all utilized a near-identical style of narra
—Trin
Click See Review to view ImageRant is an informal and funny oral biography of a man named Buster Casey (Rant) born in the rural town of Middleton with wicked senses of smell and taste far more superior than any other human. He acquired the nickname "Rant" from a childhood hoax involving animal organs which later on resulted in plentiful people getting sick. As the victims throw up, they make a sound resembling the word "rant," which becomes a local synonym for "vomit" and Buster's nickname (‘cause he started it all).Anyway, the setting of the story constantly changes, which is sometimes confusing as I tried to follow the events of the book but nevertheless it’s quite enjoyable. ;) I would recommend this book to anyone, especially to the readers who really love Science Fiction.BTW, here's the spider who started it all![Click See Review to view Image]BOOO!
—Salymar
First off, a disclaimer. I love Chuck P. like a brother. If the man was on dialysis I'd give him a kidney even if I only had one good one left and consider it payback for all the stories of his that I've enjoyed since discovering his work. The lowdown: Rant tells the story of Rant Casey - a small town kid that turns his little town on it's ear before moving to the city to continue his work. The book is comprised of accounts from people that knew Rant with only second hand accounts of his words and deeds and no perspective from our hero. In that way, it's almost Biblical. Although it is science fiction and a pretty far departure on the whole from Chuck Palahniuk's previous books, it's not as far off from what I expect out of him as Diary. But Palahniuk's voice and eye are still there and elements of the book like character relationships and atmosphere are reminiscent of earlier books like Choke. From the beginning, it's not clear where or when the setting is. The place seemed to me to be a small desert town. Time seemed to be anytime in the past century. It's a brilliant device that Palahniuk never wavers from in the first half of the book. It makes the reading a bit unsettling. The significance of that displacement just builds throughout the book. The characterization in this book is pretty amazing. A strong and compelling vision of Rant is built as a charismatic, smart, wild man, but nobody describes him as such throughout the book. Nobody says, "Rant was crazy" or sexy or maddening or 6'2" with brown hair and hazel eyes, but as the characters tell of their relationships with Rant the picture of him starts to come into focus. The very memorable and alluring characters that populate the story by contributing to the oral history are intriguing and become fully fleshed out as the story progresses as well. I really don't want to give it away, so if you haven't read the book, don't read the next line, but...the most interesting thing about this book to me was the future Palahnik creates out of what seems to be the past time. It's very real and although it's not clear if it's 20 years down the road or 200, it's very believable which makes the book frightening to contemplate at times. I very much loved how the past of Rant's childhood could have been the 1930s or the 1990s or any time until Bodie talks about plugging in. The sci-fi aspect of Rant really set the wheels of the story into motion and made it so much more interesting than if Rant had been stuck in Middleton trading gold for teeth the entire book.
—Carrie
