Damned

I bought this audio CD after purchasing much of Palahniuk's other work. This includes the audio CD's for Pygmy and Tell-All, as well as 8 other of his books. I found this to be the least entertaining of the bunch. The narrator did a good job and was a good pick for the book, but the book itself simply isn't up to Palahniuk's earlier work. For those interested in sampling Palahniuk's work, I would recommend trying Survivor or Lullaby.

One of my favorite movies from the '80's is The Breakfast Club. What does that have to do with this book, you ask? Well, the main character and narrator (I listened to the audiobook) is 13 year old Madison who has been dropped into hell after OD'ing on marijuana and takes up with a pack of kids like that in TBC. You have the princess, the jock, the geek and the rocker dude, which would leave Madison as the basket case, although she really isn't. She's personable and smart and the daughter of billionaire parents (and former hippies) who own homes all over the world.

Damned is everything you have come to expect in a Chuck Palahniuk novel - every messed up, twisted little thing. If you're a fan, you will enjoy it, but if you are lukewarm about Palahniuk or have never read him before you should keep in mind he throws some very bizarre fastballs ( like the part where Madison subdues the giant female demon).

One last thing, when you finish this book you will see telemarketers in a different light, and the next time one calls you maybe you smile rather than cringe.

I'm kind of torn about this book. On one hand, this was entertaining in the way that only Chuck Palahniuk can be. On the other, at times it could be a little grating and I know that if I hadn't had the audiobook I wouldn't have liked it as much as I had. The narrator was pretty talented.

Now the good thing is that if you like Palahniuk, you'll like this book in general. Even when his book is sort of "meh", you can still find something to like in his works. Despite her occasionally coming across as a little irritating, Madison is generally an engaging enough character. Her precociousness is a little annoying at times, but for the most part you actually cared about what happened to her in the long run.

However at the same time that precociousness is what sort of does her in. Sometimes you just want to tell Palahniuk to get on with the book rather than showcase how intelligent and special snowflake he can make Madison. I think that part of this was done in order to make the reveal that much more surprising at the end of the book, but I can't help but think that this might alienate some readers.

Now one word of warning: if you're picking this up and you aren't aware of the type of work that Palahniuk writes, then make sure that you know that this is NOT a book that's appropriate for younger readers. Case in point: Madison and one of her fellow denizens of Hell perform a sex act upon a giantess that's described in somewhat graphic detail. There are also other elements in the book that might be considered objectionable, but I won't list those since it'd ruin the book. This is related to the YA genre in that it's sort of a send up of the genre, but that's about it.

I think what really made the book was the narration by Tai Sammons. She lent an extra edge to everything that made the book seem to sparkle where it might not otherwise have.

In the end I'd probably recommend this more to people who are already fans of the author. This isn't bad and I liked it better than Tell All, but it'd probably be better if they started with Palahniuk's stronger work.