In Snuff, Chuck Palahniuk takes on the world of porn. It’s not like this is a big departure from his previous material (see my reviews for Invisible Monsters and Haunted), so he’s right at home here. Snuff tells the story of an aging porn star who sets out to break the world gangbang record; 600 dudes in a row.
It’s typical Palahniuk, with troubled characters, gross-out moments, shocking twists, “true facts” that may or may not be true, etc. It’s a much simpler story than some of his others, feeling more like an extended, shallow short story than a complete novel, but it’s an entertaining quick read for any fans of his previous work.
Snuff also has the best collection of porn movie titles I’ve seen. World Whore Three: The Whore to End All Whores is just the beginning.
Palahniuk’s style does get a little grating after reading several of his books. Characters in his stories never really have conversations; they just talk to themselves while in close proximity. Sure, they’re all a bit fucked up, but it would be nice if, just once in a while, characters actually responded to one another like normal people.
Also: I’ll be happy if I don’t have to read the words “shared meatloaf” ever again.
Phronk.com 
Comments
8 responses to “Book Review: Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk”
Where do you find the time to read? I keep buying books faster than I can read them.
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Where do you find the time to read? I keep buying books faster than I can read them.
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I procrastinate a lot and have no social life.
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I procrastinate a lot and have no social life.
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Hey, nice review. I dig a lot of the older beat style stuff (Brautigan, Bukowski, Burroughs), though I somewhat despise the category of “beat”, since categories are the type of convention it’s supposed to rail against.Found you through the verve links.Blame them.
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Hey, nice review. I dig a lot of the older beat style stuff (Brautigan, Bukowski, Burroughs), though I somewhat despise the category of “beat”, since categories are the type of convention it’s supposed to rail against.Found you through the verve links.Blame them.
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I really like Chuck, and porn, so this one’ll be a winner (or weiner) when I get around to it. The thing I always find with Chuck, like bad porn, is that he fizzles out around the end.
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I really like Chuck, and porn, so this one’ll be a winner (or weiner) when I get around to it. The thing I always find with Chuck, like bad porn, is that he fizzles out around the end.
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