Haunted

by Chuck Palahniuk

Review by Stephen Clark

A group of diverse writers, poets and plain old wannabes answer an advertisement offering an opportunity to escape society for three months, for the chance to create their masterworks. They quickly become aware that the retreat is more of a prison and they take to sabotage of the available food, heating and light, collectively believing that when they are found by the authorities their plight may be given the ‘Hollywood’ treatment and made into a smash hit movie. Each wanting to land the lead role, without doubt to be played by an ‘A’ list actor, they strive to outdo each other by extreme measures, namely self-harm and amputation.

The novel is cut and interspersed with twenty-three short stories and twenty-one poems, giving you an insight into each character’s mind frame. From having your lower intestine sucked out of your anus by a swimming pools’ filter to seek a sexual high - to a world belief that ‘Death’ for everyone would offer eternal happiness. The stories and poems are eclectic to the extreme… and sometimes hilarious.

I recently read a review stating this book was disgusting which intrigued me; never wanting to censor myself from difficult material I found how wrong this reviewer was. There are some graphic descriptions, yes, but they should be taken with an honest and uncritical eye, seeking instead to discover the cause, effect and ultimate reason of it all. I found the whole piece very satirical, aimed especially toward the whole reality television scene – if only Big Brother were like this!

Publisher – Jonathan Cape 2005

ISBN: 0-224-06445-2     Cased

ISBN: 0-224-07695-7     Trade paperback edition

Publisher: Doubleday - 416 pages

ISBN: 0385509480 Hardcover