Choke

i think Palahniuk doesn’t attempt to shock so much as to jar. set your teeth on edge.

a pornographically detailed tale of a sex addict who may or may not be divine progeny who lives off of the pity charity people who save him from choking send him. (he does it on purpose). he also works at a historical interpretation center like Colonial Williamsburg.

the Mommy is a major character and is revealed to be a Deep Thinker at one point, more profound of being and understanding than her image created by the majorly flawed and self-centered protagonist.

Palahniuk does not pull punches here. he presents a bleak picture of the life of junkies (mainly sexual), a woman at the end of her life, and the mind games of mainstream society they have to wade through to get to anything “real.” dark comedy at it's best because sometimes it's indistinguishable from tragedy. something bitter and tough but satisfying to chew on.

i liked it.

"Picture anybody growing up so stupid he didn’t know that hope is just another phase you’ll grow out of”

Victor Mancini, is a medical-school dropout who has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. He then allows himself to be “saved” by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for his life, go on to send him cheques to financially support him, these he then uses to pay for his mother's medical bills. When he’s not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, visits his Alzheimer's suffering mother in her secure hospital, and works days at a colonial theme park.

'Choke' is an interesting book from a psychological perspective and I am somewhat of a loss as how to rate it. Eventually I settled on 3 stars because I couldn’t decide whether I loved or hated it, probably both. Victor is a sex addict and intentionally chokes on objects in order for others to save him and therefore feel loved. This book contains a lot of graphic sexual descriptions featuring a variety of deviant behaviour and whilst I don't consider myself to be a prude the vivid details from each unrelenting scenario involving Victor often made me cringe.

On the other hand I often found some of the other portions quite amusing. The storyline is actually quite enjoyable and Victor although not particularly likeable isn't a totally bad character either. Despite Victor's insistence that he is not a good or caring person his actions suggest otherwise. The novel explores his childhood and attempts to uncover the reasons why he is the way he is as an adult. I really enjoyed the sections following Victor and his friend Denny at work in a 1700s theme park as they struggle to stick within the rules, they showed a deep level of friendship to each other. I thought that the central theme of choking would be really distasteful but I actually found myself accepting Victor’s justifications and actually sympathizing with him.

The book is written in fairly short episodic chapters that switches from Victor's chaotic childhood to his present and once you get past the first 10% or so of it, which is almost entirely pure sexual description, you find that there is a fairly satisfying story underneath. Although the big revelation at the end of the book came as no surprise to me, Palahniuk displayed an ability to create really vivid images that will stay in my head forever.

I would recommend this book to readers who like dark humour but aren’t easily offended. If you find graphic sex in books offensive, then this is not the book for you.

I forgot I read this (long) before until a series of familiar punchlines started rolling out and I was chuckling to myself as well as remembering. Shock and faux-realism in the service of what's really dry comedy.

Chuck at his finest.

Chuck at his finest.

"If you're going to read this, don't bother...What happens here is first going to piss you off. After that it just gets worse and worse."

I can't say I wasn't warned. This is my first experience with Palahniuk, and I have to say I'm mostly disappointed (especially since nothing DID piss me off). All of the "gross" and obscene things were there just for the sake of being gross or obscene. It was like listening to a teenage boy tell wild tales to show off to his friends his large vocabulary and "worldliness". Did we really have to fill Victor up with literal shit to emphasize that he's metaphorically full of shit? My largest issue is that so much of it is set up in a way that is contrived and makes little sense. As a former medical student, I find it difficult to believe that he is acutely aware of his impaction and the problems it is causing and yet he refuses to seek medical help.

There is some meat and merit to the story, though. The relationship between Victor and his "mother" was fascinating. Denny's castle was interesting. If Palahniuk spent even half as much time developing these personal connections and character stories as he did on filling in the pages with "shocking" scenes I would have enjoyed this so much more.

2.5 stars

Victor's life is a little unfocused right now. His chronically mentally ill mother is lingering in the last days of her life and the mounting medical bills are threatening to swamp him. Only his sexual compulsion is giving him any satisfaction. Between his dead-end job as a colonial reenactor and his money-making scheme involving choking in fancy restaurants, there isn't much else that makes him feel good. But when he meets a sexy and mysterious doctor who cares for his mother, he begins to believe that things might turn out okay.

This is a novel about redemption through death. An over-arching Christ theme sets the tone for this darkly humorous book.

Chuck Palahniuk's book "Choke" is a tough one for me to rate. I didn't enjoy reading it at all but I can really appreciate that the writing style integrates seamlessly with the overall tone and story of the book.

Victor, our narrator, grew up in and out of foster care with a mother that snatched him from his foster care placements periodically. He has a whole host of 'mom' issues but has given up his life to pay for her care in a facility as she wastes away.

This is definitely not a book to read if you're feeling depressed about the state of humanity -- it is not going to help your views. I'm not sure it's really a good book if you're feeling particularly hopeful about humanity either. At any rate, this isn't something I particularly liked but I can appreciate why others might.

It is a recounting of the research that the author has done to write his previous books, especially "Fight Club." To read and minimally enjoy this book, it is necessary to have read and enjoyed some of his earlier works. If this is the case, you will encounter some funny and interesting stories. That's about it. (Translated from Spanish)

Rare occasion where the movie was better

This entire story was a descent into madness. From the opening scene to the climactic (in multiple ways) ending, the characters in this story start out unlikable and steadily worsen. Mental illnesses reign and those are the bright spots. This author seems to find ways in each of his stories I’ve read to continue to churn out characters worse than his previous ones, and impressively, that’s quite a challenge. Sadly, though, the realism of these characters helps to put into perspective the truth that the author writes about as far too often, these scenes play out all around the world each day

Loved this book. Took me twice to try to read it to get into it, though. I picked it up one day, wasn't impressed, and then I waited several months before trying it again. I'm glad I re-tried it! This book is definitely in my top 10. This book is more than just a good story; it's good literature. It takes some adjusting to look past the shock value and harsh words: but trust me, there IS literary value in this book.

disgusting. 100%

Very enjoyable novel if you enjoy moral decay and bleak humour.

I was disappointed. I never bought into the protagonist (although I DID enjoy the scenes from the Colonial Village).

The author's style: employs his trademark literary devise – repetition of set phrases – to humorous effect. He mixes medical information and sexual deviant information throughout the book. The book is about Victor, a messed up young adult who works in a theme park set in the 1700's, he visits restaurants where he pretends to choke and he attends sexual addict recovery groups. He hangs out with his friend Denny who collects rocks obsessionally as a substitute for masterbating. He occasionally visits is mother. There is a lot of philosophy about life, God, sexual liberation, etc in his writing. It's a satire. The book was removed from 1001 Books You Must Read after the first edition. It was okay but I am not drawn to read more by this author.

Writing style and the topic isn't for me personally. But it was an interesting view into the life of an addict. Interesting read.

In my younger and more vulnerable years (i.e. when I was young, stupid and immature), I rather enjoyed Palahniuk's writing. Now I see it for what it is - shock for the sake of shock. It's no different than a middle schooler scribbling dicks all over everything while saying "DEEZ NUTZ." It offers no real insight or interest beyond trying to get the audience to go "He can't say that! OMG, I can't believe he just said that!" What a snoozefest.

Is Victor the son that is a mother’s worse nightmare or is his mother a son’s worst nightmare? This is an irreverent look at a promising life led astray. Read this only if you are up to listening to one person’s misadventures best left to whispers on a dark night with no one around to overhear.

Only on occasions does the blurb on the back of a book stray from the actual narrative. But Choke for me was such an example -- we learn of Victor Mancini, a Med-school drop out who "earns" money to fund his mother's elderly care expenses by choking on food at restaurants, so that those who save his life later feel responsible for checking up on him and sending him money. You can't really argue with that sort of a synopsis; it was unlike anything I had heard of, and so I eagerly jumped to buying this book. The truth is that all of the other aspects of Victor's life (which the back cover does also mention) take more of the center stage than the scamming itself. As a reader who expected to read into the mind of a deranged character and his frauds, it was a major disappointment to find only two instances where Victor actually carried out his scheme.

Instead, we get countless of scenes showing how the self-loathing anti-hero hustles miserably at his job at a colonial theme park and visits his demented, ailing mother. Oh, and also of him carrying out a broad range of sexscapades with other sex addicts who, like him, are undergoing a 12-step addiction recovery program.

What must be respected, however, is that the character of Victor is set up wonderfully. There are flashbacks of Victor's rocky childhood, during which his mother repeatedly nabs him out of his foster homes to give him the "true" vision of life and society, as opposed to the school-taught "nonsense". A traumatizing (although oddly comforting) moment in his life where he chokes on a corn dog and is saved by his mother appears to be the subconscious starting point of Victor's scamming, which, as we discover, not only supplements him with money but also the emotional comfort he has lacked his entire life. Snarky psychoanalysis at its finest.

There is a lot to this book, which is of course the case when you have a man as brilliant as Chuck Palahniuk fleshing out the gritty, satirical scenes that he does, with a humor as sharp as a razor. Despite this being my first Palahniuk book, it wasn't hard to pick up on his ingenuity, but it is also quite clear that this is one of his weaker works. The overarching issue I had with Choke is that the story simply does not work, no matter how capable the author is. At the end of the day, how can someone collect enough money from this ludicrous scam to fund medical payments that cost 3000 dollars a month? Wouldn't word spread about his conducts? Why would someone feel so responsible for saving Victor's life that they would pay for any expense he makes up over the course of multiple years? None of this really made sense in my mind, and it is most certainly a gaping hole in the novel. Yet it is a breezy and entertaining read, so why not give it a chance.

Excellent book! I was 3/4 through before I began to sense that there was something unexpected coming ahead. Once I began reading, I couldn't put it down. It was loaned to me by my future son-in-law.

Very long, drawn out story for a kind of lame ending. But still good, I need to watch the movie now to better appreciate it.

Definitely not his best. Somehow the film adaptation turned out wonderful though.

I ordered this book after reading a plot synopsis and being intrigued, coupled with the fact that the author also wrote Fight Club, one of the most original and compelling movies I’ve seen. It has elements of borderline pornography, so if that bothers you look elsewhere, as the protagonist is a sex addict.

In addition to being sexually impulsive, Victor must support his delusional mother in an assisted care facility, at a cost of $3,000 per month. How to raise that kind of money on a menial, minimum wage job? Victor trolls through area restaurants, staging choking incidents, compelling patrons to “save his life”. Having done so, he finds they subsequently feel responsible for his well-being, sending him money from time to time. The story cycles through choking incidents, sexual encounters, visits between Victor and his Mom (past and present), Victor’s job as a colonial reenactor and his relationship with his best friend, Denny.

The story is filled with other characters, just as “damaged” as Victor. This is certainly original and initially quite entertaining, but though short, it runs out of steam well before a nice plot twist near the end.

Oh my. I do not even begin to know where to go with this book.

Second Palahniuk book....first after Fight Club, and all I have to say is that if you thought some of the things in FC were intense--this book holds more. I cannot relate the ridiculousness of this book....or how entertaining it was.

The protagonist, Victor, is an jerk--by choice he claims--who goes to sexual addiction recovery meetings not to get better...but to pick up chicks. His mom was diagnosed with some kind of psychotic problem. When the protagonist was a child, she would kidnap him, tell him crazy stories, and then get sent to jail.

The present tense of the novel, mom is in a private hospital, slowly dying to death, and he goes to a different restaurant every night, pretends to choke until someone saves him. This helps him feel loved. He deludes himself into thinking that he is helping others feel like heros.

Of course, none of these things can last forever....and the twist at the end. Phew. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in getting perspective on their own lives.

Chuck Palahniuk is either the most brilliant contemporary author I've ever read or the most messed-up person I've ever heard about -- or a little of both. This book is fabulously luminous and one of my favorites of his... but be forewarned that it's not for everyone, particularly the prudish or weak of stomach.

I listened to the audiobook read by the author.

Chuck Palahnuik has one of the most annoying, whiny voices ever. It's not as irritating as Fran Drescher's, but it's way worse than Woody Allen at his most wheedling.

That said, he's not a bad vocal performer. It's just that his accent is painful.

The novel itself is pretty good. Parts were fairly predictable, but there were a couple of nice twists at the end.

Misanthropy bores me, so I spent a while waiting for something compelling to happen. The sex addict plot was a little gratuitous, although the sex (and there's a lot of it) is well-written. The anti-feminist railing claiming the women see men only as a life-support system for their cocks is all kinds of ironic given that the narrator only sees women (who aren't elderly) as sex objects.

The Oedipal issues are fascinating, but only in a train wreck sense. They don't go far enough to be really interesting.

Enjoyed this one but not saving for husband to finally get around to reading anymore. Donating as I'm clearing my bookshelves for a move.

Everyone and their auntie (well, probably not their auntie) has been telling me I should read some Palahniuk, and so finally I've gotten around to it.

In a world where urban legends very likely have a factual basis and you might actually meet the guy who stuck a live hamster up his rectum, Victor Mancini is working as one of the historic characters at a colonial re-enactment tourist attraction while making his real money going to restaurants in the evenings, pretending to choke on pieces of food, being saved by fellow-diners proud of their knowledge of the Heimlich manoeuvre, and thereafter sponging off them on the grounds that, as the old custom dictates, if you save someone's life you're indebted to them for ever. He needs the dough because his mother who turned his childhood into a years-long madhouse, is now in the madhouse herself -- stricken early by senile dementia or some semblance thereof, and likely to die soon -- and her medical treatment ain't cheap. For his sex life Victor largely relies on trawling around the sexaholic-recovery groups, where at any particular moment there are bound to be plenty of women attendees in the process of relapse. Then he meets one of the psychiatrists working at his mother's clinic, the sexually provocative Paige Marshall, who deduces that his mother bore him in consequence of a DNA-recovery experiment using Christ's foreskin, stolen from a European cathedral.

And so on.

After a while, I found reading this to be rather like watching a stand-up comic who hasn't worked out when to stop milking one joke and move on to the next. Crammed willy-nilly into Choke are stacks of ideas -- most of them based in real or perhaps sometimes invented urban legends -- that someone like Roald Dahl might have used individually to produce a whole string of superbly caustic, incisive, well honed stories. When Dahl combined such elements into a novel, he produced the endlessly entertaining -- and spectacularly smutty -- My Uncle Oswald (1979). One senses Dahl put a whole lot of effort into crafting that novel; I didn't get that sense at all from Choke. Rather, it seemed to me that Palahniuk decided he'd found a formula for pandering successfully to the fashionistas, and was adhering to it. All in all, the book seemed more faux-cleverness than substance, an empty codpiece of a text. The plentiful sexual; passages seemed introduced as a form of writerly freewheeling ("If I can't think of anything else to add today I could always rattle off fifteen pages of smut"); sometimes they're very amusing, but most are awfully tedious. The text in general is of the kind that's exceptionally easy to write assuming you have a basic gift of the gab, which Palahniuk quite evidently has.

Elsewhere my pal Andrew Hook has given the thumbs-up to a different Palahniuk novel, so maybe I'll give it a try. "Or maybe not" is perhaps not the right phrase, but it's the one that comes first to mind.

Same narrator as Fight Club, just a little more f'd up. . .