Haunted

Chuck Palahniuk is best known for his novel Fight Club, which became the incredibly successful cult movie directed by David Fincher. Fight Club is probably the novel I enjoyed least by Palahniuk however - perhaps because I was already such a big fan of the film and it therefore seemed to hold nothing new for me (I had the same problem with King's The Green Mile when I finally read it last year).  Haunted was the first book of his that I read, and it's a strange one that's for sure. Nevertheless it secured my appreciation for Palahniuk's work and I have subsequently worked my way through most of his bibliography.

Part of what makes Haunted so engaging is its unusual format: a series of short stories embedded into the main plot and authored by the main characters. The over-arching plot centres on a group of writers attempting to 'find' their masterpiece by taking part in a retreat based on the visit made by Lord Byron and Mary Shelley amongst others to the Villa Diotati in 1816 (this is where Shelley came up with the idea for Frankenstein).  The characters are known only by nicknames which are explained in the short stories making up every other chapter and providing autobiographical information in flash-back form.

When the writers are unexpectedly trapped in the abandoned theatre they have chosen as their hermitage, in true dark and surreal style from Palahniuk they do not behave as expected. Each writer more desperate for fame than anything else, they endeavour to make their situation worse in the knowledge that a harrowing, near-death experience will give their story importance and mystery when they are inevitably rescued. Cue wastage of the dwindling food supplies, self-mutilation and plots to sabotage the other residents (each character reasoning that the fewer survivors, the better their story).

As is always the case with Palahniuk's writing, both the mini back stories and the events which transpire within the framing narrative are often gruesome, graphic and shocking. Be prepared for necrophilia, cannibalism, suicide and much more as the tale unfolds. The writer's - clearly - odd imagination births a series of disturbing scenes which create a satirical view of modern life and the pursuit of fame and integrity. This is a mood which runs through all of Chuck Palahniuk's work (I would recommend Choke and Lullaby as two more of my favourites as well).

The macabre and almost nightmarish feel of this cult writer's work, along with the cynicism of his narrators and post-modern writing style, really emphasises his message about people's ability to distance themselves from the horrors of modern life. He paints a shallow, vindictive picture of society - almost comical in its cruelty - which, although entertaining and thought provoking, could definitely get you down if you read too much at once.