Lullaby
£2.97
Awesome!! - This book is written on so many levels that it keeps the reader s attention throughout. This was my first novel by this author, it was recommended to me by a colleague at work, I am forever greatful. It has opended my eyes to a way of writing that has provided an escape that turns and takes the reader on a journey they will never forget. I can t wait to read more titles and I had never known about.
Arresting - Lullaby was an absolutely fantastic read. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Fight Club, I decided to go through the rest of Palahniuck s books. Lullaby is very dark, very gritty and bitterly addictive. It is definitely not a book for the faint hearted, or the easily fazed. It has strong sexual references, including some that turn the stomach. Palahniuck s writing is astounding, he doesn t simply push the boundaries, he sets them alight. This was definitely a book that I found hard to put down, Palahniuck s characters are vivid and intricate, and frighteningly credible. He goes where most writers do not dare, to the dirty, corrupted world of criminals, but also of the police and people in positions of power and trust. An incredible book, the imagery impressed upon you will stick with you forever.
Pathetic - Chuck Palahniuk is the worst writer in the world, maybe even the universe. After reading Fight Club (completely over-rated due to the success of the movie), I thought I d try out his other books before I pass judgement. That was a decision I regret till this day. How this guy got his books published, I don t know. His writing style is comparable to that of a 10 year old, his stories are absolutely pathetic and his characters are the same as in his other books. I strongly urge the reading public not to purchase this guy s books, as that would only prompt him to continue his pathetic career.
Great idea but would be better as a short story - The premise of Lullaby is great. An journalist has discovered that children are dying having been read an Afican culling poem. Said journalist then goes on a road trip with a few others to destroy all the existing copies of the poem, and that s that.There are some interesting musings about individual power (and power s ability to corrupt), about loss and capitalism. Despite the basic idea, which could be considered quite depressing, it also manages to be really funny in places.My main problem is that the core idea doesn t really go anywhere. I was left with the feeling that it would have been an amazing short story rather than a fleshed-out novel.
A Lullaby will make things better... - The-guy-who-wrote-Fight-Club s fifth novel starts off intriguingly, based on the premise that words - specifically, a children s poem - have the power to kill. The story quickly mutates into a road trip/crusade, in which the central character and narrator, Carl Streator, attempts to destroy every copy of the poem, at the same time seeking redemption for his own wrongdoings. Aiding him in this quest is his new family : Helen - a ruthless real-estate agent who accidentally killed her own son Patrick with the same deadly poem some years prior - Helen s secretary, Mona, and Mona s eco-warrior boyfriend, Oyster. Streator is another one of Palahniuk s great antiheroes, in as far as he succumbs to the temptation of using the lullaby for his own purposes, that is, to kill anyone who pisses him off. Palahniuk s genius lies in his ability to make this seem both scarily natural and blackly hilarious.As with all his novels, Palahniuk succeeds in creating well-rounded characters that are both despicable and heart-breakingly human, at the same time delivering an unflinching narrative and a series of stark but thought-provoking observations on American society and the world at large. Though his observations and predictions are invariably bleak, they are wrapped in warped notions of love, romance and hope for the future, giving Lullaby a unique, refreshing twist. Occasionally, Palahniuk does seem to be labouring the point with regards to the idea that words and music have become a disease of the mind. It is also worth noting that Lullaby is one of Chuck s more far-fetched novels, as he delves into the worlds of witch-craft and occupation spells, but, with a healthy suspension of disbelief, the reader should reach the final page of this strange and beautiful novel completely convinced of Palahniuk s fortitude as a master story-teller.Matt Pucci