Snuff

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It's a hit!

Surprisingly a wonderful little tale that came off much more like a massive short story than a true novel, but like most of Palahniuk's novels he k... (show more)

Surprisingly a wonderful little tale that came off much more like a massive short story than a true novel, but like most of Palahniuk's novels he knows exactly how to pace them and when to end them and Snuff is a shining example of that. As each of the main lead males Mr. 600, 137 and 72 come closer and closer to their shining moment of bliss with Cassie Wright their pasts and motives for doing this deed come out and it's pure genius. Sheila is no example as she is the most mysterious right up until the end when the big twist comes. The book in general is just a great satire on pornography and sex in general (on the lust side) and Chuck's mixture of true hollywood facts of old beauties just add to the brilliance. The book was impossible to put down and went very fast and was always entertaining. Format wise Chuck's use of giving total narration to each of the four main characters in their chapters was great, and I really felt like I got to really understand the characters and really get into their own minds. Overall it's a simple story set wise as it all takes place backstage and on stage with Cassie, but through a clever concept and a beautiful mix of flashbacks and very disturbing sexual situations Chuck pulls off a little novel that is well deserving to be among his other great works. Lastly Chuck's second swing at handling sex after Choke, is not as good but still manages to seem like it's talking about a whole new angle and a book I am surprised to see so many of his fans disliking since I enjoyed it immensely. (show less)

 

 

by Facebook-gebruiker

No, it's a flop!

I have read every book Chuck Palahniuk has written so far. Apart from about half the essays in Stranger than Fiction none have been worth reading s... (show more)

I have read every book Chuck Palahniuk has written so far. Apart from about half the essays in Stranger than Fiction none have been worth reading since Choke (2001).

Snuff is just the latest in a string of novels that are so far from marks set earlier the publisher should really reconsider. In short, the story is about 600 men waiting to have sex with a former famous porn star so she can set an unbreakable record. Apart from the actress only three men (#72, #137, and #600) and the casting woman, Sheila, have few have speaking parts. Each man has his background story that we get in pieces since it is a mystery of sorts—and given that, I can say no more by way of plot.

By way of analysis, no one is who they say they are. This gives nothing away, just points to an obvious point. None of the men have real names, just actor names or simply numbers. If there is anything clever at all about Snuff this is it, and it is the stuff of under-graduate creative writing. I know that sounds vicious, but I just finished the thing and that is the best thing I can come up with. There are attempts at being funny at naming porn films based on real film names (so easy a 12 year old could do it) and the various ways that one woman can come up with to describe the act of masturbation without actually saying the word. This leads to . . .

Mr. Palahniuk has fallen into the trap of lists. Snuff, along with the above, lists various ways actresses and actors killed themselves as their careers ended due to age or the advent of sound and lists of poisons. Rant had its list of poisons, poisonous animals, sexually linked after-effects and any antidotes. Haunted had a series of different ways to kill people; Diary had a strange list of the ways various cultures would put things through a threshold before passing into a house for the first time or what should be put in what place during a renovation (Africans in the bush did this, Armenians did that . . .). Earlier books had this, but there was, in fact, a story that the lists resided (the series of “John” books in Fight Club and the list of color codes for an AIDS quilt in Invisible Monsters that was so funny I had to put the book down several times). Not so here. The best thing I can say about Snuff is that it is a sparse 197 pages.

I keep thinking that he will be able to catch the magic he had in Fight Club, Choke, and most especially Invisible Monsters which has to be the funniest book I’ve ever read. Each of these novels pushed the bounds of taste, but they were all clever, intelligent, engaging. I actually cared about the characters; they were people, not just numbers with a mind full of lists. So far I have been disappointed at every turn of every page.

I wanted to laugh, I wanted to care. Instead I just wanted to finish. Snuff is short (even for a very slow reader like me) so getting to the end wasn’t going to take long so, while I want the time back, I cannot be considered a fair-weather fan. I didn’t like it. I don’t recommend it to anyone who is not familiar with his work. If you are, then you will (like me) read it anyway.

He has become so consistently bad lately that I am seriously considering not getting Pygmy due out next spring according to Wikipedia.

My advice is for him to take a break, maybe even a few years, reread his first four novels and see if he can sniff the wind that made them. If he keeps going down this path, he will become his own farce during his lifetime. (show less)

 

 

by Steven Paul Savage

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  In "Snuff" Cassie Wright, an aging porn star, seeks to go down in history by breaking the record for most consecutive partners, 600, in one film. Three of the 600 men: #72, a young man, #137, a former TV star, and #600, an old porn star and Cassie's contemporary, wait, in a large room, for their turn. Stripped to their underwear and bored, they make small talk with each other. It is through their perspectives, and their interactions with each other and with Sheila, the "tal... (show more)

  In "Snuff" Cassie Wright, an aging porn star, seeks to go down in history by breaking the record for most consecutive partners, 600, in one film. Three of the 600 men: #72, a young man, #137, a former TV star, and #600, an old porn star and Cassie's contemporary, wait, in a large room, for their turn. Stripped to their underwear and bored, they make small talk with each other. It is through their perspectives, and their interactions with each other and with Sheila, the "talent wrangler" running the production, that we learn about Cassie and the circumstances that may result in this film becoming a snuff film, Cassie's last.

  As many reviewers have pointed out, this is not Palahniuk's best work (see Fight Club, Choke, Diary, Survivor), however it is nowhere near as bad a misfire as Rant, in which Palahniuk seemed to let his sillier tendencies run wild. While some of these tendencies exist in "Snuff" (far too many descriptions of men eating junk food - Palahniuk clearly trying too hard to paint as disgusting an image as possible) overall it is a slight, fun, comic read. The absurdity of the men waiting around like porn-actor versions of Vladimir and Estragon is quite amusing. Palahniuk also does a great job toward the end of the novel of building suspense and hitting the reader with one twist after the next, which makes for a fun read.

  Not one of his best works, but not terrible either. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook-gebruiker on May 24, 2008 at 06:51PM

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  Okay, so I know this is a Chuck book, (and I'm purposely not writing out his last name because it's hard to pronounce, read and type), so there are some expectations of a graphic nature. However, this book goes above and beyond, or perhaps below and beyond. Needless to say this book is not for the feint of heart.

  This does not mean it was a bad book. However, I think it was a little over done in Snuff. While any complete senteces about the books plot would probably get me banned from... (show more)

  Okay, so I know this is a Chuck book, (and I'm purposely not writing out his last name because it's hard to pronounce, read and type), so there are some expectations of a graphic nature. However, this book goes above and beyond, or perhaps below and beyond. Needless to say this book is not for the feint of heart.

  This does not mean it was a bad book. However, I think it was a little over done in Snuff. While any complete senteces about the books plot would probably get me banned from facebook, I'll just put it into one word descriptions.

  Porn.

  600!

  Cameras.

  Gooey.

  If any of these make you want to read the book, then this book may be for you.

  There are other books by Chuck that are much better, and I can't say I've read them all, but I've read a lot of them. And while this is my least favorite, like I said before, it doesn't make a bad book. (show less)

   

   

  by Holt Thomas on Oct 01, 2009 at 03:19AM

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