Damned

I know I’m not alone when I gasp at how sophisticated young teenagers and preteens are today. Maybe even in ancient times the youth of yesterday astonished their elders by spewing modern thoughts and getting into situations far beyond their years. Margaret’s story is tragic, but plausible due to that fact. We all know a young person with a quick wit and intelligence who, though awkward on the outside, yearns to experience life and love. Being in Hell brings out the heroine in little Miss Margaret. Soon she’s taming demons and avenging history’s rankest foes. Her decorating and personal touch with landscaping is an unexpected bonus. Satan never saw her coming. Maybe teenagers really do have all the answers after all?

After seeing so many posts raving about Chuck Palahniuk, I finally decided to give his twisted humor a try. Why did I wait so long? Damned was a fun romp through Hell with Madison, a 13-year-old girl. 👍This book is a satirical roller-coaster ride, taking on adolescence, religion, the media and just about every other aspect of society. Palahniuk pulled no punches in his descriptions of Madison's parents, and he is equally blunt creating his other characters. 👍This was the first of his books I have read, but it won't be the last. Now it's on to the sequel, Doomed.👍My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

i am a big chuck fan. honestly i love listening to his books:Invisible monsters (crazy story i was not expecting)Diary (so interesting/different and the narrator really did a great job)Fight Club (great book/story, narrator could've been better)Choke (loved this book!!!)Damned, i just didn't really like it. I loved the idea, the over all story, but it ended up just being boring. I struggled to get through it to the end. the narrator was fine, but the story just needed work. the kid at times was to "mature" for her age and seemed like she should've been 15 or more instead of just 13. it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.. over all rating: meh...

It's funny how a novel about Hell is what we all needed for Chuck Palahniuk to return from his three book slump of the past few years. I enjoyed  Snuff  more than others, but still was dissapointed.  Pygmy  was decent, but I was not a fan of the broken english. I enjoyed the style of  Tell-All , but there wasn't much plot or story behind it.It has been almost fifteen years or so since Chuck began writing  Fight Club: A Novel , and he has changed a lot over his career. In some ways, for the worse. In some, for the better. But overall, "Damned" by Chuck Palahniuk is a hopeful promise for the future, a good return path for Chuck to start up his excellence again.Damned is the story of little Madison, a young woman who wakes up one day to find herself damned to hell. As she prays... er, well, that's not the right word. As she solicits the idea of Satan to come and tell her what she did wrong, to give her meaning to her life, Madison tells the reader a story that stretches from her youngest memories to the most current event in the timeline. In Hell, she meets various characters, and most of them seem to get their own big "moments". Also, Hitler has a cameo.I'm not going to lie, Damned is as funny as Palahniuk's earlier  Choke . Although Madison is in a desperate situation, eternally damned to puberty and no "ta-tas", she has a lot of humor through her language and her tone. Like a lot of other Palahniuk protagonists, Madison is a rampant intellectual, so be prepared to learn a few things along the way, too.As much as I would like to keep singing praises, I do need to address the problems of this book. There are definately scens that could have lasted about seven paragraphs shorter than they did. A lot of seemingly trivial events are stretched out to fill whol chapters, making each individual episode hit-or-miss. Also, I know this is paying homage to "The Breakfast Club", but there are parts where it seems like a downright rip-off (i.e. the whole supporting cast up until, like, page 200).In the end, though, Damned is a solid entry in the career of Chuck Palahnkiuk, the first in a trilogy of novels concerining this Maddie Spencer. Apparently, the next one will be purgatory and the final entry in heaven. Oooohhh. The prospect of a modern Dante's Inferno strikes me as interesting. In the mean time, sit back, relax, and enjoy this novel. As the last words of the book say:"To be continued..."

This is a story of a 13 year old girl's time in hell and the people she meets while she is there. Palahniuk spoofs several things in popular culture in this story by taking them to their illogical extreme. Madison is a privileged if ignored preteen with two self absorbed A-list celebrity parents with a habit of collecting underprivileged third world children. Their indifference lands her in hell and as she describes her experience there the unfortunate details of her life are slowly reveled. This story is told in a king of odd off beat way with both satire and humor. Over the course of the story Madison meets several other people who are dealing with life in hell in their own particular way. If you like Palahniuk's writing style, you will like this book. While I did not enjoy it as much as his other books in that it seemed a little more heavy handed in its satire, it was still an entertaining story.

This was an amusing, strange, dark, funny read. The characters and storyline were engaging, the pacing was good and the humor made some interesting and difficult concepts palatable to explore. Recommended (but not if you don't like harsh language and some gross, profane--but funny--imagery.)

Madison is intresting, but not that interesting and the rants are great but got a bit tedious after a while. I got just half-way through the book and started to skim for an actual story and finally couldn't take it anymore and put the book down. Madison and her opinions just couldn't keep my intrest.

A very very funny book. The main character is now a 13 year old fat girl and even though she died too quickly to become one of those characteristic Palahniuk antiheroes, it's not always clear how innocent she is. The author brilliantly parallels Hell with Earth and gives a hilarious but heartbreaking account of the idiocy of narcissistic "super-liberal" celebrities, their motives behind seemingly noble and progressive acts and how their version of parenting works out. Maddie is a very intelligent young girl and the story follows her and her new damned friends coping with being dead and in Hell and with finding the courage to improve themselves even after death. Maddie doesn't remember how she died, another thing which will be of interest during the story. I laughed a lot reading this book. It was a fresh perspective (from a 13 year old girl) within an old perspective (good ol' Chuck Palahniuk).

Hmm, two stars for a book by one of my favourite authors; do I dare justify it?First off, Palahniuk's trademark irreverent wit and candour are still there, and they juxtapose aptly enough with a premise as morbid as throwing an overweight 13-year-old smartass, overprivileged but lonely Hollywood brat, Madison Spencer, into hell and eternal damnation. She is there due to a supposed marijuana overdose, when the novel begins, a telling sign of the kind of excess and moral decadence associated with Maddy's upbringing by celebrity parents, but this being a Palahniuk novel, nothing is as it really seems at first.Next, there is a motley cast of characters in the form of four fellow cellmates, strategically placed in close-enough vicinity and who just "so happen" to be teenagers modelled after the cast of John Hughes' 80s cult teen movie, "The Breakfast Club", for Maddy to identify with and form a tenuous clique with quite quickly. (Palahniuk has made specific reference to the movie in interviews as an intended influence on the novel). They break out of their cells to take a tour of Hell, as a kind of induction for Maddy.The putrid landscape of Hell is also detailed with suitably vile description: a sea of wasted sperm, land mounds of dandruff, used diapers, etc... you get the drift, and there are one or two blood-curdling scenes involving the repetitive ingesting of humans by monstrous demons.Then inexplicably, a call centre appears midway in the story and Maddy finds herself working there, making telemarketing calls to the living, and her newfound friends fall away from the focus of the story, only to resurface later.Perhaps I would have moved this up to three stars if the narrative hadn't moved in such a schizophrenic manner. It might be premature to judge it this harshly if indeed this was meant to be a precursor to a larger story.

Very enjoyable. Different from his arguably most famous work (Fight Club) but has a very similar feeling to it.It's written as a series of letters which adds an interesting perspective. Funny in parts, disgusting in others, thought-provoking in others still.It won't be for everyone but if you've liked any of his previous novels, you'll most likely enjoy this as well.I highly recommend it.

It took me longer than usual to get through this Chuck book but, I still really enjoyed it. It was classic Chuck, and where it was slightly slow I did continue because I was curious of the characters turmoil. I loved his writing style (as always) and his humour is his usual self so not sure why people are hating it - read it people!

One of the few books I read more than once. Slightly perverse. Highly imaginative. I'm sure some people won't get it but that says more about them than the book.

Another great read from Chuck. Looking forward to part two, Doomed and the further misadventures of Madison and her companions

I've been a fan of Palahniuk for Many years and he continues to deliver. This first book of a series is centred around a teenage girl who dies from an overdose and is sent to hell. This book tells a unique story of the authors idea of hell, a satirical and hilarious tale with the usual level of beautifully disgusting imagery made this thoroughly enjoyable

Another serving of messed up humour philosophy packaged in a unique narrative. Coming of age with a twist. Very enjoyable

i read a few mixed reviews about the book before i purchased it, to find out for myself. it's an interesting concept for a book and has good opportunity for growth as a series of books. the main character, Madison, is not someone i can really either like or dislike and feel i should pity on some level. it's an entertaining read and i will most likely purchase the sequel to see what else Madison gets up to. however, i might add that i will purchase it as a back up when i find myself between books i'm looking forward to reading

Yet more odd insights into the human condition from a very talented auther.

Exceeded my expectations! Love me a bit of Chuck! Looking forward to reading Doomed next.

Thanks

If that's he'll I'd quite like to visit. It sounds like fun! Really enjoyed another alternative version to he'll and all the different rules you can break to get there.

Thanks

You either love him or you don't. Damned is another of his penetrating and frequently hilarious observations on the general absurdity of human folly. By turns informative, provocative and philosophical, Chuck succeeds in hitting the spot on all nine circles. He is my regular summer holiday treat.