Beautiful You

After just finishing Chuck Palahniuk's Beautiful You: A Novel, I can't help but think that this may be Palahniuk's return to form. Many fans may argue that some of his latest books don't quite match up to his early work, and with books like Snuff and Tell All, I agree. Beautiful You feels like Palahniuk has been released from some shackles and is now exploring human sexuality, consumption, consumerism, and gratification in a way he hasn't done in years. Reading through it, I couldn't help but think that this book has been floating around in his mind for years, and that only now has he "been given permission" to write Beautiful You. Beautiful You often feels like an amalgamation of a lot of his earlier works. There is Fight Club anti consumerism, a weird, almost dystopian future you would find in Rant, the perverseness and uneasy "wrongness" that he wrote about in Haunted and Choke. Yet, he tells an entirely new story about a young 20 something female fresh out of law school trying to find her meaning in life. He hits on some of old stomping grounds in which every thing has already been done and accomplished, and what do you do when you have no clue what you want to do? He takes you on a ride barely lasting 136 days, making you question what your world would be like if suddenly roles were reversed. Be forewarned, this book is highly sexual, and I believe is meant to be a parody of the adult erotica novels "50 Shades of Grey". It feels like almost half of the book concerns women discovering their bodies for the first time. At best, it can be erotic, and forces you to think about sexuality in ways you haven't before. At worst, it's uncomfortable and disturbing (which is great if you like reading Palahniuk). I can't recommend it to beginner Chuck Palahniuk readers, as it may turn you off forever, but those that enjoyed Choke or Haunted should also enjoy Beautiful You.

I wish I could say "Beautiful You" is quintessential Chuck, but it strongly deviates form his standard formula, which I came to experience as both refreshing and disconcerting while reading. The first half of the book seems as though written by an entirely different author - while it is interesting and unique, it simply doesn't feel like Chuck, who is darker and edgier and more concise in his prose. I have grown all too accustomed to Chuck's simple sentence structure and ability to jump straight into new scenes without needless repetition of THEMES (albeit not phrases; e.g., invisible monsters "give me ___. flash"). Here, in the first half of the book, Penny's experiences as a helpless and lost 25-year-old young woman in modern (somewhat futuristic) American society, with her overtly scientific and "nerdy" male suitor, Max, appear redundant. Chuck has previously explored hypersexual themes in "Snuff" (which I loved), and Snuff felt authentically Palahniukian - Differently, "BY" felt extremely experimental. An experiment that worked only as the story progressed. Chuck deals primarily with unforeseen and often fantastical elements that are expressed through his animated characters. Here, we deal with Max, a scientist who opts to dominate female sexuality in a political and economic climate he intends to exclusively control through his female sex toy technologies. More eerily, we encounter an unrealistically aged sex witch who was Max's mentor in his youth and whose tools, spiritually and physically, Chuck uses to begin his corporate domination via his Beautiful You products. These characters make Chuck's books worth reading because we suspend our disbelief and go for the ride - we have plenty of this in the latter portions of the book. Also, torched dildos and douches that injure human beings - it's fascinating, don't try to deny it. Of course, there is an array of satire, primarily dealing with mass consumerism and exploitation of female sexuality. There is additional satire of consciousness of primitive desires and how they overlap with functionality in modern american society, particularly as a woman. If we submit to our natural desires, do we become zombies? Can we operate like normal human beings if we allow our sexualities to consume us? Are women compelled to suppress their sexual energies in order to be balanced, successful members of society? If they are not, are they only permitted to do so at the behest of men? This is not Chuck's best (although I refuse to believe that his best days are behind him) - but it is certainly an intriguing premise and decent execution of numerous important interconnected themes.

I love Palahnuik books and will read him even if they are a mess of chicken scratch, dog nuggets, and promoted as flashcards for the blind. That said, I'm not crazy about this one but I give him huge props for doing what very few men have attempted. Ever. This could be completely inaccurate but I felt like he took a huge chunk of the romance novel genre, put it in a blender and drank it each morning for six months to emulate the tone and gland-clogging sexual spree given over to those who love deliciously smutty bodice-rippers. Since I'm one of those people and those books taught me the joy and love of reading (sometimes at 2 AM just to get to that next sex scene), I'm impressed with CP's first sex scene. He didn't exactly "nail" the female brain on romance but he satirized it in a way I could still get off on.

Palahniuk is my all time favorite author, from the gritty Fight Club to the brutally honest Stranger Than Fiction nonfiction work he's written. He allows a sense of connection and understanding-and more importantly complete dedication and devotion to the story, history and mystery behind what most either consider taboo or uncomfortable. He takes you there, makes you squirm with every paragraph, sentence and well placed word to keep you entranced and sometimes disgusted as he says what everyone thinks-humankind is depraved, carnal and disturbed. It's fascinating and beautifully written every time from every character perspective possible.

Forget Fight Club. Don't ask yourself where has the author of that masterpiece gone. Put it into perspective: if you were, like me, a young male with some issues when you saw the film or read the novel, it was spot on. Just great, an awesome plot and critique of modern consumerist society and the male role in it. Well, Palahniuk has certainly continued with his nihilism and disgust towards consumerism and modern society in general. He just went completely to the extreme and made everything ridiculous. This isn't meant to be a serious novel. The premise and everything that happens is ridiculous on purpose. In an interview, ha said that his approach to writing is to find a problem and then blow it out of proportion. He certainly did that with Beautiful You. If you like grindcore, bands like CockAndBallTorture, Rompeprop and SpermSwamp, you will find this novel funny. It is certainly disgusting in a lot of places. He takes female sexuality and stuff like stupid Cosmopolitan headlines, modern consumerism, mixes it and comes out with something that's absolutely retarded. I found it funny that this book was next to 50 Shades of Grey in the bookstore, right when the movie of the same name hit the cinemas and all the hysteria that followed. Why did I give it 1 star? Price. Almost $24 for something that should be priced $2.99. I seriously can't believe that Palahniuk values his 'novel' so much. To me, it seems that he cashed in on his Fight Club fame. I would have given it three stars if the price was different. Because that's what this book is about: a trashy, stupid story with some humor to entertain you while you are hung over. Avoid.

I absolutely love Chuck Palahniuk, even though in the hype it has become kind of cliche to adore him. My favorite book of his is Rant, which is brilliantly irreverent, creative to the point of madness and hilarity, and really fun to read. I also highly recommend: Haunted, Lullaby, Invisible Monsters, and Survivor if you are fond of his style. His more recent books have been really hit or miss. A Beautiful You was a really bizarre experience and not in a good way like his other books, it may be worth reading for the gimmick of it alone but I thought the humor fell flat. I'm not going to review this based on the gross-out factor, if you are reading Chuck you know his books are going to be full of a lot of grotesque stuff. If you cannot handle that, there is no reason you should read this book - it is incredibly graphic. But I personally love his kind of appalling graphic creativity in his books - as long as it is accompanied with intriguing characters and a good plot. A Beautiful You had an obnoxious twisty completely hollow plot. The satirical value is interesting and his writing can still be biting and engaging but this book was very difficult to like in any way. I was fond of ranting about this book to my boyfriend (who is also a fan of his but could do without books like Damned and Tell-All which are just subpar compared to the rest of his work) and describing the insanely absurd, often hilarious sex scenes in this book. It is worth it just to kind of hate it, in my opinion - if you have nothing better to do. A Beautiful You is an over-sexed romp, you could have fun with it if you don't expect too much from it. But I've begun to really miss his old style. Survivor managed to be satirical and absolutely outlandish while still having an engaging character, the plot kept you captivated throughout - I remember starting A Beautiful You and immediately wanting it to end, I trudged through it and started skimming through the bone-fucking Himalayan scenes as fast as possible. I was so irritated by the book and by the protagonist, that it kind of upset me. I am yearning for the brilliant, often philosophical, never tedious, Chuck stories of old. Read this if you're really into reading about creative sex-toys, otherwise the story is completely forgettable - in that you will want to forget about the experience as fast as humanly possible.

OK... this wacked out train wreck of a book is an utterly awesome ride... but not for those who are not willing to read about a little sex... Mega Billionaire is opening a chain of stores to sell his "Beautiful You" line of personal pleasure devices for women... and not just a little pleasure... really more than any woman has ever been able to imagine. Throw in a new girlfriend that knows that she only has 136 days to date him (that is when he breaks up with everyone) and you have a story that makes a little fun of 50 Shades... but mostly focuses on how to sexually please women... and then take over the world. Fantastic satire. Read it in 3 days... it was that hard to put down... but! Not for everyone...

I’m a long-time reader of Palahniuk’s work, and I’ve rarely found anything disappointing in his writing. Beautiful You, I’m happy to say, was no exception. As always, his unique literary voice and cadence shine through, while still managing to avoid seeming repetitive or tired. This novel introduces us to Penny Harrigan, a woman whose life seems to be an unending series of disappointments, whether it’s her career or her love life. All of that changes when tech billionaire C. Linus Maxwell takes an interest in her. She’s as surprised as everyone else, as she lives out a Cinderella fantasy that most girls would only dream of. Unfortunately, the dream is quickly revealed to be more of a nightmare, as she begins to feel less like a romantic partner and more like a guinea pig. Maxwell is not the man the tabloids make him out to be, perhaps because he secretly owns them. As this intensely sexual tryst continues, Penny silently watches the clock ticking down to the inevitable conclusion that awaits all of Maxwell’s romantic partners. And when that end arrives, it’s as jarring and disorienting as the beginning was. It’s soon revealed that Maxwell has his eyes set on an objective with global repercussions, and Penny has been ignorantly complicit in the horrors that await the women of the world. By the time she realizes what’s going on, is it too late to get anyone to hear her? As she struggles to put a stop to the plan already in motion, she’s hammered with revelations that force her to question her life, her identity, and the extreme limits of human sexuality. As sexually explicit as Beautiful You happens to be, there’s nothing remotely erotic about it. That’s the magic of Palahniuk’s writing. He was able to approach a topic so steeped in sexual content without making it feel smutty or even remotely sexy. He takes us right to the verge and then turns away…like literary edging. There’s a perversity in the clinical detachment of it all, and the sense of impending awfulness that the reader or listener is impossible to dismiss. In a sense, it makes us feel superior to the characters, because we see the trap that awaits and convince ourselves we could escape it. It forces you to wonder if we’d succumb to the same terrible outcome if this sequence of events played out in the real world. The moral of the story, I suppose, is that men need to focus more on the pleasure their partners are experiencing…otherwise, the Beautiful You line of products might just take our place. Carol Monda’s narration definitely captures the initially neurotic and out-of-her-depth qualities of Penny’s character as well as who she becomes as the events of the story transform her.