Customer Reviews

Invisible Monsters

5 star:		(196)
4 star:		(76)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Despite the tragedy of the storyline and the callousness of the lead characters, I promise you are going to get several belly laughs from this twisted piece of literature.

In a zany prose reminiscent of Candace Bushnell's 'Sex In The City' and the surrealism of Bret Easton Ellis's works, Palahniuk has written a twisted and sick tale of disfigurement, love, hate, and fashion here in Invisible Monsters.

Shannon McFarland's career as a picture perfect model was ruined the day her lower jaw was shot off while she was driving down the freeway. Her best friend Evie Cottrell steals all her clothing while she is in the hospital, and her fiancé Manus Kelley leaves her; but during her speech therapy classes she meets the enigma that is Brandy Alexander.

Brandy befriends Shannon, and together with friend Seth Thomas they set off on a wild cross country tour, viewing high end estates up for sale and stealing all of the prescription drugs from them. But believe me when I say, nothing is as it seems in this crazy story. You are in for several very big surprises.

Invisible Monsters is a book that is not about the plot, it is about the characters, and yet there are twists upon twists upon twists every turn of the page. Who is Brandy Alexander? Who is Shannon McFarland? Who is Seth Thomas? And who is Evie Cottrell? You'll just have to keep reading. Like me, you will probably wind out not caring about any of them, but they are going to make you laugh out loud with their outrageous plans and antics.

You'll have tears running down your face when Shannon's parents (in a flashback scene before her disfigurement) give her nothing but condoms for Christmas because her brother died of AIDS. And the conversation around the Thanksgiving table turns to graphic depictions of hinder romping while they cower in unnecessary fear because they support AIDS families. Be thankful these are not your parents.

Told oddly in a profusion of scene jumping, using the written word like flash photography, Palahniuk has written a psychotically offbeat tale that nonetheless will have you turning pages as rapidly as Brandy pops vicodin and estrogen. I found it strangely enjoyable and morbidly compelling, and if you like screwy and disgusting stories, you will most likely love Invisible Monsters. Enjoy!

If I had to recommend a single Palahniuk book, other than the justifiably overhyped Fight Club, it would be this one. Not as meandering as Choke, self-righteous as Survivor, and as brief as Lullaby. Invisible Monsters is another one of his books that plays itself as a film within your head...you try not to gasp in horror and laugh at the same time. It has a solid story and a concrete ending! Palahniuk needs to follow this model using his style as a assault on your imagination. I'm suprised that this is not as popular as Fight Club...seeing as how this is every bit as stylistic as it was. For those of you that can't get Brad Pitt out of your head when you read about Tyler Durden, this is a good one to pick up before a film version steals that purity from you. It's cheaply priced and a fun read...the pages blaze by.

Trying to describe a Chuck Palahniuk novel is like trying to describe a freak show-you just kind of have to be there to appreciate it. The power of Palahniuk's novels isn't in the satire-he attacks fairly easy targets, and most of what he has to say about them has been said before. What make his novels enjoyable are the off-the-wall characters. Invisible Monsters is no exception.

This book is about people who want to be someone else-anyone other than themselves. The narrator says upfront that this is not going to be a linear story. It will jump from here to there. And it does. It's a hodgepodge of fragments that you have to piece together. When you do so, what you see is twisted. A former beauty queen who had half of her face shot off, along with a transvestite who wants to be a beauty queen, and a not-so-by-the-book cop are on a road trip, visiting upscale homes during open houses, stealing drugs from the medicine cabinets, and selling them to kids on the street. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

If there's one thing for which Palahniuk will never be criticized, it's being predictable. Still, there's predictability to his chaos. He has a formula: pick a target (in this case the fashion world), scrounge together some psychopaths, come up with a twisted plot with a handful of shocking surprises, chop is up so it's out of chronological order, and invent a couple of writing devices to help tell the story. The only problem is, once you've seen one freak show, the next one isn't quite as freaky. Once you've met a few Palahniuk characters, the psychotic becomes commonplace. Once you've experienced one or two Palahniuk endings, the next one isn't as surprising. Once you get used to the style and devices, they start to wear on you. (Remember in Fight Club, his "This is Jack's..."? He uses similar devices in this book. Repeatedly. Over and over again.) And although his voice is strong, it never varies from character to character. I always hear Tyler Durden, regardless of who the narrator is supposed to be. Finally, he explores the same themes over and over in his books (Identity, our conflicted selves, our struggle to break out of our modern homogenized lives). There's nothing wrong with this if he does it in a different way, but it adds to the feeling that you've been down this road and heard this story before.

So it comes back to the characters. You never really care about a Palahniuk character. They're not sympathetic. So you hope for insanity. Just so they're interesting. The more messed up, the more shocking and disturbing their actions, the better. And don't get me wrong: Invisible Monsters definitely has its moments. But it doesn't live up to Fight Club or Choke. I'd start there. If you've already read those and liked them, and would like more of the same, then maybe Invisible Monsters is a good book for you.

Chuck Palahniuk writes quite the interesting novel in "Invisible Monsters". Fair warning - it is not for the faint of heart, or those who cannot tolerate graphic sexual references and lifestyle choices. That said - "Invisible Monsters" was (in different parts of the book) one of the funniest, most disturbing, yet insightful books I have read recently.

So how can a book be all of those things? Well the humor comes primarily from the main character's interaction with her parents. Some of these meetings (particularly the Christmas morning scene) are literally laugh out loud funny.

The disturbing and insightful portions of the story come from the primary part of the plot. The main character and first-person narrator of the story is a model who has been shot in the face, completely severing her jaw and mutilating her beyond people's ability to look her in (what's left of) her face - making her the invisible monster. She joins with other people who similarly have had major changes in their lives and come to the realization that "the past is just a story, and the sooner we learn that, the sooner we can start becoming who we really want to be." This statement alone is basically the overall theme of the book, and it's a powerful statement that could really apply to all of us. Not that we'd want to go through what the characters in the story did, but just that we don't have to let our pasts control out futures.

Add in quite a few surprising revelations about more than a few of the main characters and you have a novel that will, by the end, leave you wondering how so much was packed into such a short novel. In order to get the full gist of it, you may even want to read it again.

I am a big fan of Chuck Paluhniak, and all of his novels always blow me away, but none so much as "Invisible Monsters." I guessed the surprise ending of "Fight Club" about half-way through the book. Actually, I thought to myself, "no way, that's too wierd." That was when I was a Paluhniak novice and had no idea just how wierd it could get. Not to say that I was disappointed with "Fight Club" - because the book stays with you even after the movie has come and gone before your eyes. I dug "Survivor" for it's blatant disregard for social awareness but, man, "Invisible Monsters" knocked me over. I was so enthralled with Chuck's writing style - it was almost irratic. The words, the sentence structure, the page layout - it was all anarchy. This novel was anything but unconventional. I can see a lot of "Fight Club" still kicking around Chuck's head, and that's because this was the first book he wrote and it was turned down by the publisher. The Brandy Alexander drag-queen character is Tyler Durden on estrogen, and in this one our narrator has a name but she doesn't speak. I liked that, our protagonist who is mute, so really, she was just an observer. Chuck layed it all on really thick and, while I called one of the twists thinking, "oh, here we go, another lame shock", he throws a few more out of left field that just knock you upside the head. Chuck Paluhniak is the new Hemingway, the new Kerouac, the new Bret Easton Ellis - and while "Invisible Monsters" is inferior to "Fight Club" and "Survivor" - it's one of those books you wish you wrote and you have to live with that for the rest of your life.

I like this book a lot. I like Chuck Palahnuik a lot. "Invisible Monsters" is a slightly bizarre story (but hey, Im not saying thats a bad thing!), about finding yourself, finding out about the world and the people you love. It is not dissimilar to fight club when the characters say things like "What you're thinking, a million other folks are thinking. Whatever you do, they're doing, and none of you is responsible". So the world is a bleak and depressing place, but not many people can say it like Mr P can. Palahnuik writes like a schizo poetic truth seeking madman, and I love it. I love the style, I love the descriptions and I love the personal narrative thing that can make you feel so deep into somone elses head and life. Amazing. Many people might not like this (or his others) because of the truths they contain. I gobbled this book up in one day because I just couldnt stop. Some may say that the whole "Flash; give me lust, baby" thing is too annoying, but to be perfectly honest, it works. I think that Chuck Palahnuik is just the very best writer of the moment. Keep it up, baby.

After Fight Club, I was pretty damn excited to get my hands on this book. However, my joy was short-lived. Like other reviewers, I found the characters, and the plot to be formulaic. The only reason I stuck with it to the end, was because I refused to believe the book could be that dull throughout. I was wrong.

Instead of allowing me to escape from the drudgery of my bar job, this book actually made me want to get back to work. My employer wishes to thank you, Mr Palahniuk.

Although I haven't read Fight Club, I have seen the movie (a million times) and this book reads a lot like the movie. In fact, I think Palahniuk has a certain plot formula that he uses and tweaks, as the little I've read of his most recent work, Choke, seems to follow the same plot formula. But, regardless of whether or not Palahniuk has a certain roadmap he follows, the destination is not as important as the trip to get there. Palaniuk's writing style is shocking and original, and, to coin a phrase, it cuts through all the B.S. His descriptions of people are sparse yet vivid, and he plumbs remarkable depths in few words and images. This book is at times hilarious, at times horrifying, but always illuminating. In this book, he follows some very ugly people who try to be very beautiful, and some very beautiful people who try to be ugly. To say any more would give away the plot. The characters are trapped within an idea of what is beautiful and what is not, what they should do and what they shouldn't, and what they are and what they want to be. It is truly a story about monsters, and just what their real nature is. After you read this, ask yourself, "What is the biggest mistake I can make?"

For those who have read Fight Club and thought Chuck Palahniuk couldn't possibly come up with anything as good or original, think again. Invisible Monsters is a funny yet gruesome story of a young fashion model who suffers severe disfigurement when half her face is blown off (by a gunshot). Rather than being depressing or morose, Palahniuk turns the story into a bizarre "Thelma & Louise"-type of road movie where this fashion model hooks up with folks who are seriously confused about their gender identificaiton and gender preference. Chuck Palahniuk's caustic wit and free-flowing narrative makes Invisible Monsters to be an odd, enjoyable and unforgettable novel.

Invisible Monsters contains rather graphic and crude language; it is certainly not for the squeamish. However my only complaint with it concerns the leading character. She seems too much like Tyler Durden, the main character from Fight Club. Her thoughts and actions seemed were anything but feminine. Women readers might find this very off-putting.

First I saw the movie Fight Club. Loved it. The I read the novel. Loved it even more. Just had to buy the rest of his books, definitely one of the smartest moves I've ever done.

Invisible Monsters is the third novel by Chuck Palahniuk and, I'm sorry to say, his weakest. Or so I thought till I came closer and closer to the end. It takes these mindbending twists and turns which leave you begging for more.

Palahniuk writes with this indescribable, stream of consciousness-like flow which is just a joy to experience. I started reading it out loud to myself and I was filled with awe and jealousy. Why can't I write like this?! I've actually typed down a few of the many wonderful quotes onto the back of one of my business cards, to keep in my wallet when I need a good laugh.

This novel is a hilarious, excrutiatingly tragic, sick and twisted soap opera rollercoaster ride!