Palahniuk probably achieved his fame and reputation by writing the book that led to the movie that became the anthem for angry, young, white, middle-class men working in boring office jobs: Fight Club. And that right there probably explains why I really didn’t like Choke. The main character is, again, an angry, young, white man – not-so-middle class, this time – who works days as living color in colonial “Dunsboro” and has a second job as the guy who almost chokes to death in a restaurant until some well-meaning patron saves him. How does he make money from this? Well, eh really does adhere to that adage that if you save someone’s life, you’re responsible for that person for the rest of your life – and he makes his saviors adhere to it, too. And he thinks he’s doing some good, by giving these people a great story and a sense of accomplishment that they can carry with them the rest of their lives.

The reason why this young man is so angry? Because his mom was crazy, and was in jail a lot when he was a kid, and kept kidnapping him from his foster homes the moment she got released from jail, only to get put back shortly thereafter for some inane stunt or another. Now, his mom is in a mental institution and won’t eat, and he’s become convinced that she conceived him by using the DNA of Jesus’ foreskin – in other words, he’s the son of Christ. Whether that makes him the Second Coming or the Antichrist I can never figure out.

The reason why I didn’t like this book? It’s so aggressively male, even more so than Fight Club. The main character, besides being angry, is also a sex addict who spends his free time conquering and debasing every woman he comes across. There are no realistic female characters in this book, not even the woman he ends up worshiping. There are no sympathetic male characters, either. The whole thing seems designed to make the reader feel slightly sick to the stomach. But Palahniuk must be doing something right, because all my male friends who read this book loved it. Me? I just didn’t get it, I guess.

This is not Chuck’s best. It feels scattered, unfocused, and the religious aspect seems really random. All in all, not a terrible book, worth reading – it’s a quick read – but not the best that Palahniuk has to offer.

after loving Fight Club and Lullaby, I had to read more. While Choke is pretty fun I’d say it isn’t the best, or a good starting point for someone wanting to read Palahniuk.

It was… interesting. No, really! I liked the underlyring themes, and it wasn’t that gross. It certainly was no American Psycho, heh. But while I mainly enjoyed the story, it wasn’t that great otherwise.

I’ve read Fight Club and Survivor. I listened to the audio book of Choke read by Chuck Palahniuk. I was really unimpressed. Huge similarities to Fight Club. The gross-out stuff isn’t terribly interesting. The main character didn’t have enough personality for me to find him interesting or identify with him.

Funny and interesting story. However, CP seems to embrace what’s gross in the world. Until I understand why I too should appreciate the discgusting elements of our world, I think I’m going to stay away from his other works.

This book has really lingered in my brain long after finishing it. The themes about addiction really stuck out at me, and has made me realize some things about my own life and relationships with some people in it.

And it’s a wickedly fun read.

Been so long, I should read it again. :(

Interesting book. Its underlying theme was nice but the way he went about telling it was a bit too disgusting for me.

a very strange and randomly gross book. learn about the intricacies of the mile-high club, jesus’ foresking and impacted bowels from the wonderfully chaotic pen of C.P.