Choke (novel)
|
|
Palahniukchoke.jpg
Choke (2001, 304 pages) is a novel by U.S. author Chuck Palahniuk. It is a highly philosophical novel posing the central question: What is the meaning of life? This question is pondered primarily by Victor and Denny, the two protagonists of this book. The answers they provide are somewhat meaningless and naive as they do not truly hold any answers. They cannot decide if sheer hedonism in the form of wild and careless sex or caring for others to the point of martyrdom will be an the end they are searching for.
Choke is nihilistic and grotesque in its thoughts and actions. Drug use, sexual deviance, and bizarre ideology fill many of the pages of Choke. This style of writing has taken a great deal of criticism due to the graphic nature of the novel.
The symbolism in Choke is constantly present. Throughout the novel, he is literally choking to death on food but also on his strange and seemingly pointless [[life], which includes his past and present with his mother.
As Choke is episodic in character, individual chapters deal with different aspects of the narrators life and the lives of those around him.
Choke could be seen as something of a sequel to Fight Club; the narrator has almost the same voice. This has also brought criticism due to the fact that many of Palahniuk works feature this same voice even though the narrators have differing backgrounds.
ISBN numbers
- ISBN 0385501560 (hardcover, 2001)
- ISBN 1589459717 (e-book, 2001)
- ISBN 0385720920 (paperback, 2002)