Rant: The Oral Biography of Buster Casey
by Chuck Palahniuk
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Book Reviews of Rant: The Oral Biography of Buster Casey
Book Review: More of the same from Palahniuk suggests this might be my last
Summary: 3 Stars
Rant, like the rest of Chuck Palahniuk's works of fiction, features sex, facts which may or may not be true, and distinctive characters.
However, while told in an interesting way, through the voices of over a dozen characters, Rant seems more of the same-old Chuck Palahniuk, and I fear I may have read the last of his work.
Rant tells the story of Buster "Rant" Casey from childhood on, through those who knew him by some means or another. While initially hard to get into, because of the many voices telling the story, and how some parts seem irrelevant, as it progresses it becomes easier to stick with it.
The story certainly reads like Palahniuk, requiring a bit more thought on the reader's part, then most books require, and even includes an interesting paradox at the end.
Unfortunately, having read all of his previous fiction, I couldn't find much in the way of new ideas, such as those that had invigorated me when I had read Fight Club and Lullaby, and which puts this in the small pile of books that I will not read again (4 star or higher).
The ideas are fresh for those who haven't seen them before, but otherwise Palahniuk offers nothing too special in this work, with the questionable factoids being the special part. Recommended for those who can't get enough of Palahniuk's works; for those new to him, or unsure, read one of his older, more popular works.
Book Review: Disappointed....
Summary: 2 Stars
This was my first - and probably my last - Palahniuk novel. I did see Fight Club of course, but had no other knowledge of the writer. The first 100 pages or so were interesting, and slightly funny - but not quite as hilarious as you would expect from the cover quotations.....
Then the book just got downright boring. The writer tries to come up with a new concept for how people will entertain themselves in the future (somewhat of a specialty for him, as I understand), namely an organized "league" for car crashing. He spends so much time trying to make this idea believable, that the original story just seems to vanish in all his attempts to explain the inexplicable.
I had to push myself through the last part of the book, just to see if it had an interesting turn. It didn't... So when you find yourself starting to get bored by this read, just put it down, and finding something else to do or read..
I saw that somebody else mentioned that all the persons in the book seemingly spoke with the same voice, and I totally agree. There didn't seem to be any difference in the way they spoke, regardless of age, sex and occupation, and it gave them - and the book - a lack of personality.
Book Review: Reliably off-beat
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the first book I've read that's written in the form of interviews and credit must be given to CP for being able to weave a cohesive narrative through these different mouthpieces.
As reliably off-beat as CP anti-heroes go, Buster Casey or Rant (as he is 'affectionately' known) is a complex character whose questionable lineage comes to light in the course of the story, with a mind-blowing revelation in the last part of the book involving time travel and government conspiracy.
Without giving too much of the story away, Rant come across as a miscreant who revels in getting bitten by spiders, snakes and other poisonous creatures and being a superspreader of rabies. Along the way, he questions his parentage, joins in/initiates the sport of Party Crashing (a real-life version of Demolition Derby involving trigger-happy car teams who tag other party crashers identified by thematic 'flags').
What makes the story interesting is the amount of work Palahniuk invests in each of his 'interviewees', who reveal more of themselves than intended as they recount what they know about Rant.
Book Review: Interesting for its structure if not its content...
Summary: 2 Stars
Having read only Palahniuk's "Fight Club" (2 years before the film) previously and enjoyed it, I thought this book too would be found to be a breath of fresh air. Instead I came away from it feeling like Palahniuk is a one trick pony...He seems to seek to shock the reader with differing gross out scenarios and behaviors...Yet numbed by films like SAW 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, etc., etc., and seeing and hearing worse than Palahniuk's creations every night on the evening news, his prose no longer brings anything new to light...A sad reflection on our society it is but Palahniuk's worlds have become the everyday mundane...
The oral history style of the book is its best part, only seeing the protagonist from a distance, we never get inside his head, only hearing how others observed him...The plot itself reads like JG Ballard's Crash mixed with leftovers of Fight Club and a dozen other "shocking" novels...nothing new or earthbreaking here and you don't really get involved with the novel, merely skipping from page to page waiting for a character or event to care about...neither of which ever arrive...
Book Review: Reading with Tequila
Summary: 5 Stars
Rant is mind blowing with graphically gruesome imagery. The completely in-your-face no-holding-back down-and-dirty tone of the novel brings an naked authenticity to an otherwise unrealistic premise.
The story of Rant is told in a kind of multi-person interview format that manages to show many sides of the "narrators" without distracting from the main focus of the plot. I loved the way the book was laid out and found it very easy to read and follow.
Rant is fascinating. Just, wow. It's filled with so many shocking reveals that I was constantly trying to figure out what I knew and how everything fit together as each piece of he puzzle was added.
Rant covers a multitude of disturbing topics (the rape scene being the most memorable in my mind) and will not appeal to all readers. Rant is raw. There is nothing fluffy or flowery here. I am in awe of this perfectly creepy, disgusting yet engrossing book.