Phoenix, by Chuck Palahniuk

Phoenix, Chuck Palahniuk.  San Francisco: Byliner Fiction, 2013.  e-book, 27 pps.

 I first became aware of Chuck Palahniuk when my buddy Walt recommended that I read Fight Club.  I read it and I liked it, finding the writing to be edgy and satisfying.  I am definitely a Chuck Palahniuk fan.

Phoenix is a delightfully evil little short story about a jilted wife named Rachel who had plotted revenge on Ted, her crappy husband and his cat Belinda Carlisle.  As a result of Ted's refusal to give up his greasy feline, Toxoplasma gondii was transmitted to their offspring April as a fetus and she was born blind.

Interspersed between the telling of the tale of revenge, Rachel-- who is away from Seattle on business in Orlando-- becomes increasingly concerned over the well-being of April.  April has been refusing to speak to her mother on the phone all week.  There is possibly a dog.

sapphoq reviews says:  I enjoyed Phoenix.  It is an excellent taste of Chuck Palahniuk's brusque and raw style.  Highly recommended to all but the most wussy and genteel readers. 

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk.  New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc., 1996.  e-book, 167 pps.

I dedicate this review to Walt McCabe.  I should have read this years ago when you first told me about Fight Club.  Many thanks for the difference that you've made in my life.  I will miss you forever.


Fight Club is sinister and so is one of its' lead actors-- Tyler Durden.  Tyler is a spooky dude and the epitome of why you don't want to piss off the wait staff at any restaurant.  Of course there is a woman.  Her name is Marla Singer.  She and the narrator  share an interesting hobby.  The narrator loses everything except for the woman but rises again with Fight Club and Tyler.  Everything is dark, so very dark.  Everything is true.  The truth and the lie are both equally hard to bear.

sapphoq reviews says: Fight Club makes goth kids look like sunshine and lollipops.  Fight Club sucks the meaning out and injects nihilism in the vein.  Nihilism gives a kick stronger than heroin.  The first rule of Fight Club is that you don't--  Read it.  Excellent book.  Should be required reading in all catechism classes.