Customer Reviews

Phoenix (Kindle Single)

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(65)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

After reading damned and tell all I was ready to give up on chuck. I had previously read all of his work and truly enjoyed it. His last two books were a let down for me.
This is a breath of fresh air in terms of tone and story telling. The setting was perfect for the length. I would highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys his work but might be ready to stop.

The man who brought us Fight Club and Haunted delivers a singularly twisted take on the mind games of married life in modern America. Everything that makes a classic Palahniuk story is here: scathing satire, oddball scientific trivia used as key plot elements, characters that are unafraid to cross any line no matter the consequences, and of course, the author's unique ability to leave his readers shocked, awed, and wanting more. A must-read for Chuck fans, lovers of Raymond-Carver-esque dark suburban fiction, and - especially - people who hate cats.

Everything you've come to love about Chuck Palaniuk in an incredibly short story. As always, amusing in the craziest and somewhat sadistic ways.

It's been a few years since I read something by Chuck Palahniuk all the way through, the last being his novel "Lullaby" in 2002 and then only just. Since then I've tried one of his books every now and then - "Diary" in 2004, "Haunted" in 2006, "Tell-All" in 2010 - and I'll always put them down long before the end. Palahniuk's style of brief statement-like sentences, fact dumps, and deadpan black humour, while fresh and exciting when first encountered, becomes tedious after a while and I abandoned his novels because it felt like his writing was permanently mired in style over substance, novelty over quality. The glory days of "Fight Club", "Survivor" and "Choke" were over.

Which is why I was so surprised by "Phoenix" and found it to be an extraordinarily written and clever short story. Where had THIS Palahniuk been all these years? "Phoenix" is the story of Rachel, a wife, businesswoman and mother of a blind 3 year old daughter, on a work-related trip in Florida and calling home every night from her unpleasant hotel room where her neighbours are perennially having loud sex.

Told in the first person, Rachel recounts her married life before her daughter as we find out about her husband's devotion to a cat she disliked. The cat got in the way of their starting a new life so Rachel did the only thing she could think of to change her situation...

Meanwhile back in the present her daughter refuses to speak to her when she calls so Rachel becomes increasingly desperate to hear her voice, resorting to increasingly despicable acts until the heinous finale.

Palahniuk's Rachel is a remarkable creation - you realise while reading the story that she is completely insane. But Palahniuk somehow makes her seem not only human but makes her actions seem - not acceptable - but understandable from the narrative's perspective. Looking back, I can't believe how Palahniuk makes her actions seem natural and believable.

"Phoenix" is a brilliant story that is recognisably Palahniuk-esque but more sophisticated - finally, his writing style has evolved! It's definitely the best piece of his writing I've read in over a decade and, perhaps due to its format as a short story, is an effectively shocking and compelling read. "Phoenix" is a master-class in short story writing and a return to form for Chuck Palahniuk. A must-read.

*No Spoilers

In Phoenix, the old Chuck is back. I say that because: I really didn't like Damned (Chuck's last book) as well as the others. It was still good; just not as good as the others.

Anyway: the only thing that sucks about Phoenix is that is it too short. That's why it is called a short story, I suppose. Just sayin' Chuck, I could have read more.

Hey:
It's also only $.99, which is a great deal. You can probably find the change in your car seat.

Anyone who already reads Palahniuk should drop the dollar on this short story. Satiating your need for over the top characters that seem all too relatable, I think I'll be able to wait until his new novel comes out later this year.

I have been a fan of Chuck Palahniuk since fight club (the book) I have read most everything he has written so I have a pretty broad scope of his style. First of all I love the Kindle singles concept. Chuck originally wrote fight club as a short story so I sorta feel like shorts are an interesting look into process he uses to develop a story. I loved this short. It reads in the same style as the Survivor through Lullaby style, after those book he got a little Burroughs on us. The story is a convoluted tell of arson and a fizzled love affair. In classic Chuck style we not sure if the main character is crazy or if the situation is crazy. Either way its a great page turning read.

I know it's a short story. Too short. Still keeps with Palahniuk's twisted fashion. Buy it. Read it. Well worth $0.99.

If you ask me, this is a very good and short introduction to Palahniuk for those who merely want to dip their toe in the water.

It's a very short read about the relationship in a small family, in this case two parents and one child.

There are some really scary, suspenseful, dark, sad and funny scenes in this short story, true to Palahniuk form.

A couple of quotes:

Rachel hadn’t invented the dangers of toxoplasmosis; she’d gone online and built an airtight case. This wasn’t crazy talk. Neurobiologists had linked T. gondii to suicide and the onset of schizophrenia. All caused by exposure to cat poop. Some studies even suggested that the toxo brain parasites chemically coerced people to adopt more cats. Those crazy cat ladies were actually being controlled by an infection of single-cell invaders.

“You’re pregnant?” Ted asked. He put his black napkin to his lips. To wipe them or hide them, Rachel couldn’t tell.

All in all: completely worth it. I enjoyed the ending

As short fiction, the writing must be spare and to the point but still deliver a layered read and a full story in a short amount of time, and this story definitely does that. Disturbing and funny with some dark, twisted humor, it's really that fine vein of sadness under the story that bothered me most. Rachel really pulled me in; she's complicated and disturbing on many levels, and I didn't know whether to laugh, cringe, draw back in horror, or look at her with extreme pity. What a deep character to make me feel a range of emotions like that. With clever title, precise writing, flawed character, and sharp intention, the author crafted a layered and complex short story here.