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Lullaby :: 0385722192
Description
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| The consequences of media saturation are the basis for an urban nightmare in Lullaby, Chuck Palahniuk's darkly comic and often dazzling thriller. Assigned to write a series of feature articles investigating SIDS, troubled newspaper reporter Carl Streator begins to notice a pattern among the cases he encounters: each child was read the same poem prior to his or her death. His research and a tip from a necrophilic paramedic lead him to Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent who sells "distressed" (demonized) homes, assured of their instant turnover. Boyle and Streator have both lost children to "crib death," and she confirms Streator's suspicions: the poem is an ancient lullaby or "culling song" that is lethal if spoken--or even thought--in a victim's direction. The misanthropic Streator, now armed with a deadly and uncontrollably catchy tune, goes on a minor killing spree until he recognizes his crimes and the song's devastating potential. Lullaby then turns into something of a road trip narrative, with Streator, Boyle, her empty-headed Wiccan secretary Mona, and Mona's vigilante boyfriend Oyster setting out across the U.S. to track down and destroy all copies of the poem. In his previous works, including the cult favorite Fight Club, Palahniuk has demonstrated a fondness for making statements about the condition of humanity, and he uses Lullaby like a blunt object to repeatedly overstate his generally dim view. Such dogmatic venom undermines the persuasiveness of his thesis about mass communication and free will, but thankfully, Palahniuk offers some respite here by allowing for sympathy and love, as well as through his razor-sharp humor, such as his mock listings for Helen's possessed properties: "six bedrooms, four baths, pine-paneled entryway, and blood running down the kitchen walls...." At such moments, Lullaby casts a powerful spell. --Ross Doll Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
I enjoyed the book - it was a quick, easy read. But it's not something that stood out as memorable. I like Chuck's writing and will continute to read him in the future, but I felt like he could have done better on this one.
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Author: Guest
this book is SO DAMN GOOD! i mean it's not going to change your world, but it is amazing. one of the most entertaining books i've ever read. this is my first foray into the palahniuk world (with the exception of seeing "fight club", which i wasn't too crazy about.) in a way, fight club kinda kept me away from palahniuk, even though he's from portland. or at least lived here. or something. anyway, this book is one of the most original and entertaining i've read in quite sometime, i haven't felt this way since i first started reading poppy z. brite and dennis cooper. lullaby rocks. i now plan to read all his other books, but i fear none will live up to this one. i also hope someone will one day create a movie from this book, as it would be amazing, and the book reads a bit like a script. BUY THIS NOW!!!
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Author: Guest
The future of civilization in a metaphoric and macabre tale. In his typical no holds barred fashion, Palahniuk engrosses the reader with disturbing and humorous imagery. Palahniuk is my favorite writer cause he digs deep into the taboo that most writers find ineffable. I believe we all have dark inhibitions & curiosities; and Palahniuk plays on them.
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Author: Guest
"Fight Club" is the all time champeen Chuck Paluhniuk book, hands down. But, I feel confident in saying "Lullaby" is Mr. Pauluhniuk's runner-up.
The story centers around Carl Streator, a detached journalist who discovers a poem that can kill people while on assignment investigating SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Spoken aloud or thought, if this poem is directed at a person, that person will die. Together with a real estate agent who sells "distressed" or "haunted" houses, her secretary, and her secretary's Wiccan boyfriend, the four of them embark on a cross-country trip across America to destroy all known copies of the poem.
What touched me about this book was its tenderness, coupled with Paluhniuk's signature satire. Although not as graphic as "Haunted", or as cynical as "Survivor", this book opts for the sublime, using a scalpel instead of a sledge hammer to dissect and compare the Information Age with the introduction of foreign plants and animals in America.
Although with most of Paluhniuk's novels, character development is not a priority (With perhaps the exception of "Fight Club"), "Lullaby" has some pretty interesting character quirks. Without giving too much away, Paluhniuk casts judgement on not just the establishment that seeks to keep us chained in white collars with dead minds, but also the social misfits who take it upon themselves to free us. Again, a common theme in Paluhniuk's works, but one that is brought to the forefront in "Lullaby".
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Author: Guest
This is the first Chuck Palahniuk fiction I've read.
He certainly doesn't shy away from direct, raw imagery. The first half of the book deals with killing without remorse, necrophilia, and selfish, unsavory characters. Even the protagonist is not someone you'd want to know personally. The first half made me very uncomfortable and I thought about not finishing the book, but I continued to read on the strength of his writing. He would turn a phrase, or describe a color, in such a way that left me thinking. I could see in my mind's eye exactly what he was describing and, for that moment, I would want to continue to read.
The second half of the book throws the four main characters together on a quest. Issues of personal power are the main themes. What would you do if you had the ability to take life, the power to give life, with just words.
The story was not one that I expected. Chuck Palahniuk took me places I didn't expect to go. While it was a rough ride that required a bit of work on my part, I eventually found myself up to the task and enjoying the journey.
I look forward to another one by this author.
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