Paperback, 260 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 2003 by Anchor Books.
Though it doesn't take its terrific premise as far as it could, its anarchic tone and addicting pace make "Lullaby" a treat.
It's been a very long time since I've read such a good action book. Written in Chuck Palahniuk's personal style it made me regret that there isn't a second part to it.
What if words could kill? Chuck Palahniuk starts off Lullaby with a fantastic concept but somehow gets lost along the way. The idea that overhearing words in the street or on the radio, the internet, the television, could kill without any reason or malice is quite a scary one. That reading to a loved one could cause their death is heartbreaking and the first half of this book is thought-provoking and sad.
I loved this book up until around the point where Oyster appears. I guess he is there as the villain of the piece but his arrival also signalled the start of strangeness beyond enjoyment. I can understand the role of the extremist vegan in a world where human lives are so easily ended but he ranted on a bit much. I didn't get the point of the class action law suits either (I knew why he was doing …
What if words could kill? Chuck Palahniuk starts off Lullaby with a fantastic concept but somehow gets lost along the way. The idea that overhearing words in the street or on the radio, the internet, the television, could kill without any reason or malice is quite a scary one. That reading to a loved one could cause their death is heartbreaking and the first half of this book is thought-provoking and sad.
I loved this book up until around the point where Oyster appears. I guess he is there as the villain of the piece but his arrival also signalled the start of strangeness beyond enjoyment. I can understand the role of the extremist vegan in a world where human lives are so easily ended but he ranted on a bit much. I didn't get the point of the class action law suits either (I knew why he was doing them just not the relevance to the story).
Poetic writing style, disturbing and funny story
Another succinct and disturbing short novel from [author: Chuck Palahniuk]. The novels I've read of his are all somehow the same, and yet all quite enjoyable, in an almost pulpy kind of contemporary way.
''We're living in a teetering tower of babble. A shaky reality of words. A DNA soup for disaster. The natural world destroyed, we're left with this cluttered world of language. Big Brother is singing and dancing, and we're left to watch. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but our role is just to be a good audience. To just pay our attention and wait for the next disaster. Against the taxi's seat, my ass still feels greasy and stretched out.''
