Genre: Fiction
The novel is about a fashion model who becomes disfigured in an accident while driving. She is left with no lower jaw. While recovering in the hospital, she meets Brandy Alexander, "The Queen Supreme", who is just one operation away from becoming a real woman. She and Brandy leave the hospital and travel around the country, visiting Open Houses of expensive homes and steal prescription drugs and sell them on the street. They are also accompanied by a man. During the trips to different homes and towns, Brandy changes the identity of her partners. The whole story is about re-inventing yourself, and leaving the past in the past.
"A twisted soap opera that not only desensitized individuals should find hilarious.... A fascinating narrative.... Palahniuk's sentence structure, rhythm and comic timing rattle off the tongue like snapping gum.... Palahniuk succeeds in cutting open each character, transforming each one in a way only his clever mind could invent." -Jessica Ricci, Fox News Online
This book was unlike any other that I have read, which is probably a huge part of the reason why I enjoyed it so much. The story jumps around a lot and at first is hard to figure out what is happening, but it makes you want to read more to understand it fully. I have not read any of Palahniuk's other books, but I have seen the movies done for two of his other stories, Fight Club and Choke. Palahniuk's style is very evident in the movies of his other books and the book I read. He likes to push boundaries, make you laugh, and make you cringe. The stories are all twisted in some weird, uncomfortable way, but make you want to read further.
"Still spinning on the floor, the rifle points at me, points at Brandy.
Another thing is no matter how much you think you love somebody, you'll step back when the pool of their blood edges up too close.
Except for all this high drama, it's a really nice day. This is a warm, sunny day and the front door is open to the porch and the lawn outside." (15)
For my ORB, I was stuck between choosing two books, this one, and The Bell Jar by Silvia Plath. I was reading through someone's blog and they had put a short story called Guts by Chuck Palahniuk. I started to read, and it was the grossest, and weirdly interesting story I'd ever read, which I thought was awesome. Finally, I would do the ORB, because I had interest in this short story and I really enjoyed the movies based on the author's books. I always love reading books that really push every button they can, for example I loved Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs, which is slightly similar to Invisible Monsters. Now, I can't wait to read more of Palahniuk's books.
