Susie's Book Review: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

When it comes to Chuck Palahniuk, it seems that readers either love or hate his work. In fact, this particular book was Palahniuk's first, and was rejected by publishers for being a bit too 'out there'. Often his books are alarmingly grotesque, and you aren't quite sure whether to cringe or laugh at what he's presenting. Invisible Monsters definitely pushes the limits as far as "bizarre-ness" is defined, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

So here's the story: Shannon McFarland has a career as a picture-perfect supermodel, but her days of glamour and attention are ruined the day her lower jaw is shot off while she is driving down the highway. Her face is hideously deformed, and she finds herself abandoned by all the people who were close to her; including her best friend Evie Alexander who has a prominent role. Now instead of being looked on with admiration, people now are mortified by her appearance.

During speech therapy classes Shannon meets Brandy Alexander; a pill-popping transgendered woman, who has modeled her body after Shannon's previous appearance. The drag queen and Shannon embark on a journey of self reinvention and revenge. The climax of the book includes a rifle-toting Evie and lots ( I mean lots) of blood.

This book isn't for anyone with a weak stomach; there is quite a lot of drugs, a lot of violence, and the characters are demented and troubled. Yet somehow you can't stop yourself from laughing at all the grotesque or absurd situations these people get themselves into. Don't read it if you're too young, and certainly don't give it to mom or grandma for Christmas is all I'm saying;)

The deformed heroine says, "If I can't be beautiful, I want to be invisible". Although the story and the writing isn't necessarily 'beautiful', the book is sharp, exciting, and has pointed commentary on the culture of beauty, consumerism, and cosmetic surgery. I give it 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes off-the-wall satire and cinematic-style storytelling.

FYI: There are also rumors that a movie will be made of this book, with Jessica Biel starring as Shannon McFarland. I hope the rumors are true!

Christy's Book Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis of Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game.

I will say that having my attention captured by a book revolving around people who live in a dark sewer underneath a dirty city is quite remarkable. The lead character, Richard Mayhew, was an ordinary guy with a big heart and that's why I enjoyed the book. He meets so many fascinating characters (some of them drove me crazy, however!) and proves over and over that people with kind hearts can do a lot to save the people they love.

My favorite kind of story is one where an ordinary guy (or girl) finds that he's actually extraordinary in the end. I kept hoping that at some point he'd gain some special power or prove that he was born for this particular adventure. Nothing quite like that happened, but the thing is... I still loved the story! Richard grew and overcame difficult circumstances, which is very important.

One thing I did not enjoy was his companion, Door. She drove me a little crazy with her mood swings. One moment, she was running to him for help and guidance; in the next chapter she was ditching him due to his incompetant ways in the underworld. I was never quite sure how she felt about him. Maybe that was the point...

Overall, great job from a wildly successful author! And although I didn't enjoy the theme (again, the sewage thing was a turnoff) as much as his screenplays (i.e. Coraline, Mirrormask), I would still give this book a 3.5 out of 5.