Haunted- Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk, now there’s a thought. The absolute master of sickness,
bile and road kill novels is back. And don’t let the fact that that tosser on the bus was reading him too. The innovative tale of a
writers retreat that goes sickeningly awry haunted is a tome of nightmarish genius. From the writings of each of the ‘inmates’ to the hellish conclusion Haunted is the story of humanity at its worst. When I took creative
writing at university we were taught that we have nothing to impart, no real experience so it is futile to try and teach through writing prose. This is also true of the characters in Haunted, so wrapped up in establishing their own immortality through their dubious life stories that they believe that everyone will be interested in their anecdotes. The writers crucially are oblivious to their own impending doom with salacious results. This portrayal of arrogance and it’s invariable consequences signals that Palahniuk has succeeded in his most tantalizing work yet.
HO’K