Chuck Palahniuk Short Story

I first heard it - on a recording of a reading he gave. It is actually an incredibly well-crafted piece of work. Seems that the hype about it's disgustingness is probably just that - depends how strong your stomach is!

I'm afraid that I'm with those who found it revolting. Perhaps that's because I'm not young. I had to stop reading. But I also disliked the style, which is in-your-face and way way too cocky for my liking. Despite that, I accept that there's a high-impact virtuosity to it that is impressive.

Impressive and revolting.

Am going to try it again with a hangover today. I read a book by Poppy Brite once (can't for the life of me remember the name - was the one about serial killer in New Orleans - does anyone know it? Drew?) and it made me retch. So am in search of more pukey prose...

Grotesque, smart, and very funny. Brilliant. [%sig%]

Read it twice, and it didn't improve the second time. I endorse what Bes says, but whatever category you place this in - smart, funny, bizarre, disgusting, etc - there's better writing of its kind on ABCTales. Try "Mud Pie's Revenge" by Marc Barber as an example of bodily function gothic (sorry I can't copy the link)

Marc's story is certainly better, in my opinion. It doesn't try to get at the reader, and it's less knowing. It's revolting in a good way, like Mississippi Mud Pies. From what I've read, Palahniuk has developed a mass lowest-common-denominator readership, a literary equivalent of heavy-metal fans. Good luck to him and his wallet. He knows how to gratify that readership, that's for sure. Certainly a brilliant writer on his day.

*hides guns and roses cd down back of sofa*

Rachel was it Lost Souls. This is the only Poppy Brite book I have and I have to admit I'm not keen.

No - I really enjoyed Lost Souls, didn't you? It was *googles* .... Exquisite Corpse.

I thought it was a good piece of writing, but when you read the preliminary article and see that what he has done is take three true stories that he found during research and link them and bring them to life... well, even though he freely fesses up to this and says that he is more about being a midwife than a creator, I don't know, it lost its edge a little for me. But the guy wrote Fight Club, so that puts him in the Joseph Heller category for me - nothing wrong with only having one exceptional novel in you, if it is that exceptional.

Does it matter if a story is true or made up, though?

I've just read Marc's and thought it was wonderful. Did make me feel more ill than the CP story but the characters and plot are brilliant.

Good question Dotty - no, it doesn't matter if a story is true or made up, but for me it does make a difference whether I'm reading 'pure' fiction, or slightly fictionalised fact. In this piece, it seemed that it was the 'plot' or incident that was the centre of it, though the descriptions of it were done well, the bare bones of the 'found' incident were gruesome enough. In a weird sort of way, I felt it was less gruesome because it was true, and also somehow less realistic... I know that doesn't make sense. Perhaps it is just this - the self-proclaimed most gruesome short story of all time ought to have as an incident a plausible event that came straight out of the writers head, because fiction ought to be capable of being more gruesome than fact.