Doomed (A Chuck Palahniuk Review)

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This is my first Palahniuk book, and yes, I am aware that it was a bad idea to pick out Doomed, considering that it is a sequel. Needless to say, I was completely confused at the first page. I have to say I was only half aware of what was going on for two reasons, (1) it was my first taste of Palahniuk's (quite elaborate) writing, and (2) I had no context from Damned, so my head was full of "hows" and "whys". It took me a long time to get used to the pace and concept. But once I did, I could not stop laughing my ass off. It was such a rollercoaster, this book. One minute you are yawning at Madison's musings (which can get a little boring sometimes) and the next you're howling at the doggie poo (purportedly) being waved at her face whilst inside a filthy public loo. One thing that I also appreciated is that you can follow the timeline of the story without much effort, despite the flashbacks that he inserts in between chapters of the main storyline. Palahniuk certainly has a great talent in unveiling mysterious characters, and is a master of spinning hilarious plot twists. Most of all, he managed to interweave profound religious and political concepts with this colorful story. I think this important as it really leaves the reader pondering about how twisted and pathetic our society is becoming, without us even realizing it. A great read, overall!