Book Review — Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
27 Feb; FYI the writer’s most famous work is Fight Club.
Yesterday I attended an art exhibition by an indie artist from my city. It was based on her journey of life over the years; with paintings on motherly love, depression, chaos, romantic bonds, etc. Take a guess what was the first and the last paintings in her exhibition — meant to represent her first breath on earth and who she is, as of today. They both were a blank canvas, just that the second one had her hand impressions in a chaotic fashion.
Over the years there are only a few books I remember that have made me put down books — this is one such book. Although I didn’t have high expectations and initially didn’t like the writing style but it turned out to be a great one. I picked it up by chance at a book sale and also picked it up to read, by chance.
The protagonist is a sex addict who works an odd job, left his nursing school, spends his time observing obscure things, ideas and conversations and attends the sex addicts club meeting. The club becomes the place where he gets access to other sex addicts where they get new ideas for their future exploits (picture Alcoholics Anonymous for sex) and if you haven’t figured out yet, they obviously shaboink with each other! It’s the equivalent of: what’s the best place to learn how crime works? The answer is a prison.
He also has a mom who now suffers memory loss and is put up at a care centre. The man had many great and positive moments with his mom while growing up. She wasn’t the usual anxious-dysfunctional mom that’s generally a part of such equations. But now she’s a trouble for her son and most of the time fails to recognise him.
While all this happens his side business (rather, main business — see book title) is to deliberately choke himself on food at restaurants — make someone save his life — let the man pay for his expenses and be his lifelong friend. Turns out, people inherently love being the hero in such situations as they get something to brag about. Additionally, when our guy tells this new ‘hero’ his sad story the hero gives more cash so our guy lives his life smoothly. Our guy exploits this and also knows who should he be saved by; he will choose wisely between a snobby-bald-fat-rich-guy vs. a young beautiful girl. The guy is smart and it would not be hard for him to get a nice job that pays him well but he chooses to do all this.
Why I do this is to put adventure back into people’s lives.
Why I do this is to create heroes. Put people to the test.
Like mother, like son.
Why I do this is to make money.
Parts of the book that take you away. It has touched on so many philosophical themes — death, love, sex, human nature, work, and more. The writing takes you where the characters are present and easily makes you a part of their story. Some descriptions of love-making are extremely beautiful and profound with the metaphors that are used.
It makes you think a lot, the book has touched things on so many extremes. There were times when it made me think — what would happen to me if tomorrow were my last day? I realised I’d totally like to live more since there’s a lot that I haven’t seen, felt and experienced but maybe equally I should accept the fact — in a way, all of my story is already written somewhere and I am an NPC for someone. Anything that has come to life, death is inevitable for him. But since we know everything will be gone someday perhaps we should love more and live more since we have limited time with everything.
Talking about extremes, I watched a Chuck on JRE show (not Jerry Rig Everything, this is the other bald one). He talked about how extreme stories are important. Such stories increase our threshold of accepting what’s socially acceptable and what’s not. When someone truthfully shares an extreme story, we talk about it and when it’s in a hearty conversation or a forum then we share our crazy stories as well. Surely some would find the story to be odd, get offended and judge but that’s honestly, that’s how people are we all make up this world with such weird and crazy stories with complex emotions.
At times I’ve helped folks who need money or some food. I’ve been the hero, they have made their business and life by making me feel how a hero and a messiah feels like. Unlike them, I don’t ask around people to help me out. I help myself by working and earning for myself and my future self. How is it that some folks spend their entire lives around this? This book has altered my thinking on this type of individuals. I have helped at times and at times I haven’t and the times I haven’t, I have no regrets there. But I’ve decided that from now on am not going to spend any amount of money on this. If I continue helping, in one way, I am actually promoting their business of making others feel the feeling of a hero. I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want them to do what they are doing.
Bow down, Chuck! You’ve written an amazing book. It has expanded and stretched my brain, giving me lots of déjà vus, vuja des, and jamais vus — the French opposite of déjà vu, where everybody is a stranger, no matter how well you think you know them.
The unreal is more powerful than the real.
Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because it’s only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last.
Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die.
But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on.
See all my highlights from this book on this page. Onto the movie and reading and rewarding Fight Club now.
You may check out everything I wrote between June 2022 and November 2023 on this page; I then moved to this platform.
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