Rant by Chuck Palahnuik

Pg 319 (Fiction)

I came around to Palahniuk again. I had decided to take a little break after reading Snuff. A friend of mine is also a fan and suggested Rant because it was his favorite Palahniuk book.

Rant, aka Buster Casey, lives in rural Middleton, a small backwater town away from the city. He spends his days walking out into the desert sticking his hands and feet into holes hoping to get bit by something. He collects bites like a normal kid collects baseball cards. This hobby eventually leads to him getting rabies and passing it around to other kids. A surprising number of local young women seem to catch rabies which is spread by saliva.

The book is written as an oral biography. Each chapter is broken into many smaller sections. Each section is someone talking about their life involved with Rant. You get to see the story from his parents, teachers, local towns folk, girlfriends, friends and enemies. Reading it is very easy. It is more like sitting and listening to people talk about their past.

Rant grows up and moves into the city. Now you begin to realize that the book is actually set somewhere in the future. At some point something has happened that has separated the night from the day. There are Daytimers and Nightimers. 8pm to 8am is for the nighttimers and vice versa. Everything is the same at night. Kids go to school, night teachers, night shopping, night policemen, night everything. People don’t watch TV or movies anymore. Everybody boosts things. There is a port on the back of people’s necks that allows them to first hand experience other peoples lives. It’s not just seeing and hearing anymore. It’s feeling and smelling and tasting too.

Rant joins in a phenomenon known as Party Crashing. Nighttimers play a game involving car accidents. A time, place and theme are picked. It might be Newlywed Night. Everyone playing decorates their car like a newlywed’s vehicle and dresses up in formal wedding attire and chases each other around and causes accidents. After that accident everyone gets out and acts like it’s an enormous mistake. Men in wedding dresses, women in Tuxedo’s, with crushed flowers, yelling at each other on the side of the road.

Part of the appeal of the book is the subtle foreshadowing. Rant’s father tells him when he leaves, “This won’t make sense until the end.” He is telling that to the reader, as well. Little clues and crossing stories add up to another story. It’s as if the real story is being told behind Rant’s story.

Palahnuik seems to specialize in disgusting books. I have read about 5 of his books now and most have a part of stomach turning gruesomeness. Rant spares us this for the most part. It could be I am just being desensitized to it now. The book still isn’t for everyone. The presentation of the writing is entertaining, unique and simple. The subject matter may be somewhat offensive to the average reader.

Emotional: 2 – The book is a fast gripping read, but I didn’t feel that invested in the characters.

Intellectual: 5 – The book asks intriguing philosophical questions and has an interesting conclusion that would ruin the book to discuss, but this is the key to its success as a story.

Long Term: 3 – Chuck Palahnuik won’t be a household name, but he will likely have a cult following for a long time. This book is one of his best and will hold strong because of that.

10 out of 13. I would recommend this to anyone that doesn’t think it would be offensive. The narrative is unique and well worth a read.

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