Choke

 

Ah, what can be said about "Choke?" While I don't feel as strongly as the sentiment at the start of the book when Palaniuk satirically urges the reader to stop reading, I can't say it was my favorite. On the contrary, far from. 

Don't get me wrong. I love satire as a genre and I do like how Palahniuk has a knack for creating truly absurd circumstances for his characters. There are just elements of "Choke" that are...repulsive. The sex scenes are incredibly graphic, and a lot of the visuals he conjures are nothing short of disgusting. It's definitely not for the faint of heart.

As for the protagonist, Victor, well, you do feel sorry for him to an extent, given the relationship with his truly crazy mother. You can tell he has still has disdain and loathing for his young self through his inner narrations, flashing back to her reckless behavior throughout his childhood.

It's a commentary on ambition and how the closest relationships in our lives can truly cripple us if people are toxic. Hence, why he chose to drop out of medical school and work in a colonialist-themed amusement park populated by stoners and other sex addicts. 

Victor was never quite able to cut the umbilical cord from his mother, who is withering away in a death bed. This explains why he resorts to choking himself in restaurants in order to elicit sympathy and receive money from the people who "save his life." 

This is also perhaps, but maybe not entirely, why he develops a sex addiction: as a way to establish connections with people, albeit very fleeting. That's as far as he can go. 

Similar to other reviews I've seen, Palahniuk's protagonists due tend to be a bit juvenile, and, in his really simplistic writing style, he makes it quite hard for the reader to care for them. Victor does indeed have a Holden Caulfield-esque type of narcissism. 

I did think the surprise about the hospital doctor actually being a mental patient was a funny twist and brought the absurdity of Victor's life full-circle.

Overall, "Choke" is fine, but I wouldn't read it again. 

Rating: 5/10