Review: Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

Disclaimer: Not young adult fiction, but as the narrator of the book is 13-year-old Madison Spencer (deceased daughter of a Brad and Angelina Hollywood-type couple), I figured I could get a pass. :)

I remember when I was in college, my roommate and best friend had an entire shelf dedicated to Palahniuk. I got bored one summer and read through the majority of his stuff - figuring, if nothing else, I'd get a taste for her favorite style of lit. At the end of August, I was equally intrigued as I was disturbed. Palaniuk's tomes skirted the line between uncouth, distasteful and hilarity with a brilliance I wasn't sured I'd ever experienced.

Taking a nice 8 year break from his work, I read in November that Damned was coming out and I really couldn't resist.

Thank God (God?) I didn't. I loved this book.

It was classic Palahniuk - one part sarcasm, one part irony and one part pure filth. Describing the journeys in eternal damnation of our protagonist (antagonist?), Maddy, I literally had to stifle laughs on the subway (note: this book was read in old school, hard cover format - it felt sort of like I was cheating on Kindle. Well played, Amazon.). Pure ridiculousness from the get go had me hooked.

Descriptions of the Hellish landscape, such as the Plains of Discarded Nail Clippings or the Sea of Hot Bile - you can't help but imagine how you might react in the fact of such insurmountable hopelessness (and smells!). But not our little Maddy. No, Madison ends up in Hell after her adopted orphan brother of the moment accidentally suffocates her during an ill-advised game called "French Kissing," and basically from Day 1 lives (?) her after-life to the fullest.

I can say (spoiler), I was totally disappointed that the book ended (because I can't read it anymore), but totally thrilled to find out that it's a To Be Continued.

On to the next!