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dtsuji92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ltyson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cat_manders's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
clusterhugss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
madmooney's review against another edition
3.0
There are many reviews on the plot of this book elsewhere on GoodReads, so I reckoned I would share some thoughts specifically regarding the features and design in the REMIX edition.
Not my favourite Palahniuk, but I was very intrigued by the reasoning behind the gimmick of the book.
The remixed version of this book possesses out-of-order chapters, with directions at the end of each chapter on where to turn next. Normally I am not a fan of book-gimmicks, but this works well for Invisible Monsters because the narrative itself is also very erratic and out of order (jump back to me back in bed in Seattle, jump to us reading the real estate section of the news paper, jump to Evie being flown to Cancun etc.).
With any physical book, the 'brain in your fingers turning the pages' knows generally how close to the end you are, and subtly warns your brain in your head that the final lap is coming. I never realized how important to me that sense was to my reading experience until I started using (and then promptly stopped) using an e-reader.
Nevertheless, I feel that Chuck's enhancement to the book does improve it, but because I have read (and loved) a number of his other books, I have to compare Invisible Monsters against my past experiences with him (hence the 3/5).
Not my favourite Palahniuk, but I was very intrigued by the reasoning behind the gimmick of the book.
The remixed version of this book possesses out-of-order chapters, with directions at the end of each chapter on where to turn next. Normally I am not a fan of book-gimmicks, but this works well for Invisible Monsters because the narrative itself is also very erratic and out of order (jump back to me back in bed in Seattle, jump to us reading the real estate section of the news paper, jump to Evie being flown to Cancun etc.).
With any physical book, the 'brain in your fingers turning the pages' knows generally how close to the end you are, and subtly warns your brain in your head that the final lap is coming. I never realized how important to me that sense was to my reading experience until I started using (and then promptly stopped) using an e-reader.
Nevertheless, I feel that Chuck's enhancement to the book does improve it, but because I have read (and loved) a number of his other books, I have to compare Invisible Monsters against my past experiences with him (hence the 3/5).
leaf900's review against another edition
5.0
Chaotic but in the end pretty awesome. Was 4 star but I really enjoyed the ending which bumped it up to 5 star.
moms_spaghetty's review against another edition
4.0
Fun and funny. Narration was crazy-crazy, pretty trippy overall.
bababookmatt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Chuck Palahniuk is a master of analyzing and destroying generally accepted social values and morals that everyone takes for granted. Invisible Monster’s targets generally held beliefs about identity, love, family, beauty, fulfillment, bigotry, transformation, redemption, insincerity, and revenge. That’s quite an ambitious list to tackle!
This is a non-chronological narrative, revealing the events of the protagonist’s life in seemingly random order. It makes the book fun and challenging, but also confusing, and left me feeling that some of the themes (mentioned above) were only partially explored and discussed.
The plot is a lot of fun to unravel, and the characters, particularly Brandy Alexander, are sensational. I really enjoyed reading about their schemes to steal drugs, ad hoc creation of different identities, and dosing a captive ex with estrogen. I did get the feeling that some of the writing was outrageous just to be outrageous. For example, the beginning of the story shares a perspective of nature being ugly, chaotic, and meaningless. This is a shocking, funny, contrarian perspective that I enjoyed reading, but I have a hard time placing it into the general themes and messages of the book. Almost like Palahniuk was sporadically trying to pick a fight with the reader.
This is a really good book, and probably my favorite Palahniuk novel, but the non-chronological plot did leave me confused at times and wondering if I missed certain details or if they would just be revealed later in the story. To its credit, this approach also makes the book very rereadable.
This is a non-chronological narrative, revealing the events of the protagonist’s life in seemingly random order. It makes the book fun and challenging, but also confusing, and left me feeling that some of the themes (mentioned above) were only partially explored and discussed.
The plot is a lot of fun to unravel, and the characters, particularly Brandy Alexander, are sensational. I really enjoyed reading about their schemes to steal drugs, ad hoc creation of different identities, and dosing a captive ex with estrogen. I did get the feeling that some of the writing was outrageous just to be outrageous. For example, the beginning of the story shares a perspective of nature being ugly, chaotic, and meaningless. This is a shocking, funny, contrarian perspective that I enjoyed reading, but I have a hard time placing it into the general themes and messages of the book. Almost like Palahniuk was sporadically trying to pick a fight with the reader.
This is a really good book, and probably my favorite Palahniuk novel, but the non-chronological plot did leave me confused at times and wondering if I missed certain details or if they would just be revealed later in the story. To its credit, this approach also makes the book very rereadable.
shelbypeters's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75