Palahniuk is the author of Fight Club, which was wonderful - so I had pretty high expectations for Haunted. The story begins with 17 people going to who-knows-where for a 3 month writers' retreat to write "the next great American novel." They have all the necessities: food, clothing, water, electricity - but are not allowed to leave once they are there. This is where the fun begins. As each writer believes they need to upstage the others with the story of who they are - and what happens to them during the retreat, they start to sabotage their living quarters and each other. The chapters are set up in a way that keeps the story rolling: a poem about one of the writers, part of the main narrative, and a story told by one of the writers. The one thing that I did not enjoy was the ending. While the stories were great within the book and I loved hearing about the various writers and how they ended up at the retreat, the ending left me hanging and didn't seem to fit with rest of the book.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, but for the characters and their stories...not for the overall plot. Fair warning: people have been known to faint while reading/hearing "Guts" (a story told by one of the writers at the retreat).
Finally! Welcome to the blog "Librarian4RA"! Now at least I can say a book was recommended by you instead of a soon to be fellow blogger. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this entire book, but I have read "Guts". And yes, it was a disturbing one. Oh yes, and it's about time you blogged! ;)
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