Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Chuck Palahniuk - Pygmy


It was my daughter Laura’s 22nd birthday last week and as her birthday gift I gave her (yet to arrive in the mail) an autographed copy of the newest book just out from her favourite author. She has all the books ever written by Chuck Palahniuk, and he is a prolific author, and I was so happy to find a book shop that would send me a copy which had been personalized and autographed by the author. The book was being released on April 26th, and I ordered a copy for Laura in early April, recognizing that it wouldn’t likely arrive in time for her birthday, but especially pleased that she would not have it yet and that it would be personalized.

Several weeks after ordering the book, I heard that he was going to have a reading in Toronto in the week after Laura’s birthday, so I ordered a couple of tickets, knowing that she would be thrilled to get the book. Sadly, the book will not have arrived for her to line up and get an autograph and I may have to buy her a 2nd copy just so that she can meet him and have him autograph it while she watches.

According to the reviewers:
Chuck Palahniuk’s tenth novel, Pygmy, is about a teenage foreign-exchange student who is actually a young terrorist - part of a gang of teen agents infiltrating the country.
Reviewers have reacted favorably, for the most part, to the sharp satire, and explicit sex and gore of Pygmy. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re a fan of Fight Club, this is vintage Palahniuk

I have never read any of his work and must admit I am not sure it is my cup of tea. However I will go along and we let you know how it turns out.

He has quite a web site.