Choke

by Chuck Palahniuk

Reviewed by Coral

Victor Mancini spent a childhood in and out of foster homes as his mother, alternatively, kidnapped him from them and went to prison. Now she is an elderly woman suffering from dementia, and he is forced to drop out of Medical School to get money to support her. He's also a "recovering" sexual addict who likes to pretend to choke on food at a restaurant so that someone can save him; he then hits his saviors up for financial support.

Even though I read this book because of the glowing recommendations of two of my friends, I can't find one positive thing to say about it.

The descriptions of the various exploits of the sexual addicts, most especially the ones involving animals, grossed me out. The style of writing was annoying, the repeated uses of "See also: ..." and "it wasn't the right word, but it's the first to come to mind."

You know, the first chapter starts out with "If you're going to read this, don't bother." Wish I had listened.

Grade: F