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The Invention of Sound
A father's decades-long search for his missing daughter.
A young woman about to engineer the perfect scream.
The most dangerous secret Hollywood has ever kept.
Gates Foster lost his daughter, Lucy, seventeen years ago. He's never stopped searching. Suddenly, a shocking new development provides Foster with his first major lead in over a decade, and he may finally be on the verge of discovering the awful truth.
Meanwhile, Mitzi Ives has carved out a space among the Foley artists creating the immersive sounds giving Hollywood films their authenticity. Using the same secret techniques as her father before her, she's become an industry-leading expert in the sound of violence and horror, creating screams so bone-chilling, they may as well be real.
Soon Foster and Ives find themselves on a collision course that threatens to expose the violence hidden beneath Hollywood's glamorous façade. A grim and disturbing reflection on the commodification of suffering and the dangerous power of art, THE INVENTION OF SOUND is Chuck Palahniuk at the peak of his literary powers—his most suspenseful, most daring, and most genre-defying work yet.
A young woman about to engineer the perfect scream.
The most dangerous secret Hollywood has ever kept.
Gates Foster lost his daughter, Lucy, seventeen years ago. He's never stopped searching. Suddenly, a shocking new development provides Foster with his first major lead in over a decade, and he may finally be on the verge of discovering the awful truth.
Meanwhile, Mitzi Ives has carved out a space among the Foley artists creating the immersive sounds giving Hollywood films their authenticity. Using the same secret techniques as her father before her, she's become an industry-leading expert in the sound of violence and horror, creating screams so bone-chilling, they may as well be real.
Soon Foster and Ives find themselves on a collision course that threatens to expose the violence hidden beneath Hollywood's glamorous façade. A grim and disturbing reflection on the commodification of suffering and the dangerous power of art, THE INVENTION OF SOUND is Chuck Palahniuk at the peak of his literary powers—his most suspenseful, most daring, and most genre-defying work yet.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2020
620 people are currently reading
15897 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Palahniuk
258 books131k followersWritten in stolen moments under truck chassis and on park benches to a soundtrack of The Downward Spiral and Pablo Honey, Fight Club came into existence. The adaptation of Fight Club was a flop at the box office, but achieved cult status on DVD. The film’s popularity drove sales of the novel. Chuck put out two novels in 1999, Survivor and Invisible Monsters. Choke, published in 2001, became Chuck’s first New York Times bestseller. Chuck’s work has always been infused with personal experience, and his next novel, Lullaby, was no exception. Chuck credits writing Lullaby with helping him cope with the tragic death of his father. Diary and the non-fiction guide to Portland, Fugitives and Refugees, were released in 2003. While on the road in support of Diary, Chuck began reading a short story entitled 'Guts,' which would eventually become part of the novel Haunted.
In the years that followed, he continued to write, publishing the bestselling Rant, Snuff, Pygmy, Tell-All, a 'remix' of Invisible Monsters, Damned, and most recently, Doomed.
Chuck also enjoys giving back to his fans, and teaching the art of storytelling has been an important part of that. In 2004, Chuck began submitting essays to ChuckPalahniuk.net on the craft of writing. These were 'How To' pieces, straight out of Chuck's personal bag of tricks, based on the tenants of minimalism he learned from Tom Spanbauer. Every month, a “Homework Assignment” would accompany the lesson, so Workshop members could apply what they had learned. (all 36 of these essays can currently be found on The Cult's sister-site, LitReactor.com).
Then, in 2009, Chuck increased his involvement by committing to read and review a selection of fan-written stories each month. The best stories are currently set to be published in Burnt Tongues, a forthcoming anthology, with an introduction written by Chuck himself.
His next novel, Beautiful You, is due out in October 2014.
In the years that followed, he continued to write, publishing the bestselling Rant, Snuff, Pygmy, Tell-All, a 'remix' of Invisible Monsters, Damned, and most recently, Doomed.
Chuck also enjoys giving back to his fans, and teaching the art of storytelling has been an important part of that. In 2004, Chuck began submitting essays to ChuckPalahniuk.net on the craft of writing. These were 'How To' pieces, straight out of Chuck's personal bag of tricks, based on the tenants of minimalism he learned from Tom Spanbauer. Every month, a “Homework Assignment” would accompany the lesson, so Workshop members could apply what they had learned. (all 36 of these essays can currently be found on The Cult's sister-site, LitReactor.com).
Then, in 2009, Chuck increased his involvement by committing to read and review a selection of fan-written stories each month. The best stories are currently set to be published in Burnt Tongues, a forthcoming anthology, with an introduction written by Chuck himself.
His next novel, Beautiful You, is due out in October 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,210 reviews
September 19, 2022
Have you ever read a book that has rendered you utterly speechless upon finishing it? That's exactly what The Invention of Sound did to me after flipping the final page. It's no secret that Chuck Palahniuk is known for penning all things weird, but I think this new work of fiction really takes the cake. I've said it before but I'll say it again: the sign of excellent horror is when an author can take the unbelievable and turn you into a conspiracy theorist. Did I start googling all things related to foley art, Hollywood secret rituals, and which foods make gross sounds associated with on screen bodily harm? You betcha. In all seriousness, this story was heart breaking and thought provoking, and I might just have to read it again to pick up on all the deep layers I missed on my first run through. If you get queasy easily, you may want to pass on this one, not only because there are many gory descriptions, but there is also a good portion of the plot dealing with a father hunting down pedophiles and other low lives to try and find his missing daughter.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
October 16, 2020
Extremely disturbing, stomach churning, dark, challenging, truly gory, but extra smart, captivating, quirky, mad as hell! Nope: I’m not talking about my own characteristics, I’m defining this book! But at the winter times I exactly turned into someone matches the description of this story!
Eventually it’s so normal I became addictive of Mr. Palahniuk ( since Fight Club, Choke and Invisible Monsters, I swear to read anything he publishes whether I hate or fall in love!)
The other thing dragged me into this story is so detailed, creative approach to the art of foley. As a moviemaker, I always believe the sound department designates the success and credibility of the movies: especially for horror genre.
Even the faintest background sounds are extremely important to create a accurate and natural scene. Especially those screams freeze out bloods, chilling our bones, shattering our souls are product of great performance and well practiced techniques as if it’s told in this novel. (Did you start to see Jamie Lee Curtis’ years of soul crushing performance from different angle?Yes, you should. First her mother Janet Leigh became silent screamer at Hitchcock’s Psycho and then she carries the torch from her by her ear bleeding my effective Halloween performance!)
Anyways, we’re introduced two main characters in this story. Both of them are unique, quirky, obsessed, loners. Gates Foster’s only aim is finding his daughter Lucy who has lost 17 years ago. His search puts him in dangerous and awkward situation, including facing with the disgusting pedophiles who are molesting young children.
His path gets crossed with Mitzi Ives, foley artist who is inherited special techniques of creating bone chilling, immersive sounds from her own father.
Their collusion may be resulted with deadly consequences about secretive and dark side of Hollywood’s polished facade.
I highly recommend you not to have heavy good before or during your reading because this book throws so many explosive stuffs into your lap. There are so many wild, intense, gory descriptions may challenge your endurance.
It is harsh, complex, ruthless but of course it is also clever, breathtaking, action packed, extra ordinary and surprising just like the author’s old school books.
If you have high pain tolerance, defining yourself badass, willing to wear your big girls’ pants or adult diapers for taking your brave long steps to start your heart pounding journey, you chose the best book you can ever have!
Especially I’m recommending this to the author’s die hard fans!
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Eventually it’s so normal I became addictive of Mr. Palahniuk ( since Fight Club, Choke and Invisible Monsters, I swear to read anything he publishes whether I hate or fall in love!)
The other thing dragged me into this story is so detailed, creative approach to the art of foley. As a moviemaker, I always believe the sound department designates the success and credibility of the movies: especially for horror genre.
Even the faintest background sounds are extremely important to create a accurate and natural scene. Especially those screams freeze out bloods, chilling our bones, shattering our souls are product of great performance and well practiced techniques as if it’s told in this novel. (Did you start to see Jamie Lee Curtis’ years of soul crushing performance from different angle?Yes, you should. First her mother Janet Leigh became silent screamer at Hitchcock’s Psycho and then she carries the torch from her by her ear bleeding my effective Halloween performance!)
Anyways, we’re introduced two main characters in this story. Both of them are unique, quirky, obsessed, loners. Gates Foster’s only aim is finding his daughter Lucy who has lost 17 years ago. His search puts him in dangerous and awkward situation, including facing with the disgusting pedophiles who are molesting young children.
His path gets crossed with Mitzi Ives, foley artist who is inherited special techniques of creating bone chilling, immersive sounds from her own father.
Their collusion may be resulted with deadly consequences about secretive and dark side of Hollywood’s polished facade.
I highly recommend you not to have heavy good before or during your reading because this book throws so many explosive stuffs into your lap. There are so many wild, intense, gory descriptions may challenge your endurance.
It is harsh, complex, ruthless but of course it is also clever, breathtaking, action packed, extra ordinary and surprising just like the author’s old school books.
If you have high pain tolerance, defining yourself badass, willing to wear your big girls’ pants or adult diapers for taking your brave long steps to start your heart pounding journey, you chose the best book you can ever have!
Especially I’m recommending this to the author’s die hard fans!
blog
August 13, 2020
Chuck Palahniuk's latest offering is unsurprisingly for those who love their horror or are fans of his trademark original forays into the dark, sick, seedy and twisted worlds and the flawed and desperate characters he creates. It's difficult to stop reading, even when it often becomes too much, his visceral writing, kaleidoscopic and episodic, makes a memorable impact, and it can be hard to wipe from your imagination what you have just read. Gates Foster is a broken father whose auburn haired young daughter, Lucinda, was abducted, and he has never been able to move on, his world fractured, grief stricken, obsessed and addicted to his memories of her, willing to pay for and indulge in fantasies that keep her alive in his mind, how she might look now and be in the present. He sinks into the murky and depraved world of the dark web, chasing paedophiles, the likes of the notorious child sex trafficker, Paolo Lassiter, sighted in Denver, Colorado. To try and help him come to terms with the loss of Lucinda, he joins a group who have lost children.
In Hollywood, the dangerous Mitzi Ives, is a gifted foley artist when it comes to producing screams that have given her power, an art that commands her almost unheard of rewards, a profession that she ventures to think of as a political act, one that makes people both afraid of her and venerate her. The screams she creates are ones she wants remembered in Hollywood's history of famous screams, used widely in numerous disparate areas outside of film. Mitzi has a family history to uphold when it comes to the invention of her screams, the horrifying terror of screams captured from victims in the last throes of their lives. Mitzi and Gates Foster's paths are destined to cross in this chilling and compulsive narrative. This is not a read for the faint of heart, and to be honest, it probably really wasn't for me, possibly because of my current frame of mind. However, I cannot deny that it is well written and compulsive, and it will appeal to the horror fiction fans out there. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.
In Hollywood, the dangerous Mitzi Ives, is a gifted foley artist when it comes to producing screams that have given her power, an art that commands her almost unheard of rewards, a profession that she ventures to think of as a political act, one that makes people both afraid of her and venerate her. The screams she creates are ones she wants remembered in Hollywood's history of famous screams, used widely in numerous disparate areas outside of film. Mitzi has a family history to uphold when it comes to the invention of her screams, the horrifying terror of screams captured from victims in the last throes of their lives. Mitzi and Gates Foster's paths are destined to cross in this chilling and compulsive narrative. This is not a read for the faint of heart, and to be honest, it probably really wasn't for me, possibly because of my current frame of mind. However, I cannot deny that it is well written and compulsive, and it will appeal to the horror fiction fans out there. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.
September 17, 2020
Ahhhh Palahniuk is in 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 with this book! What a joy this was to read. A dark, demented, nauseous joy.
𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 17 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴 - 𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵.
𝘔𝘪𝘵𝘻𝘪 𝘐𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥/𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰 - 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮.
Will Palahniuk ever write a book that I enjoy as much as Fight Club? Probably not, but this one isn't too far off. And like all his books, this one will teach you random facts you likely never knew and will cause you to spend a bit of time on Google. Because really, what even is Goofy Holler anyways?
𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 17 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴 - 𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵.
𝘔𝘪𝘵𝘻𝘪 𝘐𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥/𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰 - 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮.
Will Palahniuk ever write a book that I enjoy as much as Fight Club? Probably not, but this one isn't too far off. And like all his books, this one will teach you random facts you likely never knew and will cause you to spend a bit of time on Google. Because really, what even is Goofy Holler anyways?
November 17, 2023
This book is a freaking daymare!!!!🤦
Will give me nightmares for sure ☺️
🤦 My first Chuck Palahniuk book and it did its harm.
The first read by the author and I really got spooked!
Not because it's some horror ghost read but because it's gruesome and graphic.
This is the story of a man who could not accept the possible death of his daughter who got lost 18 years ago. He seemed to get a clue about his missing daughter and went on to do things to discover the truth through means he didn't get to judge right or wrong.
This is also the story of a young woman who did unimaginable things to record authentic bonechilling sounds for horror thriller Hollywood movies and was doing quite well.
These two characters come together unexpectedly to expose the hidden dirty secrets of Hollywood.
Well, these characters are a nightmare! They are unlikeable but so damn interesting that I just couldn't stop reading to know what they were going to do next! Crazy characters indeed!
The writing hooked me till the end. The book is short but there were some disturbing scenes that made me stop reading the book. Yes, trigger warnings for explicit acts, violence, suicidal acts, self-harm.
Well, that's a book I would never forget!
Will give me nightmares for sure ☺️
🤦 My first Chuck Palahniuk book and it did its harm.
The first read by the author and I really got spooked!
Not because it's some horror ghost read but because it's gruesome and graphic.
This is the story of a man who could not accept the possible death of his daughter who got lost 18 years ago. He seemed to get a clue about his missing daughter and went on to do things to discover the truth through means he didn't get to judge right or wrong.
This is also the story of a young woman who did unimaginable things to record authentic bonechilling sounds for horror thriller Hollywood movies and was doing quite well.
These two characters come together unexpectedly to expose the hidden dirty secrets of Hollywood.
Well, these characters are a nightmare! They are unlikeable but so damn interesting that I just couldn't stop reading to know what they were going to do next! Crazy characters indeed!
The writing hooked me till the end. The book is short but there were some disturbing scenes that made me stop reading the book. Yes, trigger warnings for explicit acts, violence, suicidal acts, self-harm.
Well, that's a book I would never forget!
October 21, 2021
Foster’s daughter has been missing for years and it’s driven him near crazy. He sees her and her kidnappers everywhere - but he finally has a possible clue of her whereabouts. Mitzi is a foley artist in search of the perfect scream ever to be captured on film. Somehow these two character’s destinies are entwined as they hurtle to their own personal oblivions.
I was a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk’s when I was in high school but I’ve barely read anything new by him in some time. So I decided to see what Chuck’s writing is like these days by picking up his latest novel, The Invention of Sound, and… yeah, it ain’t good. Not even close. (Which makes me wonder if I re-read stuff like Fight Club, Survivor and Choke today whether I’d think they’re still good or not, but I’m not about to go down that rabbit hole!)
I can’t really talk about how crap this novel is without spoilers so SPOILERS here on out. To anyone planning on reading this, wondering what I think and not wanting to be spoiled, I’m definitely not recommending it. Whatever genius Chuck once had, it’s as long lost as his protagonist’s kid!
Elements of Foster’s storyline were sorta interesting. He hires a call girl to pretend to be his daughter (she’d be in her 20s at this point) and then loses his mind and starts hunting her through an empty building with a gun! But then it really goes off the rails afterwards. He kidnaps a movie star called Blush Gentry - who’s in on it - for no reason, then he happens to come across Mitzi for no other reason beyond plot contrivance, before the reveal that his support group were all actors and that he was being set up by the government - what?! Why?! Huh!? Why does the government care what this nobody does? Unless he’s gone completely crackers and that’s the point? I have no idea.
Mitzi’s character and storyline were even more inscrutable. What does her father being a murderer have to do with her being a murderer, “continuing her father’s work”?! She’s not obliged to keep murdering! Ok, it’s a gruesomely fascinating detail that she’s a foley artist who gets genuine-sounding recordings of human suffering because they’re real, but the reason for her getting away with it being something to do with Ambien and a corrupt doctor were not convincing in the least.
And the idea of a perfect scream somehow killing people who hear it, in their thousands, while also demolishing buildings, is utterly silly. How…? And, if that’s true, who was herding hundreds of famous movie people into an Oscar-style awards show to kill them off with the scream and why? Normally with exaggerated story elements like this, it’s because of satirical purposes, but I really don’t know what the point was. Was this just Chuck showing his disdain for Hollywood by enacting some violent fantasy of his?
There is the potential for an interesting story here but the author doesn’t realise it. The storylines descend into inexplicability and gratuitous goriness which is just boring. Baffling and pointless, The Invention of Sound is a plain bad novel. Chuck Palahniuk’s definitely not the writer for me any more but, maybe, those early books are as good as I remember, so, if you’re thinking of checking out this writer, check those out instead of his latter day nonsense.
I was a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk’s when I was in high school but I’ve barely read anything new by him in some time. So I decided to see what Chuck’s writing is like these days by picking up his latest novel, The Invention of Sound, and… yeah, it ain’t good. Not even close. (Which makes me wonder if I re-read stuff like Fight Club, Survivor and Choke today whether I’d think they’re still good or not, but I’m not about to go down that rabbit hole!)
I can’t really talk about how crap this novel is without spoilers so SPOILERS here on out. To anyone planning on reading this, wondering what I think and not wanting to be spoiled, I’m definitely not recommending it. Whatever genius Chuck once had, it’s as long lost as his protagonist’s kid!
Elements of Foster’s storyline were sorta interesting. He hires a call girl to pretend to be his daughter (she’d be in her 20s at this point) and then loses his mind and starts hunting her through an empty building with a gun! But then it really goes off the rails afterwards. He kidnaps a movie star called Blush Gentry - who’s in on it - for no reason, then he happens to come across Mitzi for no other reason beyond plot contrivance, before the reveal that his support group were all actors and that he was being set up by the government - what?! Why?! Huh!? Why does the government care what this nobody does? Unless he’s gone completely crackers and that’s the point? I have no idea.
Mitzi’s character and storyline were even more inscrutable. What does her father being a murderer have to do with her being a murderer, “continuing her father’s work”?! She’s not obliged to keep murdering! Ok, it’s a gruesomely fascinating detail that she’s a foley artist who gets genuine-sounding recordings of human suffering because they’re real, but the reason for her getting away with it being something to do with Ambien and a corrupt doctor were not convincing in the least.
And the idea of a perfect scream somehow killing people who hear it, in their thousands, while also demolishing buildings, is utterly silly. How…? And, if that’s true, who was herding hundreds of famous movie people into an Oscar-style awards show to kill them off with the scream and why? Normally with exaggerated story elements like this, it’s because of satirical purposes, but I really don’t know what the point was. Was this just Chuck showing his disdain for Hollywood by enacting some violent fantasy of his?
There is the potential for an interesting story here but the author doesn’t realise it. The storylines descend into inexplicability and gratuitous goriness which is just boring. Baffling and pointless, The Invention of Sound is a plain bad novel. Chuck Palahniuk’s definitely not the writer for me any more but, maybe, those early books are as good as I remember, so, if you’re thinking of checking out this writer, check those out instead of his latter day nonsense.
April 10, 2021
3.5 rounded up
I loved that this felt like the old stuff! Quirky and dark and original. However I just don’t think it completely came together and actually at times I was rather confused.
I’d say it was worth reading if you liked Chuck’s earlier stuff.
I loved that this felt like the old stuff! Quirky and dark and original. However I just don’t think it completely came together and actually at times I was rather confused.
I’d say it was worth reading if you liked Chuck’s earlier stuff.
May 29, 2020
Ummm. I don't know. I liked a lot of this book, but it kind of lost me in the last quarter. Also...
Written like this so much of the book is. Understand why I do not. So distracting it was.
Written like this so much of the book is. Understand why I do not. So distracting it was.
October 27, 2020
For sure it's the best thing Palahniuk has written in 15 years, but it's also kind of a mess.
The first third is pretty killer and has some of the best writing he's ever done, then it starts to fall apart in the middle third, mostly crumbles in the last third and has a slight uptick near the end to finish as... I'm not even sure. Goodish?
The first third is pretty killer and has some of the best writing he's ever done, then it starts to fall apart in the middle third, mostly crumbles in the last third and has a slight uptick near the end to finish as... I'm not even sure. Goodish?
Read
August 11, 2020
May 29, 2021
Ever since I got into Fight Club and then read the book, I've been something of a fanboy of Palahniuk. It's the mixture of over-the-top yuck with strong goals and the willingness to double-down on taboo-breaking disturbing topics that makes me tip my hat to him.
Courage. The guy's balls can fill a swimming pool. And if any of ya'll have read his short story Guts, you can add all that to the image and nod ya'lls heads and go, "oh... yeah...". Courage.
Well, this one goes there, too. But it's on an interesting side of an otherwise very disgusting topic, with rather disturbing revenge to make us feel better for having wallowed a bit in the truly bad. Did I wig out a little? Yes. But did I also enjoy all the movie trivia and the backstage stuff and the post-post-production stuff, the insider stuff? Yep.
Between the two, I was constantly on edge between enjoying the novel and being disturbed by it.
Of course, this kind of thing might vary a great deal between readers. I'm frankly a lot more comfortable with blood and guts and torture than this particular kind of cruelty.
It's still a decent novel, however, and pretty wicked.
Courage. The guy's balls can fill a swimming pool. And if any of ya'll have read his short story Guts, you can add all that to the image and nod ya'lls heads and go, "oh... yeah...". Courage.
Well, this one goes there, too. But it's on an interesting side of an otherwise very disgusting topic, with rather disturbing revenge to make us feel better for having wallowed a bit in the truly bad. Did I wig out a little? Yes. But did I also enjoy all the movie trivia and the backstage stuff and the post-post-production stuff, the insider stuff? Yep.
Between the two, I was constantly on edge between enjoying the novel and being disturbed by it.
Of course, this kind of thing might vary a great deal between readers. I'm frankly a lot more comfortable with blood and guts and torture than this particular kind of cruelty.
It's still a decent novel, however, and pretty wicked.
December 30, 2024
I don’t write reviews.
Wow, this was all over the place. The first half was uninspired and I almost put it down. The second half was far more interesting and felt more like what you expect from current Palahniuk. But it’s missing that special thing, that human touch, that way Chuck could take something ugly and strange and make it beautiful and familiar.
Book 11 - The Year of Chuck
Wow, this was all over the place. The first half was uninspired and I almost put it down. The second half was far more interesting and felt more like what you expect from current Palahniuk. But it’s missing that special thing, that human touch, that way Chuck could take something ugly and strange and make it beautiful and familiar.
Book 11 - The Year of Chuck
September 21, 2020
Damn, Chuck. Where you been? Missed you.
This is his best book in over ten years.
Not sure how to classify this, maybe a post-punk/modern-fantasy-noir/horror? However you label it, it is good. Very good, great in fact. It's back to that frenetic layered storylines where nothing is as it first seems. Like Lullaby, Choke, Invisible Monsters, and some other early novels, Invention of Sound is a dark, dirty, voyeuristic escapade with some DEEPLY wounded, fucked-up people. NO ONE writes troubled or wounded like Palahniuk. The whole time I felt so sorry for these people because of what had happened to them and what they were currently dealing with, and I also knew nothing good was going to come from anything they were doing (it is a Chuck P book after all) but Chuck writes in such a way, and presents everything in a truly entertaining package that reading this is not like rubbernecking a car wreck, this is like filming that car accident on your phone and re-watching it multiple times while laughing and showing your friends. If you have never read anything by the author then this might be a good place to start, it has everything that makes Chuck P Chuck P, but not all of it is dialed up to eleven.
You used to be able to feel the energy coming off of his books when you picked them up, they were super-charged and forces to reckoned with. Chuck recaptures some of that energy and gives us his most worthy offering in recent memory. I'm glad I picked this up because I had been so disappointed by his last couple I almost passed on it. So I told myself that 2004 Chris would have been pissed off at this age version of me if I didn't, so I did.
This is his best book in over ten years.
Not sure how to classify this, maybe a post-punk/modern-fantasy-noir/horror? However you label it, it is good. Very good, great in fact. It's back to that frenetic layered storylines where nothing is as it first seems. Like Lullaby, Choke, Invisible Monsters, and some other early novels, Invention of Sound is a dark, dirty, voyeuristic escapade with some DEEPLY wounded, fucked-up people. NO ONE writes troubled or wounded like Palahniuk. The whole time I felt so sorry for these people because of what had happened to them and what they were currently dealing with, and I also knew nothing good was going to come from anything they were doing (it is a Chuck P book after all) but Chuck writes in such a way, and presents everything in a truly entertaining package that reading this is not like rubbernecking a car wreck, this is like filming that car accident on your phone and re-watching it multiple times while laughing and showing your friends. If you have never read anything by the author then this might be a good place to start, it has everything that makes Chuck P Chuck P, but not all of it is dialed up to eleven.
You used to be able to feel the energy coming off of his books when you picked them up, they were super-charged and forces to reckoned with. Chuck recaptures some of that energy and gives us his most worthy offering in recent memory. I'm glad I picked this up because I had been so disappointed by his last couple I almost passed on it. So I told myself that 2004 Chris would have been pissed off at this age version of me if I didn't, so I did.
August 23, 2020
This is the first Palahniuk book I’ve wanted to read in ages and it was a bit of a let down. The premise sounded great but the story and characters just didn’t work out for me. Lots of plot holes and wtf moments but not in a good way. Just too messy for me.
My copy was provided by NetGalley for review
My copy was provided by NetGalley for review
October 5, 2020
This is my first novel by Chuck Palahniuk. Boy was I in shock to find out he wrote Fight Club. As a person who loves to read, I am so bad and usually don't read blurbs so yea very surprised. This is one of those books where you have many flawed, but interesting characters. It's a quick, dark, and twisted read.
August 30, 2020
Gates Fosters daughter, Lucy went missing seventeen years ago. He's never stopped looking for her. He's just found a new major lead in over ten years. He might now find out the truth.
Mitzi Ives has carved out space among the Foley artists creating the immersive sounds giving Hollywood films their authenticity. She uses the same techniques as her father before her, becoming a leading expert in the sound of violence and horror.
Gates Fosters need to find hid daughter has him crossing paths with Mitzi. This is a dark novel with flawed characters and it's quite perverted and sick to read. It's also kind of weird. This is a quick book to read as there is just over 200 pages. The ending is satisfying.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #ChuckPalahniuk for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Mitzi Ives has carved out space among the Foley artists creating the immersive sounds giving Hollywood films their authenticity. She uses the same techniques as her father before her, becoming a leading expert in the sound of violence and horror.
Gates Fosters need to find hid daughter has him crossing paths with Mitzi. This is a dark novel with flawed characters and it's quite perverted and sick to read. It's also kind of weird. This is a quick book to read as there is just over 200 pages. The ending is satisfying.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #ChuckPalahniuk for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Want to read
April 20, 2020“a foley artist looking for the ultimate scream, and the hideous lengths she’ll go to in order to find it”
What a delightfully twisted brain this man has
What a delightfully twisted brain this man has
February 16, 2022
Deluso non è la parola più corretta, ma è la prima che ti viene in mente.
Spiego nel dettaglio cosa non mi ha convinto qui: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M26xF...
Spiego nel dettaglio cosa non mi ha convinto qui: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M26xF...
August 30, 2020
Gates Fosters daughter, Lucy went missing seventeen years ago. He's never stopped looking for her. He's just found a new major lead in over ten years. He might now find out the truth.
Mitzi Ives has carved out space among the Foley artists creating the immersive sounds giving Hollywood films their authenticity. She uses the same techniques as her father before her, becoming a leading expert in the sound of violence and horror.
Gates Fosters need to find his daughter has him crossing paths with Mitzi. This is a dark novel with flawed characters and it's quite perverted and sick to read. It's also kind of weird. This is a quick book to read as there is just over 200 pages. The ending is satisfying.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #ChuckPalahniuk for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Mitzi Ives has carved out space among the Foley artists creating the immersive sounds giving Hollywood films their authenticity. She uses the same techniques as her father before her, becoming a leading expert in the sound of violence and horror.
Gates Fosters need to find his daughter has him crossing paths with Mitzi. This is a dark novel with flawed characters and it's quite perverted and sick to read. It's also kind of weird. This is a quick book to read as there is just over 200 pages. The ending is satisfying.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #ChuckPalahniuk for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 28, 2021
3.75/5 ⭐
This was definitely something else.
It was peculiar, unique and definitely disturbing, but at the same time, it was interesting enough to keep my interest alive.
I definitely need to process all that though.
This was definitely something else.
It was peculiar, unique and definitely disturbing, but at the same time, it was interesting enough to keep my interest alive.
I definitely need to process all that though.
November 20, 2020
QUICK TAKE: I miss old school Chuck Palahniuk!! Invisible Monsters Chuck Palahniuk. I really haven't enjoyed one of Chuck's books since SNUFF, and unfortunately, I struggled through THE INVENTION OF SOUND. The story was a bit all over the place and confusing, the characters irredeemable (even for a CP book), and I felt so unsatisfied with the ending. I'd skip this one and re-read INVISIBLE MONSTERS or CHOKE or LULLABY or HAUNTED...
September 14, 2020
I could never say anything bad about Chuck or any of his books so a useful review simply isn’t possible from me*.
Let’s just say that it’s better than Damned but not as good as Rant.
I hope it helps. You should read it.
* That’s a really ugly cover though...
Let’s just say that it’s better than Damned but not as good as Rant.
I hope it helps. You should read it.
* That’s a really ugly cover though...
May 24, 2020
"Death amounted to too much of a crapshoot. She could be hit by a bus tomorrow, and she’d go to hell. Go directly to hell. Do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars."
Chuck Palahniuk is back to his original form. I didn’t connect with his last book and I was left disappointed, so I was a little hesitant about reading this one. But he makes you reminisce about some of his classics. This had a touch of Lullaby and Fight Club but with intense mystery, broken hearts, and screams of no more!
Gates Foster lost his child years ago but he’s never given up on finding clues or information about where she is or what’s happened to her. He scours the internet trying to locate information he thinks is hidden on the dark web. Gates watches unbearable videos of pedophiles doing the unthinkable. He memorizes and takes photos of these guys, so he can take action into his own hands when he spots them on the street.
Someone convinced Gates that he should start attending a support group for families who have lost children. He thinks that it’s helping him but looks can be deceiving. This group turns his life upside down as he starts to lose it more and more. But they lead him to someone who has the information he so desperately needs.
Mitzi Ives is a foley artist that Hollywood flocks to when they need to make their movies more authentic. She adds the horrifying sounds they need to make people cringe and maybe shed some tears. She’s the leading lady in the industry. The disturbing sounds she creates sound so real that they might just be that.
Gates and Mitzi are about to come face to face when clues lead him her way. What unravels is the shocking mystery of Hollywood’s biggest secrets and maybe the answers they’ve both been looking for. Just remember that the power of art can be dangerous.
My mind has been blown wide open. I was hesitant to read this so early but this was that first breath of delicious air after you get punched hard in the stomach. The best thing about Chuck is that he doesn’t care that he makes you uncomfortable, he makes it his life’s mission to do so and I love it. No one can leave me on edge like he does.
The Invention of Sound was Chuck doing what he does best. This was twisted and disgusting and it made my mysterious horror heart very happy. I’m not sure how he does it but I’m just amazed by this one. Prepare yourself for the twisted mind of a genius.
"Spirits of the evil crowded the Earth to avoid their destiny in Hell."
Chuck Palahniuk is back to his original form. I didn’t connect with his last book and I was left disappointed, so I was a little hesitant about reading this one. But he makes you reminisce about some of his classics. This had a touch of Lullaby and Fight Club but with intense mystery, broken hearts, and screams of no more!
Gates Foster lost his child years ago but he’s never given up on finding clues or information about where she is or what’s happened to her. He scours the internet trying to locate information he thinks is hidden on the dark web. Gates watches unbearable videos of pedophiles doing the unthinkable. He memorizes and takes photos of these guys, so he can take action into his own hands when he spots them on the street.
Someone convinced Gates that he should start attending a support group for families who have lost children. He thinks that it’s helping him but looks can be deceiving. This group turns his life upside down as he starts to lose it more and more. But they lead him to someone who has the information he so desperately needs.
Mitzi Ives is a foley artist that Hollywood flocks to when they need to make their movies more authentic. She adds the horrifying sounds they need to make people cringe and maybe shed some tears. She’s the leading lady in the industry. The disturbing sounds she creates sound so real that they might just be that.
Gates and Mitzi are about to come face to face when clues lead him her way. What unravels is the shocking mystery of Hollywood’s biggest secrets and maybe the answers they’ve both been looking for. Just remember that the power of art can be dangerous.
My mind has been blown wide open. I was hesitant to read this so early but this was that first breath of delicious air after you get punched hard in the stomach. The best thing about Chuck is that he doesn’t care that he makes you uncomfortable, he makes it his life’s mission to do so and I love it. No one can leave me on edge like he does.
The Invention of Sound was Chuck doing what he does best. This was twisted and disgusting and it made my mysterious horror heart very happy. I’m not sure how he does it but I’m just amazed by this one. Prepare yourself for the twisted mind of a genius.
"Spirits of the evil crowded the Earth to avoid their destiny in Hell."
September 3, 2020
Chuck is back (after leaving us with his writing memoir – Consider This) with a scintillating new novel, a slow burn that burns bright and long and loud. Fans of his novels Lullaby, Fight Club, Invisible Monsters and Choke will dig this offering as it gleans the very best of each of these books; stuffing them all in the blender. The amalgamation is intoxicating, the aroma a sweet and alluring offering that screams for the reader to jump right in and offer themselves up to the spinning blades at the stories heart – turning them into a bloodied mess by the turning of that last page. You’ll remember where you were when you read this book, as it’ll scar you, maim you and leave you disfigured to your very core.
I first learned about the premise of this book when I watched The Joe Rogan Experience a while back – Chuck was on there talking all things books and discussing his writing process (it’s over two hours long and I’d highly recommend watching it) and he dropped some news about a project that he was working on which included a lot of research into the drug Ambien; he went on to talk about people taking it and waking up at the top of a building balanced on a ledge without remembering how they got there, and that people were taking it and actually committing murder without knowing it.
The Ambien seemed to push the blood through her veins a bit faster. The typical side effect had started, the mania. Before conking out, people on Ambien reportedly binged on ice cream. They went on internet or cabletelevision shopping sprees. Engaged in marathon sex with strangers. Even committed murder. Murders for which they’d later be acquitted because they had no memory of the event.
That was crucial, to have no memory of the event.
The novel starts at breakneck speed, with Palahniuk dropping us straight into the action – we follow one of our main protagonists Gates Foster, who’s had to watch his daughter age on the back of milk cartons rather than how it should be, in person – each year another computer generated representation of what she looks like greats him and the anger eats him up inside, each year that passes she still remains missing.
The opening has us following Foster as he heads into the fray, trying to catch a paedophile who’s dragging a girl onto a plane, possibly selling her into the sex trade, maybe it’s just an abduction or the calm placid way she goes with him, it could be Stockholm Syndrome – you see Foster now hunts these paedophiles; wants to make each and every one of them pay for his daughters abduction, to help with the pain that chews him up at nighttime, the despair that he downs himself in – whatever the cost, he’ll have his vengeance.
Mitzi is our other protagonist, a foley artist. For those who don’t know what that is they’re the people that are responsible for dubbing in the sound to films – from the clinks of glasses, rattling chains, the neck twisting in the Exorcist (that was actually a leather wallet with bank cards in it being twisted), stabbings, bludgeonings, screams, breaking bones, death rattles – you can see where this is going. Mitzi is your go to person in the industry, a professional who’ll go to any lengths to create her masterpiece – and she’s almost there, she just needs a few more people to immortalise on tape and then she’ll make the whole world scream.
‘Stabbing, Mitzi could write a book about. For example, why some killers kept stabbing for so long. Only the first thrust is intended to inflict pain. The subsequent twenty, thirty, forty stab wounds are to resolve the suffering. It takes as little as one jab or slash to trigger the screaming and bleeding. But so many more are required to make them stop.’
What I love about Palahniuk is that he goes there, goes where some writers fear to tread, the road less travelled, pulling the filth of our world into his writings, dredging the darkest parts of humanity into the light and displaying it in such visceral and elegant prose that he makes art out of the sordid and messed up lives. Palahniuk gives voice for the downtrodden, and displays our deepest are darkest fears, urges, and horrors for the world to see; forcing us to sit up and take notice – and in doing so, time and time again he pokes his head up above the parapet whatever the cost or the blowback, he just wants to tell the story his way however dark and disturbing it might be.
Palahniuk shouts the things we are too scared to whisper.
The Invention of Sound is raw, urgent and compelling reading – what I loved about this particular offering from Palahniuk is that his writing seems to have changed, he’s always been a bankable author, has a huge cult following and various film adaptations; but with The Invention of Sound Palahniuk showcases what a great writer he truly is – his prose is mesmerising, and that coupled with an imagination that seems to know no bounds, this could be his greatest offering since he burst onto the literary scene.
The Invention of Sound has a dark heart of horror beating within its pages, uncanny, expertly paced and with a creeping unease that is sewn throughout the very fabric of the story – it’s horror and it’s so good. The final third of the book actually had me reminiscing about the horror, unease and the shock I felt when I first read American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis).
For me though, it’s the human aspects of the book that sets it apart from so many of his other titles; with the fathers quest to find his daughter, his grief and the perseverance and the devastation that flows from him – and then we throw the complexities of Mitzi into the mix with her own dark familial past that haunts her every move – and you’ve got two protagonists that are truly unforgettable and a story that you can drown yourself in.
Having said all of this, there was one thing that caused me some issues. I’m not sure if it was the ARC copy I read or if it’s going to be the final version of the book the way Palahniuk wants to tell it. But I struggled, the two main protagonists lives mingle on the page as much as they do in the story and I’d be reading about one character and then in the next paragraph it’s told from the other point of view – to be honest for the first thirty pages it really jarred me out of the story and I’d find myself having to stop and re-reading to fully understand who was talking – but once it clicked I flew through the book. As I said it might be the way it is supposed to be read and written (what with the ambien element – a dream within a dream not knowing what’s going on) and if so I tip my hat to you Palahniuk!
But nevertheless The Invention of Sound is a stunning offering from Palahniuk and one that will have people screaming for more of his words – and maybe Mitzi might just find that one perfect scream to set the world on fire!
I first learned about the premise of this book when I watched The Joe Rogan Experience a while back – Chuck was on there talking all things books and discussing his writing process (it’s over two hours long and I’d highly recommend watching it) and he dropped some news about a project that he was working on which included a lot of research into the drug Ambien; he went on to talk about people taking it and waking up at the top of a building balanced on a ledge without remembering how they got there, and that people were taking it and actually committing murder without knowing it.
The Ambien seemed to push the blood through her veins a bit faster. The typical side effect had started, the mania. Before conking out, people on Ambien reportedly binged on ice cream. They went on internet or cabletelevision shopping sprees. Engaged in marathon sex with strangers. Even committed murder. Murders for which they’d later be acquitted because they had no memory of the event.
That was crucial, to have no memory of the event.
The novel starts at breakneck speed, with Palahniuk dropping us straight into the action – we follow one of our main protagonists Gates Foster, who’s had to watch his daughter age on the back of milk cartons rather than how it should be, in person – each year another computer generated representation of what she looks like greats him and the anger eats him up inside, each year that passes she still remains missing.
The opening has us following Foster as he heads into the fray, trying to catch a paedophile who’s dragging a girl onto a plane, possibly selling her into the sex trade, maybe it’s just an abduction or the calm placid way she goes with him, it could be Stockholm Syndrome – you see Foster now hunts these paedophiles; wants to make each and every one of them pay for his daughters abduction, to help with the pain that chews him up at nighttime, the despair that he downs himself in – whatever the cost, he’ll have his vengeance.
Mitzi is our other protagonist, a foley artist. For those who don’t know what that is they’re the people that are responsible for dubbing in the sound to films – from the clinks of glasses, rattling chains, the neck twisting in the Exorcist (that was actually a leather wallet with bank cards in it being twisted), stabbings, bludgeonings, screams, breaking bones, death rattles – you can see where this is going. Mitzi is your go to person in the industry, a professional who’ll go to any lengths to create her masterpiece – and she’s almost there, she just needs a few more people to immortalise on tape and then she’ll make the whole world scream.
‘Stabbing, Mitzi could write a book about. For example, why some killers kept stabbing for so long. Only the first thrust is intended to inflict pain. The subsequent twenty, thirty, forty stab wounds are to resolve the suffering. It takes as little as one jab or slash to trigger the screaming and bleeding. But so many more are required to make them stop.’
What I love about Palahniuk is that he goes there, goes where some writers fear to tread, the road less travelled, pulling the filth of our world into his writings, dredging the darkest parts of humanity into the light and displaying it in such visceral and elegant prose that he makes art out of the sordid and messed up lives. Palahniuk gives voice for the downtrodden, and displays our deepest are darkest fears, urges, and horrors for the world to see; forcing us to sit up and take notice – and in doing so, time and time again he pokes his head up above the parapet whatever the cost or the blowback, he just wants to tell the story his way however dark and disturbing it might be.
Palahniuk shouts the things we are too scared to whisper.
The Invention of Sound is raw, urgent and compelling reading – what I loved about this particular offering from Palahniuk is that his writing seems to have changed, he’s always been a bankable author, has a huge cult following and various film adaptations; but with The Invention of Sound Palahniuk showcases what a great writer he truly is – his prose is mesmerising, and that coupled with an imagination that seems to know no bounds, this could be his greatest offering since he burst onto the literary scene.
The Invention of Sound has a dark heart of horror beating within its pages, uncanny, expertly paced and with a creeping unease that is sewn throughout the very fabric of the story – it’s horror and it’s so good. The final third of the book actually had me reminiscing about the horror, unease and the shock I felt when I first read American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis).
For me though, it’s the human aspects of the book that sets it apart from so many of his other titles; with the fathers quest to find his daughter, his grief and the perseverance and the devastation that flows from him – and then we throw the complexities of Mitzi into the mix with her own dark familial past that haunts her every move – and you’ve got two protagonists that are truly unforgettable and a story that you can drown yourself in.
Having said all of this, there was one thing that caused me some issues. I’m not sure if it was the ARC copy I read or if it’s going to be the final version of the book the way Palahniuk wants to tell it. But I struggled, the two main protagonists lives mingle on the page as much as they do in the story and I’d be reading about one character and then in the next paragraph it’s told from the other point of view – to be honest for the first thirty pages it really jarred me out of the story and I’d find myself having to stop and re-reading to fully understand who was talking – but once it clicked I flew through the book. As I said it might be the way it is supposed to be read and written (what with the ambien element – a dream within a dream not knowing what’s going on) and if so I tip my hat to you Palahniuk!
But nevertheless The Invention of Sound is a stunning offering from Palahniuk and one that will have people screaming for more of his words – and maybe Mitzi might just find that one perfect scream to set the world on fire!
August 1, 2022
Year of New Authors
A man relentlessly searches for his missing daughter.
A foley artist creates the most horrific screams for the silver screen by recording the brutal acts in reality (which is basically cheating).
How will their lives intertwine? Who is pulling the strings? Will the miasma of twists and turns lead to one satisfying, dramatic conclusion?
No, it bloody well didn't.
Palahniuk is one of those authors I've always wanted to try out but never did. While his literary darkness appealed, my attempts were usually half hearted and he'd regularly be returned to the library unread. With the Invention of Sound, however, I managed to consume it in a single day and I don't know why, because I don't consider this a good book.
Positives first:
The gore.
It was gruesome but (mostly) suggestive rather than outright descriptive, which was certainly the right way about it. Tell me that someone's going to have a knife thrust in [REDACTED], and then describe the victim tied down, state their vulnerable and drugged murmurs, describe how the knife is carefully pulled out of its sheaf and- CUT! Next scene. My imagination is now going ape shit, which is far more effective than a step by step guide to deboning long pig. *polite clap*
Foley artistry.
It's a fascinating subject. I love hearing any and all trade secrets and Palahniuk offers a few interesting tidbits I'd yet to see on my insomnia driven, 3am, 'how it's made' binges.
The suspense.
As stated, I couldn't stop reading the damned thing, the whole tale's filled with blurry moments that left you unsure of people's fates, or vaguely sinister actions that hint at something larger and more insidious happening underneath, helped enormously by the constant switching of perspectives.
Now the negatives:
The gore.
It's both gratuitous and not, but there is a lot of death and violence involved, and past the initial premise (the perfectionist foley artist), it feels... Not unnecessary, just boring. It loses all impact the more it happens, and what once was The Texas Chainsaw Massarcre in my head just turns into David Lynch's Wile E. Coyote. Other aspects: the rather unpleasant portrayal of women, the sexual violence references, the emotional abuse, all felt exploitative, and not in a way I can really defend. For me, it has to be done with a knowing humour, so OTT it loses it's impact and becomes funny, or it has to have a point slightly more nuanced than simply saying 'souless Elites do bad things because they can', because otherwise you might as well just read de Sade.
Foley Artistry:
I do think there could have been a lot more about the art of sound effects. More trivia, more industry tips, more 'did you know the raptor sounds from Jurassic Park were made from a slowed audio recording of shagging tortoises?' It could also have been utilised in the story better, perhaps by having a scene where we're wondering if someone has been stabbed to death, or was someone just assaulting a cabbage with a cleaver, or even vice versa.
The suspense:
There's no pay off. At all. The plot becomes convoluted by the end, throwing in conspiracies and SCP level secret plans that aren't just poorly explained, there is no attempt to explain them. The incident that left the sourest taste in my mouth, was
The whole thing feels like a flat earth conspiracy. Ok, powerful people are telling you the earth is round. Why? What do they gain, why is the expense worth it, what is the sodding point of ANY of it?
Not every book needs a solid and all explanatory conclusion, obviously, but there are far better ways of acheiving that. Kubin's The Other Side never explains itself because it's a dream story told with symbolism; you're asked to find your own meaning, same with Dada, same with automatic writing, etc, etc. But here it feels like there isn't meant to be a purpose at all ('we are but ignorant ants to the vast intellect of Elon Musk' or some bollocks), and that just feels like shoddy writing. Or did some bastard tear out a chapter from my library book, because that really feels like a possibility. Seriously, if I'm missing something, let me know.
Perhaps I should have read Fight Club for my first Palahniuk, but I already knew the film by heart and the concept of this book intrigued me, though failed to deliver. I might give the author another chance, but I'm certainly not in a rush.
A man relentlessly searches for his missing daughter.
A foley artist creates the most horrific screams for the silver screen by recording the brutal acts in reality (which is basically cheating).
How will their lives intertwine? Who is pulling the strings? Will the miasma of twists and turns lead to one satisfying, dramatic conclusion?
No, it bloody well didn't.
Palahniuk is one of those authors I've always wanted to try out but never did. While his literary darkness appealed, my attempts were usually half hearted and he'd regularly be returned to the library unread. With the Invention of Sound, however, I managed to consume it in a single day and I don't know why, because I don't consider this a good book.
Positives first:
The gore.
It was gruesome but (mostly) suggestive rather than outright descriptive, which was certainly the right way about it. Tell me that someone's going to have a knife thrust in [REDACTED], and then describe the victim tied down, state their vulnerable and drugged murmurs, describe how the knife is carefully pulled out of its sheaf and- CUT! Next scene. My imagination is now going ape shit, which is far more effective than a step by step guide to deboning long pig. *polite clap*
Foley artistry.
It's a fascinating subject. I love hearing any and all trade secrets and Palahniuk offers a few interesting tidbits I'd yet to see on my insomnia driven, 3am, 'how it's made' binges.
The suspense.
As stated, I couldn't stop reading the damned thing, the whole tale's filled with blurry moments that left you unsure of people's fates, or vaguely sinister actions that hint at something larger and more insidious happening underneath, helped enormously by the constant switching of perspectives.
Now the negatives:
The gore.
It's both gratuitous and not, but there is a lot of death and violence involved, and past the initial premise (the perfectionist foley artist), it feels... Not unnecessary, just boring. It loses all impact the more it happens, and what once was The Texas Chainsaw Massarcre in my head just turns into David Lynch's Wile E. Coyote. Other aspects: the rather unpleasant portrayal of women, the sexual violence references, the emotional abuse, all felt exploitative, and not in a way I can really defend. For me, it has to be done with a knowing humour, so OTT it loses it's impact and becomes funny, or it has to have a point slightly more nuanced than simply saying 'souless Elites do bad things because they can', because otherwise you might as well just read de Sade.
Foley Artistry:
I do think there could have been a lot more about the art of sound effects. More trivia, more industry tips, more 'did you know the raptor sounds from Jurassic Park were made from a slowed audio recording of shagging tortoises?' It could also have been utilised in the story better, perhaps by having a scene where we're wondering if someone has been stabbed to death, or was someone just assaulting a cabbage with a cleaver, or even vice versa.
The suspense:
There's no pay off. At all. The plot becomes convoluted by the end, throwing in conspiracies and SCP level secret plans that aren't just poorly explained, there is no attempt to explain them. The incident that left the sourest taste in my mouth, was
The whole thing feels like a flat earth conspiracy. Ok, powerful people are telling you the earth is round. Why? What do they gain, why is the expense worth it, what is the sodding point of ANY of it?
Not every book needs a solid and all explanatory conclusion, obviously, but there are far better ways of acheiving that. Kubin's The Other Side never explains itself because it's a dream story told with symbolism; you're asked to find your own meaning, same with Dada, same with automatic writing, etc, etc. But here it feels like there isn't meant to be a purpose at all ('we are but ignorant ants to the vast intellect of Elon Musk' or some bollocks), and that just feels like shoddy writing. Or did some bastard tear out a chapter from my library book, because that really feels like a possibility. Seriously, if I'm missing something, let me know.
Perhaps I should have read Fight Club for my first Palahniuk, but I already knew the film by heart and the concept of this book intrigued me, though failed to deliver. I might give the author another chance, but I'm certainly not in a rush.
October 30, 2020
Great book, quick, unexpected turns, and the ending has a feel to it that I haven't gotten from a book in a bit.
Okay, I have a funny story about this book that I don't know how to tell, so I'm just going for it.
Several months ago I was reading Fangoria's relaunch issues, and in one there was an interview with Barbara Crampton, I think. In it, she talked about recording screams for movies, and how sometimes she agreed to be tied up and so on, to make it more real.
This gave me a brief story idea: What if people were really being killed to get these sound effects? What if the screams in Disney films were actual deaths?
And then, less than a month after this idea started cooking, I saw the premise for Mr. Palahniuk's new book, and I was like, "Goddamnit!"
Chuck's book is obviously better than mine would be. No comparison. Also, he'd written an entire book on something, and all I had was a starter, a premise, that wasn't even committed to paper. That's certainly not what I'm trying to say, that I'd do better, or that he stole this idea or something. Those are the things that kept me from saying any of this because the last thing I want is for someone to think that I'm comparing myself to multi-million-copy-selling Chuck Palahniuk in any way, on any level. He took a vaguely similar idea and used it as a jump-off, and he took it places I couldn't have imagined. And he did it probably like 5 years before I did, based on publishing times.
It's just funny on my part. It's like if I'd come up for an idea for an asteroid movie in 1998. Or a deadly volcano movie in 1997. Or an undersea terror movie in 1989 (underrated genre of competing, simultaneous movies, but The Abyss, Leviathan, and Deep Star Six all came out that same year. In fact, me and my partner, intending to watch Leviathan, accidentally watched 45 minutes of The Abyss before we realized we were watching the wrong movie, mostly prompted by the lack of Peter Weller and the presence of Ed Harris, and the question "Does a movie need Peter Weller AND Ed Harris?"). Anyway, ideas fly around.
Of course, there's really no reason for anyone to believe me. I guess I could go on the Goodreads pages of books I like and just say this shit all the time. I had an idea for a guy stuck on Mars...I had an idea for a book based on tweets of Things My Dad Says Sometimes That Are Sorta Inappropriate Nonsense.
And I guess I'm doing a bit of a disservice by telling MY story in a review of this book. But I don't know where else to put it. And I'm not doing the original story, but damn it, I want to tell the story of the story. Besides, it's not like Chuck Palahniuk is a small, unknown author who really needs the signal boost that can be given by Pete, whose claim to fame is writing book reviews that go nowhere.
And hey, it's my life. My reviews. If you don't like reviews that ramble off and barely address the book, then skip all of mine. Trust me on this one. I know. I wrote them. And they're barely ever about the book.
Okay, I have a funny story about this book that I don't know how to tell, so I'm just going for it.
Several months ago I was reading Fangoria's relaunch issues, and in one there was an interview with Barbara Crampton, I think. In it, she talked about recording screams for movies, and how sometimes she agreed to be tied up and so on, to make it more real.
This gave me a brief story idea: What if people were really being killed to get these sound effects? What if the screams in Disney films were actual deaths?
And then, less than a month after this idea started cooking, I saw the premise for Mr. Palahniuk's new book, and I was like, "Goddamnit!"
Chuck's book is obviously better than mine would be. No comparison. Also, he'd written an entire book on something, and all I had was a starter, a premise, that wasn't even committed to paper. That's certainly not what I'm trying to say, that I'd do better, or that he stole this idea or something. Those are the things that kept me from saying any of this because the last thing I want is for someone to think that I'm comparing myself to multi-million-copy-selling Chuck Palahniuk in any way, on any level. He took a vaguely similar idea and used it as a jump-off, and he took it places I couldn't have imagined. And he did it probably like 5 years before I did, based on publishing times.
It's just funny on my part. It's like if I'd come up for an idea for an asteroid movie in 1998. Or a deadly volcano movie in 1997. Or an undersea terror movie in 1989 (underrated genre of competing, simultaneous movies, but The Abyss, Leviathan, and Deep Star Six all came out that same year. In fact, me and my partner, intending to watch Leviathan, accidentally watched 45 minutes of The Abyss before we realized we were watching the wrong movie, mostly prompted by the lack of Peter Weller and the presence of Ed Harris, and the question "Does a movie need Peter Weller AND Ed Harris?"). Anyway, ideas fly around.
Of course, there's really no reason for anyone to believe me. I guess I could go on the Goodreads pages of books I like and just say this shit all the time. I had an idea for a guy stuck on Mars...I had an idea for a book based on tweets of Things My Dad Says Sometimes That Are Sorta Inappropriate Nonsense.
And I guess I'm doing a bit of a disservice by telling MY story in a review of this book. But I don't know where else to put it. And I'm not doing the original story, but damn it, I want to tell the story of the story. Besides, it's not like Chuck Palahniuk is a small, unknown author who really needs the signal boost that can be given by Pete, whose claim to fame is writing book reviews that go nowhere.
And hey, it's my life. My reviews. If you don't like reviews that ramble off and barely address the book, then skip all of mine. Trust me on this one. I know. I wrote them. And they're barely ever about the book.
November 7, 2020
There are books which flow so majestically that time seems to stop still and others that take 15 minutes to turn a page; this (The Invention of Sound) was the later. There are books that I love and books that I despise but this one has the cardinal sin of just existing. When a piece of entertainment leaves me with a collective shrug of the shoulders it has failed. It is not like this book was offensive or obtuse it was just pointless. I will not remember the author of said book or any of the characters let alone the plotlines.
The plot centers around a man, Gates Foster, who lost his daughter, Lucinda to a kidnapping some 20 years hence. In his free time he peruses various websites in search of his daughter or to find clues that will help solve her disappearance. During his research, he finds numerous sites that are devoted to child abductions. Through his work he foils a scheme in an airport which lends him internet notoriety.
Another plotline centers around the foley artist, Mitzi Ives who is known for her very realistic depictions of screams. She is so in demand that she can charge upwards of a million dollars for one of her unique and horrifying creations. This being a macabre/horror story she procures these coveted sounds through torture and eventual murder. From here, the two main characters eventually connect as circumstances unite them.
Overall, I did not care for this book. I did not care for the characters. I did not care for the plotlines. I did not care for the contrived violence or the silly motivations. Chuck Palahniuk has a few glimmers of innovation and some decent dialogue but it felt like an author who had the outline but lacked the finesse or organization to make a notable or compelling story.
The plot centers around a man, Gates Foster, who lost his daughter, Lucinda to a kidnapping some 20 years hence. In his free time he peruses various websites in search of his daughter or to find clues that will help solve her disappearance. During his research, he finds numerous sites that are devoted to child abductions. Through his work he foils a scheme in an airport which lends him internet notoriety.
Another plotline centers around the foley artist, Mitzi Ives who is known for her very realistic depictions of screams. She is so in demand that she can charge upwards of a million dollars for one of her unique and horrifying creations. This being a macabre/horror story she procures these coveted sounds through torture and eventual murder. From here, the two main characters eventually connect as circumstances unite them.
Overall, I did not care for this book. I did not care for the characters. I did not care for the plotlines. I did not care for the contrived violence or the silly motivations. Chuck Palahniuk has a few glimmers of innovation and some decent dialogue but it felt like an author who had the outline but lacked the finesse or organization to make a notable or compelling story.
June 28, 2020
I really didn't think Chuck had this in him.
This book is as twisted and fucked up as his early work like LULLABY (in fact, it feels like a spiritual sequel to that novel in particular). It's truly a horror novel, although you wouldn't necessarily know it from the jacket copy. It's been a long time, probably since RANT or maybe HAUNTED that Chuck turned my stomach like this -- and while I'm a very different person over a decade later, and the world is much darker and I'm maybe not so willing to have my stomach turned like this... I can't help but admit that it felt a dark-kind-of-good, too.
The ending is pretty messy (not a pun) and the book starts to fade pretty immediately -- but the CONCEPT is killer, as is the early execution. I still don't know if I'll keep reading Chuck in the years to come, but at least with this one, I might go out remembering why I liked him in the first place.
This book is as twisted and fucked up as his early work like LULLABY (in fact, it feels like a spiritual sequel to that novel in particular). It's truly a horror novel, although you wouldn't necessarily know it from the jacket copy. It's been a long time, probably since RANT or maybe HAUNTED that Chuck turned my stomach like this -- and while I'm a very different person over a decade later, and the world is much darker and I'm maybe not so willing to have my stomach turned like this... I can't help but admit that it felt a dark-kind-of-good, too.
The ending is pretty messy (not a pun) and the book starts to fade pretty immediately -- but the CONCEPT is killer, as is the early execution. I still don't know if I'll keep reading Chuck in the years to come, but at least with this one, I might go out remembering why I liked him in the first place.
August 22, 2020
Review to come
January 3, 2021
This book is easily my favorite Palahniuk. Foster was the perfect character that was real and genuine, believable! Mitzi! What a mindfuck she is. Highly recommend.
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