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A new Chuck Palahniuk novel usually promises biting satire, dark humor and tragic reality rolled into one fun and often compact package. So what does a Chuck Palahniuk collection of essays promise? With a title like STRANGER THAN FICTION one would think more of the same, only this time the stories would be true. And, while in STRANGER THAN FICTION the stories are true, they not the dynamic, interesting or shocking tales we expect from Palahniuk.
Palahniuk asserts that the reason for writing these essays, as opposed to his fictional work, is to connect with people. Writing novels is lonely work, he claims, and his novels tend to be about lonely people. With this more journalistic work, he was able to write and connect to his subjects. However, it is a sense of connection to subject matter that is lacking in the collection and in the majority of the essays. Palahniuk gives his motivation for writing in the introduction but often neglects the motivations of his subjects. And it is the motivations of his quirky and ambitious subjects that the reader would actually be interested in.
This collection is divided into three sections with the topics becoming more personal to the author as they progress. In the first section we find essays about people Palahniuk doesn't know but who are in situations or circumstances, or engaging in activities, he finds interesting. It is here we find wrestlers, castle builders, and amateur writers. The very first essay is a raunchy account of the Rock Creek Lodge Testicle Festival. Graphic and bizarre, this essay, while purely descriptive without being informative, is deceptive in that it seems to promise that the other essays will also hold something stranger than fiction. But that promise goes unfulfilled. In the essay "Demolition," Palahniuk talks to participants in the Lind Combine Demolition Derby in Lind, Washington. Typical of the collection, the subject is presented with little context and little reason for the reader to invest. "My Life as a Dog" is a very short piece but is fairly interesting, as Palahniuk and a friend dress up as a dog and a bear and walk around downtown Seattle. Here, he paints a funny and ironic picture --- just what we expect from him --- and this essay works. Palahniuk is at his best in STRANGER THAN FICTION when describing his own experiences.
The second section entitled "Portraits" is comprised of portraits of a few celebrities and a few other pieces. Juliette Lewis reads a list of questions she had compiled for an ex-boyfriend and Marilyn Manson does a tarot card reading. One essay seems to be just a dictation by Andrew Sullivan. Again, the essays are a bit out of context and give the reader no reason to invest in the subject, and raise no poignant questions or fresh insights.
The final section is the most personal and most interesting. Palahniuk talks about his own experiences, especially those surrounding his novel FIGHT CLUB being made into a film. He also talks about the murder of his father. Here we find an inkling of the satire, the humor, the pain, the disillusionment, the anger and the intelligence readers associate with Palahniuk's work.
Overall, STRANGER THAN FICTION is disappointing because Palahniuk is a much better writer than what we see in this collection. Most writers are not proficient in more than one genre, and Palahniuk is no exception. A future work of his fiction will definitely be worth reading as he is one of the most original and enjoyable writers today. And perhaps a sophomore nonfiction collection would be worth reading. STRANGER THAN FICTION, however, is not really recommendable. For thought-provoking, fun, original and personal essays, readers would be better off reading the gonzo works of Thompson, the quiet satire of Vowell or the insightful humor of Sedaris.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
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