Chuck Palahniuk’s latest novel is an odd bird. That didn’t really surprise me, mind you. I’ve been reading his recent works mostly out of curiosity — and because they’re such quick reads — but I can’t say I’ve been particularly fond of any of them since he first vowed to “reinvent the horror genre,” beginning with Lullaby.

What is a surprise is that Palahniuk really seems to be serious about trying experimental approaches to writing. His last book, Haunted, was pretty much a short story collection in the form of a novel, but at least it showed him trying something new, after a series of novels that was growing increasingly repetitive. His latest, Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casy, takes the experimentation even further. It attempts to be what its title sounds like: a kind of postmodern epistolary novel delivered in the form of sound bites and monologues. » More... » →

I have an announcement to make! Mark Haddon’s latest novel, A Spot of Bother, is an amusing light comedy-drama about an upcoming wedding and the inevitable wacky family turmoil that ensues. And that’s about it.

I feel it’s necessary to point this out, because it flies in the face of the melodramatic copy on the inside dust jacket, which promises a story of suspense, “sinister” lesions, and the lead character “going mad.” This is a shame, because it seems like the author and publisher would be better served marketing this otherwise well-written and tightly paced novel to the type of people who might actually be interested in reading it. Instead, they seem to be selling it as a follow up to Haddon’s earlier book — The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, an unorthodox mystery told from the point of view of an autistic teen — which it most certainly is not. » More... » →

“The mysteries of childhood and of coming of age have long been rich ground for novelists to mine.” That might be one way to start a review of a book like M.J. Hyland’s Carry Me Down, but every time I read a review that begins with a sentence like that I instantly think to myself, “So what is he saying? That this book just rips off a bunch of other books?”

The answer is yes and no. While Hyland’s novel does cover some familiar territory, she does so with a keen sense of perception that allows her to draw her characters in meticulous detail. Every situation in which they find themselves and their every action simply rings true, a quality that ultimately makes for a satisfying (if quick) read. » More... » →