Shoebox Reviews: Snuff
Writing by Demy on Saturday, 24 of May , 2008 at 12:17 pm
I’ve been a fan of Chuck Palahniuk ever since I found out that the man responsible for Fight Club had written other books. Typically I stumble across his new releases by pure chance, so it was a big change for me to actually spend a few long months in anticipation of his latest novel Snuff. Like Rant and Haunted before it, Snuff does not disappoint.
Snuff is the story of porn goddess Cassie Wright’s final record breaking feature: a film starring one woman…and 600 men. Told through the eyes of three of the hopeful male stars; Mr. 72, Mr. 137, and Mr. 600, as well as Sheila, Wright’s personal assistant, Snuff explores the personal secrets and revelations of each of the characters while taking a long, hard look at the business of porn. For a novel that is based around the making of a porno film, however, there is surprisingly little actual sex involved, with the majority of the action taking place in the crowded greenroom where all 600 potential paramours wait their turn.
As a whole, the story is engaging, with Palahniuk presenting the reader with just enough secrets and mystery to keep them hooked right from the beginning without making the story too vague or confusing. With each question that the novel answers, a new one is presented until the very end when Palahniuk turns everything on its head. Although I won’t go into details for fear of spoiling it for those of you who may be reading it but haven’t finished it yet, I will say that the ending chapters contained twists that even I didn’t see coming.
Like all of Palahniuk’s novels, Snuff is written in a casual, almost conversational manner that is particularly appropriate for a story told through the point of view of four different narrators. Despite the simplicity of the prose, Snuff is packed with what appear to be highly detailed and researched facts about everything from the potential side-effects of Viagra to the specifics of silent film star’s suicides that make the story come alive and seem more real. Each character, it seems, is an expert on something. Nevertheless, the narrators are so blatantly unreliable that more than once I found myself wondering how much of the story they were telling was actually happening.
Even though I enjoyed Snuff, however, it isn’t perfect.
Because the point of view changes with each chapter, and the majority of the characters are referred to by a number and a name, I sometimes found myself forgetting which character’s chapter I was reading. For the majority of the novel this wasn’t a problem, but once or twice I had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to figure out whose story I was hearing.
Similarly, until I went back to re-read certain parts in preparation for this review, I didn’t find myself becoming particularly attached to any of the characters. Certain ones, like Mr. 137, grew on me the second time around, but Snuff lacked a character that really popped out and was loveable even in a twisted, evil kind of way. After such novels as Rant or Invisible Monsters, which both had lovable anti-heroes, this kind of disappointed me.
Even so, this only slightly marred my appreciation and overall satisfaction with the novel.
As much as I enjoyed it, however, I can’t recommend this book to everyone. The sexual practices and acts described may make some readers a little squeamish or uncomfortable, and as such the novel is definitely not for younger readers. If you can get past the graphic sex talk however, Snuff is an easy, entertaining read.
So go out, read it, and be shocked. Snuff is the kind of book that you’ll find yourself reading until four in the morning because you lost track of time and forgot to go to bed.
Category: Shoebox Reviews, Blog
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