|
Noir News |
|
The Literature |
|
Crime |
|
Miscellany |
|
Guestbook |
|
Search Noirnovels |
|
|
NoirNovels.com - A unique repository for all things noir
Survivor
Reviewed By Rogue Chuck Palahniuk's Survivor tells us the story of Tender Branson, the last survivor of the Creedish Death Cult. Having escaped the life of domestic service to which all Creedish males, apart from first born sons, are sold, Tender finds himself at the centre of a media whirlwind. As the only survivor, he rises to almost messiah status before his past catches up with him and his life begins to spiral out of control. In a last ditch attempt to tell his real story to the world, in such a way that the world will have no choice but to believe him, Tender hijacks a 747 (emptied of passengers and crew), with the intention of leaving his life story on the plane's black box recorder before it crashes. Tender's story is told in a fashion akin to a countdown. The story begins with Tender at almost the end of his story, just as the plane is about to begin its final, terminal descent. What follows is a recounting of Tender's life up to that point. The story unfolds layer by layer, never revealing more than absolutely necessary. You think you should know more about Tender than you do given that we start at the end, but the pieces of his life are revealed in layers, until eventually you know the whole story up to the point at which the book started. That isn't the end, but it is not for me to give anything away about the denouement. If you have ever seen the film Memento (and if you haven't, you really should!) you will appreciate that the story of Survivor is told in a similar fashion. Palahniuk weaves a brilliant story in Survivor, teasing the reader and drawing them bit by bit into Tender's world. By turns, Tender is to be pitied and hated for his bizarre upbringing and dysfunctional adulthood. In many ways, Survivor taps into our voyeuristic instincts as we read to find out whether Tender lives or dies, mirroring the media obsession with Tender that is central to the story. As each chapter passes, we learn more and more about this strange hero/anti-hero and the people whose lives he affects. Along the way, we are introduced to Fertility, a psychic woman who can see what will ultimately happen to Tender, but will not tell him. Fertility serves to heighten the reader's anticipation of what will befall Tender. She knows, but she doesn't tell him, and consequently she doesn't tell us. Like his first novel, Fight Club, Palahniuk leaves us with questions unanswered. Does the book end as we assume from the text, or has Chuck drawn a veil over our eyes, hiding the truth from us. You'll just have to read Survivor and draw your own conclusions, and rest assured, once you start reading, you'll find it hard to stop. Survivor is a brilliant novel; dark and gritty, certainly, but with the most elegant style and design that few authors could hope to match. |
|
Add a review |
|
|