Anyway, Haunted (2005) is a Novel by none other then Chuck Palahniuk, whom many may recognize as the author of That novel which was made into That Cult movie, but i am not going to talk about that at all.
Haunted, is a novel of stories, 23 short stories to be exact, structured in form of something called a Frame Story. The Novel is about a group of sixteen budding writers who have opted for a writers retreat where they can work on their Masterpieces of Story writing, poetry and screenwriting in complete seclusion, unencumbered by the obstacles of the real world. Hosted by an Enigmatic, Wheelchair bound person by the name of Mr. Whittier, the retreat provides all the modern amenities for the writers such as running hot and cold water and heating, along with enough canned food to last the duration of their stay, which is for the period of 3 months - a true writers paradise. But soon enough this paradise cracks and starts to crumble.
Throughout the narration, the resident refer to each other using nicknames like Duke of Vandals, Sister Vigilante and my personal favorite, Saint Gut-free. As the story progresses, it quickly becomes clear that most of the 'writers' can not put Pen on paper, instead they conspire among themselves to tell the story of their exploitation to the outer world once they are released, demonizing their Hosts as the villain. And to do so, they set about vandalizing and sabotaging their retreat, which is an old theater. It is in this part the Black humor of the Novel shines through, as the reader is caught in conundrum of whether to laugh at the stupidity or to be genuinely shocked at the acts the writers commit to make themselves 'presentable' to the outside world as genuine victims. This efforts include from tame acts of flooding the toilets and wrecking the heating system, to ghastly acts like hacking of Finger and toes and in one case, a penis. The writers fantasize about the suffering they can inflict upon themselves, all the while preparing a Villain in form of their host.
It is in between this madness, that each one of the writers narrates a tale, often a biographical account usually preceded by a short poem in free verse. The first such tale is the infamous "Guts" which start things of with (a very sick) bang. However the next few story are quite weak as the narration slowly establishes the madness. However, the later half of the novel really whips it up as Stories and the main narration ties up beautifully, revealing the different motivation of the writers to be present at the retreat, which are more often then not totally unrelated to their writing ambition, such as a reflexologist running away from the Mafia, and a mother in search of some answers about her daughter.
Overall, this is a very satisfying piece of Transgressive fiction, which dares to explore the some of the oddball sides of everyday life. The parts where the victims conspire and plot to 'Stage' their victimisation by a sadist Host were downright ingenious, as were the stories. I believe that it is an impressive and (if you dare to laugh) hilarious effort by author at taking potshots at the staged reality of the 'Reality' Shows flooding the TV networks these days.
PS: Please note that, despite the name and some of the stories having an supernatural or speculative element, this is NOT a horror novel. It may make you sick at times, but if you are looking for chills, this is not it.
Bottom Line: An impressive piece of Satire and transgressive fiction. A must read, if you can handle it.
Psudo Random trivia:
- The most talked about story from this Ensemble is undoubtedly, "Guts", which is about a teenager who loses a part of his digestive system thanks to an accident while ...... Masturbating. This story, which Palahniuk claims to be inspired from real event is said to be responsible for fainting of as many as 60 people during Book readings by the author.
- The same story was also responsible for a teacher losing his job, as he (rather unwisely) chose the story as reading material for his class
- Spookily enough, a Girl really did got injured (and later succumbed to those injuries) in an accident eerily similar to the one which the narrator has in "Guts".
Disclaimer: I write this reviews in good faith, i do not endorse or encourage the views presented in these works. Also i provide the links for additional information only and i am not associated with any of these sites in any way, and since these are external sites beyond my control, i cannot be held responsible for the content that you may find there.
