Palahniuk's always been a little like Stephen King to me -- he has a great imagination and invents nifty characters and interesting/clever storylines to toss them into, but he has no execution. He just can't write very well. My college boyfriend was a big fan, and he gave me three Palahniuk books to read. I dutifully read them all and, after we broke up, never picked up another one. And like Stephen King, I really want to like him. I like the idea of liking him. But he makes it so hard.
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I think both Chuck and Stephen have examples where they show they *can* write extremely well. Of course I can't think of clear examples to illustrate that right now...
As for him being out, SonofRobbie, for a long time he kept very very vague about his sexuality (though it seems it was something everyone basically knew--I wonder if he didn't want to scare off the Fight Club cultists who didn't seem to catch onto the homo-eroticism even though it can't even be called a subtext)
I'm a huge Stephen King fan (especially the Dark Tower series, which I consider to be my favorite book series) and I'm decidedly not a fan of Palahniuk. I've read Choke, Fight Club, and Snuff and I found them all really similar and difficult to read. I guess if you like his writing style, you would be a fan of his work. The stories are interesting.
Palahniuk is one of the prime examples of writer as stylist- immensely gifted at ideas and crafting a unique voice, but not quite as gifted in the execution of such. I happen to enjoy him immensely, along with other stylists like Stephen King and J. K. Rowling, while admitting that they have a tendency to not quite "stick the landing" when it comes to climax and denouement.
You can tell a stylist from a craftsman when their writing tone and style is easier to pastiche than their actual content.
I would totally disagree about J.K. Rowling. That is a woman who can tell a pretty fantastic story from beginning to end, but her writing isn't amazing. Either way, who doesn't love Harry Potter?
I haven't thought about it too much, but I always assumed that's a common problem with the horror genre? But maybe it's just King. But it's a problem in lots of horror films too because often when the "evil" is revealed--and people often feel it has to be revealed--it quits being scary.
I've only read a dozen or so King books (including short story collections which often are more satisfying) over my life time and mostly the famous older titles. But I did pick up just the other month Revival which is about a year old I think--I was at a friend's cabin and it was there--which... I think I liked though it's very muddled. But it's an extreme situation because it's largely a realistic-ish novel for 400 pages and then the ending is (without spoiling too much) a full on HP Lovecraft out-of-nowhere thing which laves no one with any chance of optimism or happiness, if they remain alive.
(Not to threadjack, but I was trying to think which King books I've read, and I realized one isn't even a King book though a friend of mine who recommended it did call it the greatest Stephen King novel he never wrote--Dan Simmons Summer of Night. It shares a lot with It--though I think it's earlier--as well as, actually Something Wicked this way Comes but still sticks strongly in my memory.)