Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385517881
ISBN: 0385517882
Label: Doubleday
Manufacturer: Doubleday
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 208
Publication Date: 2008-05-20
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: 2008-05-20
Studio: Doubleday

From the master of literary mayhem and provocation, a full-frontal Triple X novel that goes where no American work of fiction has gone before

Cassie Wright, porn priestess, intends to cap her legendary career by breaking the world record for serial fornication. On camera. With six hundred men. Snuff unfolds from the perspectives of Mr. 72, Mr. 137, and Mr. 600, who await their turn on camera in a very crowded green room. This wild, lethally funny, and thoroughly researched novel brings the huge yet underacknowledged presence of pornography in contemporary life into the realm of literary fiction at last. Who else but Chuck Palahniuk would dare do such a thing? Who else could do it so well, so unflinchingly, and with such an incendiary (you might say) climax?

Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as good as his other books
Comment: I hate to be mean to authors because they're giving it their best (or at least I hope so), but this book made me feel like Palahniuk is just writing because it's his job. It wasn't a gripping tale like Fight Club or even Diary, and it was only 180 pages so it's only entertaining for a day. He throws a lot of gross descriptions in the book for filler, like how the floor is covered in sex goo, and that's about all you get out of it besides a twisted love triangle between the guys in the waiting room and the porn star.

All in all, if you want a great story, pick up Diary, Survivor, or especially Fight Club, but you can pass this one up unless you absolutely have to read all of Palahniuk's works.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Should have been just a short story in 'Haunted' instead
Comment: First of all, like many of the other reviewers here, I am an avid fan of Chuck Palahniuk, so let me just get that out of the way. Also, like many of the other reviewers here, I'd highly recommend his earlier books, specifically his first four; Fight Club, Survivor, Invisible Monsters and Choke...undoubtedly the 4 masterpieces (thus far) in his career. If you are new to his work, absolutely read those four first before you get to this, if you have to get to this one at all.
My biggest complaint about this book was that it felt more like a short story than a novel. I finished it in one day and felt empty and unsatisfied at the end. What this book most reminded me of was his 2005 novel 'Haunted'; a book comprised of a main storyline split up and interlaced with separate short, chapter-long stories of horror, gore and death involving each one of the characters in the book...it felt like 'Snuff' should have been one of those short stories that one of the characters in Haunted would have told. Or maybe four separate short stories from the three "Misters" and Sheila. Either way, this didn't feel like a real book. It was almost 200 pages but it still felt like a magazine article. It took place in the time frame of one day and presumably only a few hours, which I suppose is another reason why it felt so short in the end. The book just doesn't really go anywhere and simply does not touch upon the eccentric and intricate plots of his early work. When I ordered it, I knew nothing about it except for its title. In my head I pictured a 350+ page excessively dark and graphic book about a Snuff film, or the Snuff industry; I pictured somewhat of a return to his 90's books, with a narrator and a provocative and delightfully offensive yet darkly funny plot that would actually progress throughout the book and not just stay in the same place. Needless to say, I was disappointed. It did not meet expectations and, while not the worst book I've ever read, certainly is not anything close to the best from this author.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Say It Ain't So
Comment: After ignoring the negative hype, I had the misfortune of reading this GARBAGE! I have loved most of Palhniuk's other works. Haunted, Rant and Fight Club are my three favorites. The typical brilliant twist at the end of Palahniuk's books was absent, not only that the replacement ending was the fusing of two unspeakable *cough* things. DOn't READ IT. I did after ignoring everybody on earth, what a mistake!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not one of Palaniuk's best works
Comment: If you've read this book, you're probably already a Palaniuk fan and could care less about this review. A couple of the characters in the book he developed well but the rest of the novel was rather lacking. Still, the novel is just as deranged as his others and most likely won't disappoint a true fan.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Eh...
Comment: Snuff is mediocre. Worth reading if you're a Palahniuk fan, but wait to buy it in paperback. As usual, Chuck shows us the disgusting mess on the bottom of our shoe, in graphic detail. He doesn't hesitate to show us how attached to the meaningless details of life we become. The story was good, and there were a few small twists. I came away looking at the porn industry, relationships, and sex in a new light.
Nothing here hasn't been said before, however. It's kind of "more of the same" from Palahniuk. I'm happy, but in a disappointed way.

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