Rant: an Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

The happiest time of the year - new Chuck Palahniuk novel time! Palahniuk's last few novels have moved away from the formula that brought him fame and fortune (slightly in some cases, or dramatically in others). Rant seems to be a synthesis of new direction and old drive. The book grabbed me from the start and left me amazed.

Buster "Rant" Casey has died, leaving behind a legacy of lust, destruction, and chaos. It's the near future, a society where people "boost peaks", essentially injecting memories into their brains, a kind of living TV. In an effort to cut down on gridlock and utilize resources, society has been separated into daytimers and nighttimers. The novel plays out as part documentary, part police interview, part eulogy. Those that knew Rant best, and those that claimed to, all offer their own take on who he was, what he was capable of, and how he changed their lives. He became a prime figure in the "Party Crashing" scene, a nighttimer social game where people crash their cars into each other as a sort of high-speed game of tag. We meet his teammates, his childhood friends, his family, and people who played only a small role in his life. He was a friend to some, kind to most, and polite to a fault. He was also a prolific serial killer. Depending on who's talking, he's a combination of any of these things. When his motives and means are revealed, the novel transcends form and genre, mixing science fiction, mystery, documentary, and creating an ending that left me speechless.

Rant is the first part of a trilogy set in this alternate future, with the next installment due in a couple of years. Palahniuk has announced his next book as Snuff, which centers around (among other things) a woman who dies in an attempt to set a record by being the centerpiece of the world's largest gangbang. Let the good times roll!

Remainder by Tom McCarthy

This novel grabbed my attention when I saw it listed as a giveaway on ChuckPalahniuk.net. I tried to get a free copy, but they'd all been given away. Enter Cultie McMuddle, always ready to lend a hand, or in this case, his copy of Remainder.

The story centers on a young man who's just been through some kind of traumatic incident that's wiped his memory clean. He receives a call from his attorney, who informs him that his settlement for the accident has come through. As long as he keeps mum about what happened, the people responsible will pay him eight million pounds. The narrator stays true to his word, hinting a few times throughout the book as to what may have happened, but never giving concrete details. And in this story, everything is about the details. While pondering how he might spend his newfound fortune, the narrator finds himself in a bathroom at a party, staring at a crack in the wall. He's amazed. Enthralled. His hope is renewed. Why? He's seen this crack before, and knows it's important, but doesn't know why. The room is familiar as well. He decides to focus on his memories and recreate them. Painstakingly. As in, he wants to build an apartment complex around the memory of the crack and some other details that begin to trickle to the surface. His Quixotic quest for self-realization grows into a manic explosion of obsessive re-enactments and recreations, ultimately building to an intense finale.

Some have complained that the novel bogs down with too many details, but that seems to be the point of the story. Early on, the narrator reminds us that he struggles to remember anything - how to tie a shoe, how to leave the house for groceries, how to walk. Each task must be broken down into its smallest possible component in order for him to be able to move forward. While this novel grated on my nerves a little with its open-endedness, it also kept me turning the pages.