Invisible Monsters (Library Edition)

The fashion-model protagonist of Invisible Monsters has just about everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But one day she's driving along the freeway when a sudden "accident" leaves her with half her face, no ability to speak, and next to no self-esteem. From being the beautiful center of attention she becomes an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from becoming a real woman; Brandy will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing the past and making up something better. And that salvation hides in the last places you'll ever want to look.
In this hilarious and daringly unpredictable novel, the narrator must exact revenge upon Evie, her best friend and fellow model; kidnap Manus, her two-timing ex-boyfriend; and hit the road with Brandy in search of a brand-new past, present, and future. Changing names and stories in every city, they catapult toward a final confrontation with a rifle-toting Evie-by which time the narrator will have learned that loving and being loved are not mutually exclusive, and that nothing, on the surface, is ever quite what it seems.
By turns witty, poignant, and exhilarating, Invisible Monsters will take you on a ride you'll never forget.

Editorial Reviews

Palahniuk's writing is percussive. It's the relentless tattoo of terraced, one-sentence paragraphs cascading in a stacatto down the page: Like a flashing strobe. Remaking you into a glossy eight by ten. Anno Domini. The reinvention of the self. Palahniuk writes the way you'd look on an overdose of Valium, but how you feel on PCP—calm on the surface and roiling below. Then—Pow! Bam! Kablooey!—seuzures in the pelagic deep blue send tiny shockwaves into the shallows. Wearing away the sand. Wearing away the shore. Changing the shape of the continental shelf. Repeat.Time Out New York

About The Author:

About The Author:

Readers of Chuck Palahniuk's novels must gird themselves for the bizarre, the violent, the macabre, and the just plain disturbing. Having done that, they can then just enjoy the ride. The story goes that Palahniuk wrote Fight Club out of frustration. Believing that his first submission to publishers (an early version of Invisible Monsters) was being rejected as too risky, he decided to take the gloves off, so to speak, and wrote something he never expected to see the light of day. Ironically, Fight Club was accepted for publication, and its subsequent filming by directory David Fincher earned the author an obsessive cult following.

The apocalyptic, blackly humorous story of a loner's entanglement with a charismatic but dangerous underground leader, Fight Club was the first in a series of controversial fiction that would keep Palahniuk in the spotlight. Since then, he has crafted strange, disturbing tales around unlikely subjects: a disfigured model...

Name:Chuck Palahniuk

Also Known As:Charles M. Palahniuk

Current Home:Portland, Oregon

Date of Birth:February 21, 1962

Place of Birth:Pasco, Washington

Education:B.A. in journalism, University of Oregon, 1986

* Chuck Palahniuk's official web site

Biography

Readers of Chuck Palahniuk's novels must gird themselves for the bizarre, the violent, the macabre, and the just plain disturbing. Having done that, they can then just enjoy the ride.

The story goes that Palahniuk wrote Fight Club out of frustration. Believing that his first submission to publishers (an early version of Invisible Monsters) was being rejected as too risky, he decided to take the gloves off, so to speak, and wrote something he never expected to see the light of day. Ironically, Fight Club was accepted for publication, and its subsequent filming by directory David Fincher earned the author an obsessive cult following.

The apocalyptic, blackly humorous story of a loner's entanglement with a charismatic but dangerous underground leader, Fight Club was the first in a series of controversial fiction that would keep Palahniuk in the spotlight. Since then, he has crafted strange, disturbing tales around unlikely subjects: a disfigured model bent on revenge (the revised Invisible Monsters) ... the last surviving member of a death cult (Survivor) ... a sex addict who resorts to a bizarre restaurant scam to pay the bills (Choke) ... a lethal African nursery rhyme (Lullaby) ... and so the list continues.

Although Palahniuk makes occasional forays into nonfiction, (e.g., Fugitives and Refugees and Stranger than Fiction), it is his novels that generate the most buzz. His outr © plots and jump-cut storytelling are definitely not for everyone -- some have likened them to the horrible accident you can't tear your eyes away from -- but even critics can't help but be impressed by his flair for language, his talent for satire, and his sheer originality. Newsday wrote, "Palahniuk is one of the freshest, most intriguing voices to appear in a long time. He rearranges Vonnegut's sly humor, DeLillo's mordant social analysis, and Pynchon's antic surrealism (or is it R. Crumb's?) into a gleaming puzzle palace all his own."

Palahniuk has said that he has heard a lot from readers who were never readers before they saw his books, from boys in schools where his books are banned. This might be the best evidence that Palahniuk is a writer for a new age, introducing a (mostly male) audience to worlds on the page that usually only exist in technicolor nightmares.

Good To Know

Palahniuk (pronounced paul-a-nik) worked as a diesel mechanic for a trucking company before he became an author, jotting story notes for The Fight Club under trucks he was supposed to be working on.

Palahniuk's family has had a sad history of violence: His grandfather killed his grandmother and then committed suicide; later in life, his divorced father was murdered in 1999 by a girlfriend's ex-husband. The killer was convicted and sentenced to death in October, 2001. Palahniuk's book, Choke, was driven by an attempt to look at how sexual compulsion can destroy (see essay below for more).

When not working on his novels, Palahniuk has written features for Gear magazine, through which he befriended shock rocker Marilyn Manson; and is reportedly working on a script of the Katie Arnoldi novel Chemical Pink for Fight Club director David Fincher.

While writing, Palahniuk has said he listens to Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and Radiohead.

To a reader who asked in a Barnes & Noble.com chat why the novel Invisible Monsters was not released in hardcover, Palahniuk responded: "My original request was not to have any of my books released as hardcovers b/c I felt guilty asking for over $20 for anything I had done. With Invisible Monsters I finally got my way."

Invisible Monsters was inspired by fashion magazines Palahniuk was reading at his laundromat, according to an interview with The Village Voice. "I love the language of fashion magazines. Eighteen adjectives and you find the word sweater at the end. 'Ethereal. Sacred.' I thought, Wouldn't it be fun to write a novel in this fashion magazine language, so packed with hyperbole?"

Feature Interviews

In the fall of 2004, Chuck Palahniuk took some time to talk with us about some of his favorite books, authors and interests.

What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It showed me how to write a "hero" story by using an apostle as the narrator. Really, it's the basis of the triangle of two men and one woman in my book, Fight Club. I read the book at least once a year and it continues to surprise me with layers of emotion.

What are your ten favorite books, and what makes them special to you?
These are in no particular order or rank...

• Reasons to Live by Amy Hempel -- Each of Hempel's stories pay off with more emotion than most full length novels.

• The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis -- Another short story collection, Ellis's book shows the dark and funny world of people trapped by their own need for fame and money and love.

• Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson -- These stories have moments so shocking and distasteful that you have to admire Johnston for being brave enough to risk writing them.

• The Ice at the Bottom of the World by Mark Richard -- His story, "Strays," is my favorite. All of his language pops with hard dental sounds -- P's and K's -- and this makes the collection a delight to read out loud.

• The Pugilist at Rest by Thom Jones -- Again, here are hard unsentimental stories that somehow break your heart while they make you laugh.

• Drown by Junot Diaz -- These may be the bleakest childhood stories ever published, but the plot tension and the love between family members force you to finish the book.

• Ill Nature by Joy Williams -- Here is the brutal description of how humans have treated the natural world. The book is so painful, at times, you must put it down. Still, you always go back to re-read it.

• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury -- As a kid, I carried this book everyday, everywhere, for two years. The stories create a collage of an epic story better than any single narrative ever could.

• At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom by Amy Hemple -- These stories carry the power of great "Slam" poetry. They function more like magic spells to put you into a trance and make Hemple's world more real than your own.

• The Call of the Wild by Jack London -- My brother and I memorized most of this book as children. London's frontier world seen through animals was my favorite fantasy.

What are some of your favorite films, and what makes them unforgettable to you?
Favorite films, in no rank:

• Session 9 -- This horror/thriller has the tightest plot and most clever voice over device I have ever seen. The tension lasts until the final credits roll.

• The Haunting -- The original 1964 black and white version proves that good writing is more frightening than any movie magic special effect.

• Jesus of Montreal -- This French-Canadian film is the most moving movie I have seen. Even with subtitles, it brings me to tears.

What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you're writing?
While writing, I tend to repeat the same song, endlessly, for thousands of times. This helps me ignore any lyrics, and helps create a consistent mood for each book. The songs have included "Creep" by Radiohead, "The Fragile" by Nine Inch Nails, "Shine On, You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd, "Little Fifteen" by Depeche Mode, and "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus.

What are your favorite kinds of books to give and get as gifts?
My favorite books to give or get are short story collections. And, always paperbacks because they are easy to carry as you travel.

Do you have any special writing rituals? For example, what do you have on your desk when you're writing?
My only writing ritual is to shave my head bald between writing the first and second drafts of a book. If I can throw away all my hair, then I have the freedom to trash any part of the book on the next rewrite.

Many writers are hardly "overnight success" stories. How long did it take for you to get where you are today? Any rejection-slip horror stories or inspirational anecdotes?
My only "rejection" story is how I accepted a tiny advance for the book Fight Club -- not realizing the publisher was trying to offend me while not offending their own staff editor who loved the book. I got $6,000 and was thrilled. Since then, other writers tell me that an advance this small is known as "kiss-off money."

What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?
My best advice for writers is: Have your adventures, make your mistakes, and choose your friends poorly -- all these make for great stories. But what's most important is that you Do Not Die. Also, avoid getting brain damage. Have fun, but don't die. We digest our lives by turning our experience into stories, so find some way to turn every event into a story you can express and exhaust of all its emotion. That way, bad events won't exhaust you. Then, never stop writing those stories.