Review Doomed (Damned #2) by Chuck Palahniuk @DoubdayPub @chuckpalahniuk

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 2013

Madison Spencer, the liveliest and snarkiest dead girl in the universe, continues the afterlife adventure begun in Chuck Palahniuk’s bestsellerDamned. Just as that novel brought us a brilliant Hell that only he could imagine, Doomed is a dark and twisted apocalyptic vision from this provocative storyteller.

The bestselling Damned chronicled Madison’s journey across the unspeakable (and really gross) landscape of the afterlife to confront the Devil himself. But her story isn’t over yet. In a series of electronic dispatches from the Great Beyond, Doomed describes the ultimate showdown between Good and Evil.
     After a Halloween ritual gone awry, Madison finds herself trapped in Purgatory—or, as mortals like you and I know it, Earth. She can see and hear every detail of the world she left behind, yet she’s invisible to everyone who’s still alive. Not only do people look right through her, they walk right through her as well. The upside is that, no longer subject to physical limitations, she can pass through doors and walls. Her first stop is her parents’ luxurious apartment, where she encounters the ghost of her long-deceased grandmother. For Madison, the encounter triggers memories of the awful summer she spent upstate with Nana Minnie and her grandfather, Papadaddy. As she revisits the painful truth of what transpired over those months (including a disturbing and finally fatal meeting in a rest stop’s fetid men’s room, in which . . . well, never mind), her saga of eternal damnation takes on a new and sinister meaning. Satan has had Madison in his sights from the very beginning: through her and her narcissistic celebrity parents, he plans to engineer an era of eternal damnation. For everyone.
     Once again, our unconventional but plucky heroine must face her fears and gather her wits for the battle of a lifetime. Dante Alighieri, watch your back; Chuck Palahniuk is gaining on you.

About the Author
CHUCK PALAHNIUK's twelve bestselling novels—Damned, Tell-All, Pygmy, Snuff, Rant, Haunted, Diary, Lullaby, Choke, Invisible Monsters, Survivor, and Fight Club—have sold more than five million copies in the United States. He is also the author of Fugitives and Refugees, published as part of the Crown Journey Series, and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS

LOVED IT


Madison is back and is now guiding you with after-life etiquette though her blog postings on how to get into heaven. Except what she is telling you will actually bring you to a hotter afterlife.  Through her brief stint in the telemarketing department of hell, she is posed to take over in a coup attempt that Satan would admire if he were not the victim.  Realizing that being damned only takes a few steps, she reconnects with her parents and gives them the "secret" to the afterlife in hopes that the family can reunite.  Except, she doesn't count on her parents' evangelistic take on her rules for salvation and in the process sends more people to hell than you can possibly imagine.

This second installment of the Damned trilogy continues Madison snarky take on life and the afterlife.  At the core of her issues is that fact that no matter how bright and intelligent she is, she is still a twelve year old girl who only wants the love of her mommy and daddy.  All this mixed with social commentary on global domination by conglomerates and you have a weird morality tale.  I though Madison regressed a bit in this one and didn't see much of her strength like in Damned. I did learn a lot about her life on earth, some of which will make you wonder just exactly how she ended up in hell.

Disclosure
I received this book from the publisher at no charge and in no way influenced my review.  If you are considering purchasing this book or anything else from Amazon, please use my link above since I earn a very small percentage of the sale which helps pay for shipping my giveaways!  

REVIEW: Damned by Chuck Palahniuk @doubledaypub (and a chance for some damned stickers!)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2011

Think adolescence is hell? You have no idea... Welcome to Dante's Inferno, by way of The Breakfast Club, from the mind of American fiction's most brilliant troublemaker.

"Death, like life, is what you make out of it." So says Madison, the whip-tongued 11-year-old narrator of Damned, Chuck Palahniuk's subversive homage to the young adult genre. Madison is abandoned at her Swiss boarding school over Christmas while her parents are off touting their new film projects and adopting more orphans. Over the holidays she dies of a marijuana overdose--and the next thing she knows, she's in Hell.

This is the afterlife as only Chuck Palahniuk could imagine it: a twisted inferno inspired by both the most extreme and mundane of human evils, where The English Patient plays on repeat and roaming demons devour sinners limb by limb. However, underneath Madison's sad teenager affect there is still a child struggling to accept not only the events of her dysfunctional life, but also the truth about her death.

For Madison, though, a more immediate source of comfort lies in the motley crew of young sinners she meets during her first days in Hell. With the help of Archer, Babette, Leonard, and Patterson, she learns to navigate Hell--and discovers that she'd rather be mortal and deluded and stupid with those she loves than perfect and alone.

About the Author

CHUCK PALAHNIUK's eleven novels are the bestselling Tell-All, Pygmy, Snuff, Rant, Haunted, Lullaby, and Fight Club, which was made into a movie by David Fincher, Diary, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, and Choke (also made into a film). He is also the author of the nonfiction profile of Portland, Fugitives and Refugees, published as part of the Crown Journey Series, and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. He lives in the Pacific Northwest. 

 Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (October 18, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385533020
• ISBN-13: 978-0385533027

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

So, if Christopher Moore (think Abby Normal from Bite Me)  and Judy Blume got together and wrote a book dedicated to a life lived in hell as a sort of CandyLand game with all of the twists and turns that move a player forward; where candy is currency .  Each chapter starts with a note from Madison, the eleven year old protagonist address to Satan.  As she accepts her death and now after life, she finds that even small infractions are enough to send you to the underworld. Honk your car horn?  You get 700, once you surpass that magic number, kiss heaven good bye.   Same thing for being rude, an idiot and not picking up your trash.  As far as Madison can figure out, she ended up in hell because she smoke pot.  There is more to the story than that, but you have to read this one to the bitter end to find out exactly how she died.

The writing is so superb that I can't even describe the pleasure of each word and the placement.  Most writers have one or two quotable lines, but this whole book is entirely quotable.  I have read most of the author's work and this totally redeemed him in my eyes for Pygmy.  I had a hard time reading that one.  In no way is this book suitable for younger teens but more adventurous ones should really enjoy this.  It takes young adult paranormal drama to the next level.   Hell is also the location of telemarketers.  Madison rules hell as she convinces people to give up their eternity for hell and become the top recruiter on her way to world domination.  She does get her chance for salvation, but instead decides she is more suited to a life as a ruler.

I have two sheets of Stickers for two lucky people -- just complete the form below and I will pick the winners on 2.29.12

BOOK TRAILER TUESDAY: Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

Review coming soon!  I have some really cool stickers to giveaway for this one!

Waiting on Wednesday: Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Description

“Are you there, Satan? It’s me, Madison,” declares the whip-tongued eleven-year-old narrator of Damned, Chuck Palahniuk’s subversive new work of fiction. The daughter of a narcissistic film star and a billionaire, Madison is abandoned at her Swiss boarding school over Christmas, while her parents are off touting their new projects and adopting more orphans. She dies over the holiday of a mari­juana overdose—and the next thing she knows, she’s in Hell. Madison shares her cell with a motley crew of young sinners that is almost too good to be true: a cheerleader, a jock, a nerd, and a punk rocker, united by fate to form the six-feet-under version of everyone’s favorite detention movie. Madison and her pals trek across the Dandruff Desert and climb the treacherous Mountain of Toenail Clippings to confront Satan in his citadel. All the popcorn balls and wax lips that serve as the currency of Hell won’t buy them off.

This is the afterlife as only Chuck Palahniuk could imagine it: a twisted inferno where The English Patient plays on end­less repeat, roaming demons devour sinners limb by limb, and the damned interrupt your dinner from their sweltering call center to hard-sell you Hell. He makes eternal torment, well, simply divine.

About the Author

CHUCK PALAHNIUK’s eleven best-selling novels—Tell-All, Pygmy, Snuff, Rant, Haunted, Lullaby, Fight Club, Diary, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, and Choke—have sold more than five million copies in the United States. He is also the author of Fugitives and Refugees, published as part of the Crown Journey Series, and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (October 18, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385533020
• ISBN-13: 978-0385533027

New Mash Up: Jane Austen's Fight Club

Truly, how weird can it get? Jane Austen and Chuck Palahniuk