Diary of an up and coming sociopath

It’s been a damn busy week. Despite having Monday off, it seems I’ve spent more time at work than ever, though not least because I have actually been staying longer so I can learn new stuff for when I officially start the travel job. Nothing too taxing yet, but it certainly seems a lot more frantic.

I did take a stupidly long time to get home tonight because someone had killed themselves at Turnham Green which suspended train activity down the bit I wanted to use. I may not be in an objective position here, but even though no man is an island, I can stand being diminished that little bit if it means that someone willing to make rush hour even less fun for everyone has shuffled themselves off this mortal coil like the first penguin falling into shark-filled waters.

And speaking of such themes, I finished reading Haunted the other day. The ending was lacklustre, I felt. It felt like it needed a bang but the story demanded a whimper. I agree with the choice but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I think it’s going to go in as probably my favourite Palahniuk book, certainly the one I’m most likely to read from again. The overreaching plot is a brilliant suspense/mystery wth the really weird device of having no specific narrator. It’s all written by a collective effort of the characters in the story, so everyone gets a focus and no-one gets more sympathy from the reader by virtue of being the narrator. As good as the framing arc is, the short stories are the real meat of the book though. They’re almost universally great, and most of them are genuinely stand alone. I find myself wondering which were written before the book was conceived, and which filled in his gaps. If you’re a fan of his writing style, I’d say Haunted is a must-buy, but I’m terribly biased because I love the short story format far more than a full-length novel. Maybe it’s something to do with distilled ideas or instant gratification, or even just ease of digestion, but I can’t get enough.

I know some people don’t like it Palahniuk’s style, but it’s never bothered me personally. The thing is, in addition to accepting his weird technique, you have to be willing to forgive what you might perceive as “shock” writing to enjoy the book best. He really plumbs the depths of human behaviour at some points, and I was genuinely surprised when I discovered something more unsettling than Guts in the book. That said, I do genuinely believe it’s all got an artistic purpose that makes it valid expression. Definitely not for anyone too conservative though.

Reading all of Haunted took me a week, reading only on the tube to and from work. I’m now starting on “Yes Man,” the new Danny Wallace book, which I’m enjoying very much so far.