I got to see and hear Chuck Palahniuk last week. I’ll post pictures soon. He’s most known for being the author of “Fight Club,” but he’s written more books than that, and, apparently, all of his other books are being made into movies. They’re all at different stages of production, so who know which one will come out first. I’m hoping “Survivor” does, but I think that one was just recently picked up.
As for the reading, Chuck read “Guts,” a story from his novella due out next year, “Haunted.” Simply put, it was gross. Very gross. Not less than ten seconds passed after he finished reading that he asked if anyone had fainted or thrown up. One girl had fainted, or so he was told, and many had gotten that queasy feeling. He’d been keeping a running tally for this tour and said he was at 54 faintings.
I kept trying to understand why he would want to write a story (or relate a story as he told us most of his stories simply come to him by listening to other people) that was so disgusting. Then I thought of “Fight Club” and his other novels, and later a friend referenced Flannery O’Connor. Essentially, the grossness in this story and the vivid violence in “Fight Club” are efforts to jolt us into reality, to make us really feel something instead of the daily numbness we’re all aware of but seldom act to get out of. Chuck said there are three things that will make us feel something at a gut level: Death, Sex, and Illness. His story dealt with all these issues. And it made every one feel something, mostly sick, but the point of the story is that it made them FEEL, not just think.
The Q&A session was amusing, as Chuck threw out severed limbs to his questioners. One woman proposed, to which Chuck replied, “I can’t. I’m in the middle of a 25 city book tour.” Another guy asked him if he owned a pool (as the grossest story he read talked about a pool). Chuck replied that he couldn’t swim and that this was a commonality between himself and Marilyn Manson, whom he had once interviewed.
The best answer he gave was to the first question he was asked. I’m paraphrasing here: “What is the greatest defect in human nature?” Chuck gave it some thought and replied, “To look good.” He went on to talk about what he meant by that, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I’m sure I’ll be posting about it soon.
After the reading, my friend and I waited another hour or so to get our books signed. Chuck was very nice and was staying at the store until everyone had their items signed.
All in all, it was a good night. These are the nights I need to get me writing again. I forget how therapeutic it is to write. I begin to wish that I could have Chuck’s motivation. He says fear is his motivation, fear that he’ll die before he can relate these perfect stories.
It’s my belief that we all have perfect stories to tell – we’re just too afraid (or too lazy) to tell them.
Home