A dark, disturbing and very, very funny new novel from the inimitable Chuck Palahniuk – his best yet.
Thirteen year old Madison has problems: she’s overweight, ignored by her movie star parents, and in love with her adopted brother. She’s also dead. But not just dead. Madison is in Hell. Chuck Palahniuk’s latest, Damned, takes us on Madison’s journey through Hell, as she navigates the Hillocks of Discarded Nail Pairings and the River of Vomit, meeting everyone from Charles Darwin to Marilyn Monroe, with a colorful cast of characters (Damned for unspeakable acts, like wearing white shoes after Labor Day), to determine why she’s really there, and whether she will be Damned for eternity. In Damned, Hell really does exist, as a place where your only career choice is telemarketer (yes, that’s where those calls actually originate), the currency is Halloween candy, and 'the in-flight movie is always The English Patient, never The Breakfast Club.' With witty, laugh-out-loud prose, and a twist like only Palahniuk can write, this dark comedic novel is sure to be ranked among his best.
About the Author
Chuck Palahniuk's twelve previous novels are the bestselling Tell-All, Pygmy, Snuff, Rant, Haunted, Lullaby, Diary, Choke - which has been made into a film by director Clark Gregg, starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston - Survivor, Invisible Monsters, and Fight Club, which was made into a film by director David Fincher. He is also the author of the nonfiction profile of Portland, Oregon, Fugitives and Refugees, Damned and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Industry Reviews
The Lovely Bones meets The Shawshank Redemption via Judy Blume. Expect to be appalled * Vogue *
True to Palahniuk form, Damned is gross in parts, scandalous in others and funny throughout * Time Out *
Gleefully riffing on Judy Blume's 1970 coming-of-age classic Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, Palahniuk's dead heroine must traverse the infernal landscape in search of Satan - and of her true self - as she tries to discover exactly how she died * Financial Times *
Vintage chuck - as dark as it gets * Dazed *
The vistas of his underworld are engrossing * Metro *