Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey

Rant Casey is my Dad

Rant is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of classic Palahniuk viewed through the lens of the an oral history which makes it slightly more disjointed due to the multiple viewpoints than his previous works albeit somehow more believable.

If you enjoyed any of Chuck's works you will like it. I'd put it behind a few of his others but not by too far.

A mixed blessing

As always, and as was to be expected, Palahniuk has once again succeeded in writing a gripping novel. A solid front-to-back read, with the interview style really hitting home. The one flaw (one which brings to mind Diary, in which the same thing happens) is, that as the plot advances, the reader is plunged into an increasingly far-fetched rollercoaster ride of plot twists. This makes Rant stand out, not as much as strong social satire, but as a sort of sf-noir. Which still makes it a hell of a lot better than a lot of other books rolling off the press, so enjoy

Chuck Palahniuk will not disappoint faithful readers in this "oral" biography, told from the points-of-view of Rant Casey, a dead serial killer. As is the case with human subjects, the characters in this book often contradict each other, remember different events, and "talk" in different ways. The only negative criticism I can make is that the book moves excruciatingly slow at some points, but it always speeds up to a fast and furious pace afterwards. A good read if you are interested in psychological, Palahniukian themes.

Doesn't get any better then this

Palahniuk is at the top of his game with "Rant" . He delivers all of his standard wit and darkness. The story of Buster Casey told through a creative oral history style does not feel forced like some of palahniuks more recent work. In this intensly original mystery you will be introduced to a possible future and stained past.