Hey there, folks. I just read “Not Forever, But for Now” (or, well, portions of it). It was not for me. It was a weird mix of graphic violence and surrealism, mostly plotless, and at times maddeningly repetitive. I understand that pushing boundaries is Chuck’s thing, but his grander purpose missed me this time.
However, it’s pitched as “hilarious horror satire.” The “horror” and “satire,” I totally get. But “hilarious”? Did anyone, like, get a chuckle out of this? If so, help me understand your sense of humor? I just couldn’t find the funny.
As someone who read Fight Club and was eager for more of his work, I’m going to join the dog pile and say that Chuck Palahniuk doesn’t have much substance in any other work of his I’ve tried. It feels like he’s constantly trying to one-up himself with “shocking” stuff, but it feels very surface-level, so it’s very easy to be mostly apathetic towards it.
Which is a shame, because I feel Fight Club was legitimately deep and I liked the edginess, and I couldn’t wait to get more from where that came from.
Somewhat ironically, Consider This is one of the best books on writing I’ve ever read, though.