Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk - Review

Someone told me that you always remember your first Palahniuk. After reading Lullaby I can see why. 

     Following Carl Streator is definitely 5 giant steps away from the Donna Tart I had just finished, or the Neil Gaiman I'm about to start. I wouldn't go as far as saying that he's one of a kind, but whatever he's doing, he's a master of it. 

      I feel very priviledged to think that we live in possibly the most diverse literary age there as ever been, considering those are a handful of the more mainstream contemporary authors. The diversity available to the modern reader is astounding. (You go, 2K14). 

           As I said before, Lullaby follows Carl Streator across various locations in America as he simultaneously tracks down first the culling song and then the grimoire it came from. It reads like a futuristic version of Dennis Wheatley. An intoxicating cocktail of old school occultism, post-modernism and B-movie horror.  

    Whilst reading - I was reading it on my kindle app which effected my pace - I found myself able to stop a lot, at times forced to, to decode and analyse what Palahniuk was pointing out to me. This book takes a lot of concentration from the reader, which is both exhilerating and hard going.  

     When I got to the end though I was miffed! I really could have kept reading a 100 more pages. Lullaby felt a lot like an extended short story, a metaphorically rich gif, rather than a snapshot of life. The running themes, or "horses" as Palahniuk calls them, carry this novel in a round, the repetition is both contemplative and progressive in that respect. The narrative voice is stead, mimicking the sound of Helen Hoover Boyle or Nash as they read the culling song. 

      The highlight of this novel for me is the imagery, I revelled inthe oozing sores of Streator's blisters and the diamond encrusted bloody gums of Ms. Boyle. Thos is where I likened it to a B-movie horror, if anyone has watched Horror in the Attic, it is quite similar. 

    I'd heard a lot about Palahniuk before starting Lullaby, mostly about Fight Club, my tutor advised me not to run off though and try some other work by him before readjng that. 

     I feel ready to read Kurt Vennegut finally now, but I've no idea why they are linked in my head.

How to Relax the Girl - Poetry

I wanted to post some poetry here, but I mainly work in big projects that I'd like to send to journals etc. so the margin for publishing work on this blog is quite slim. However, this is a piece that is entirely constructed with phrases and passages from the Kama Sutra. A collage poem that I submitted during my undergraduate to experiment with the genre. This turned out to be very beneficial and has turned up in many of my personal pieces. 

 The edition I was working from was: The Complete Kama Sutra trans.Alain Daniélou, (Park Street Press, 1994; Vermont)
                                               
                                                   How to Relax the Girl 

He must act in the dark, his amorous games which are necessary in order to deflower the girl. She blinks. “If you wish to embrace me, I shall not stop you” and a conversation is established. He gets excited, (she may imagine that he is homosexual), without talking to her. Success with the girl is obtained by moderation. She is elegantly dressed. They talk openly. He asks her questions in a few words, pretending not to know the answer. She will pronounce a single word or syllable. He starts laughing. Without getting cross he gently repeats his questions. Do you want me or not? Do you like me or not? Without fearing any opposition from her parents and friends, they take to the game.

 She blinks. He does not touch the girl. This is the correct way to relax the girl. The girl’s state of mind changes as a result of the marks of love. He does not touch the girl. He gets excited with a flood of words, he insults her. They must sleep in the ground for three days. For a whole week, side by side, without eating. After a slight struggle they talk openly and with a moving of her head she expresses her agreement. He starts laughing. She blinks. A woman is like a flower without any violence, if she is violently assaulted she becomes hostile to any sign of affection. Pressing against her gently, he puts his arms around her, but not for too long. When they are alone, he begins

and he takes her lips, after a slight struggle. They take to the game very quickly. Without fearing any opposition. Pressing against her he must only tackle the upper part of the body, so as not to upset her. If she protests, he scolds her. A girl who finds herself in a man’s possession will, in all cases, refuse to speak. To make her talk “I will mark your lips with my teeth”. The better to educate her. She must perform. He shows his passions. Success with the girl is obtained by moderation. In a loving manner he offers her betel which he keeps in his mouth. After caressing her breasts he touches the tip. He embraces her and waits. Slides his hand further. He assuages her with words, vows, and protestations and, falling at her feet, clasps them to him. She does not lower her head as a sign of acceptance. “I shall leave the mark of my nails below your beasts”. If she protests, he scolds her. He takes his pleasure in - it is not the right moment. On the second and third night, when she is more relaxed, he touches her sex with his hand. He speaks of the permanence. He reminds her to establish favourable feelings. After this gift he loosens the part of her garment that passes between the legs. Without untying her girdle. Breaking her chastity. The feelings of the hostile girl begin to awaken.

             
          The sheath [kanchuka] and armor [jalaka] are pierced by two lateral holes at the opening

                                                       she must go and bathe in the river
                                                                     accompanied