Runs and days like this are what I'll miss about Arizona! I can not believe I've got less than 5 months left here in Phoenix, then five more months and I'll be heading out of the state, off to God knows where.
I finished reading a really good book by Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club):
What a great book; Chuck continues to touch my funny bone. I wonder if Chuck is a little crazy himself, because he describes this cast of sex/alcoholics with such detail, you wonder how he gets the inside scoop. I feel so close to the main character that I “understand” why he chooses to make part of his living by choking in upscale restaurants and have people save him. I see no moral problem with this, because he is giving them the idea that they really made a difference and for once in their lives they were heroes. So what if the main character, Victor, sometimes asked for a little help or if he accepted birthday cards from those who saved him.
Victor did all this because he had recently dropped out of medical school and had to foot the bill of a nursing home for his dying mother. He justified his actions in such a way that you could not help but to cheer for him.
Along the way you get a glimpse into his addictive sexaholic life and his exploits in some of the most bizarre places. It makes you wish you had the guts to do the things he pulls off; are there really people like this? You will have all the questions you have about sex addicts answered in this book, and make you think about joining a support group in hopes that you may meet some people that Chuck describes.
Another choice part of the book that I loved was Victor’s best friend and how he chooses collecting rocks instead of acting out in a sexual life. It is a classic exchange of one addiction for another. I see part of this in myself as I choose running mile after mile so I don’t drink beer after beer.
Finally the most important aspect of the book is Victor’s journey to find out what was written in his Mother’s diary, which may unlock the mystery of his Father. Along the way Victor befriends a Doctor at the nursing home, who just happens to read Italian (language his Mother’s diary is wrote in), and she tells him that he was spawned of the reconstructed DNA from a religious relic of Christ himself (DNA from Jesus’ foreskin).
Victor doesn’t want to admit that he really is a good guy, and one who brings a lot of joy to other peoples’ lives. Victor could be found accepting blame from all kinds of patients at the nursing home, and even though he was just trying to get them to leave him alone or to shut them it, he unwittingly gave them closure and comfort at such a vulnerable time in life. He still is convinced that he is just a screwed up person making his way through life, however just when he is about to accept it, he finds out a tragic truth right at the time of his Mother’s death. He finds out that his Doctor friend was in fact a patient and crazy. Victor really is not the child of Jesus.
I would recommend this book for a light read that will make you feel good and give you a fun voyeur look into addicts’ lives. Chuck, must have really did a good job of investigating addicts, or maybe he has a little bit of crazy in himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment