Rant: The Oral History of Buster Casey
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Chuck Palahniuk is, of course, best known for Fight Club, a remarkable novel which gave rise to an equally remarkable movie. As a writer, his specialty has been in having no speciality -- other than that of refusing to conform to any expectations readers might have of him. Except in one regard: a book by Palahniuk will be edgy, dark and iconoclastic. Which is very much the case with Rant, The Oral History of Buster Casey. This is a novel that leaves the reader notably off-kilter for a number of reasons; its coal-black vision of a society in a state of near savagery and its sardonically funny approach to the scabrous narrative. The ‘Oral History’ here relates to Buster ‘Rant’ Casey -- and the picture we receive of him is conveyed through a motley group of enemies, friends, relations and sexual partners. Through their wildly differing accounts, we build up a picture of a very unusual man indeed: a charismatic, sinister figure with a predilection for one recreational drug (the main component of which is rabies, no less). His other substance-of-choice (in terms of highly dangerous stimulants) is the venom of a black widow spider (for its aphrodisiac qualities). Living in a small town which is barely civilised (and the passages relating to this bizarre locale are conveyed in Palahniuk’s most phantasmagorical writing), Rant opts to strike out for the big town, and quickly establishes himself at the head honcho of an urban demolition derby which goes by the name of ‘Party Crashing’. The group, on selected nights, conducts a demented game of lethal dodgems, seeking out each other in cars to bring about satisfying motorway mayhem. And in the midst of this madness, Rant, a truly toxic figure, is spreading a variety of very nasty things among those he encounters.
This is nothing less than a vision of society plunged into insanity, with every comforting conventional aspect ruthlessly torn away. It's futuristic, it's very dark, and it's very funny. And (as the foregoing might suggest) it is most definitely not for those who like their literature sedate and unshocking. And in that way, of course, it's a typical Chuck Palahniuk novel. --Barry Forshaw
Review
"As silly and brilliant as the others." -"Russell Smith "(from xyyz.ca)
"Ever since "Fight Club" . . . Chuck Palahniuk has enjoyed a reputation as a down-dirty, cultish kind of writer with his finger on the pulse." -"Telegraph
""Chuck Palahniuk puts out books the way The Beatles and The Stones used to release records -- nearly every year, with precision and artistry." -"Metro Times
""Palahniuk's world might be a freakshow, but it's one that makes a disturbing amount of sense." -"Telegraph"
"[Chuck Palahniuk]'s a writer of remarkable talent, willing to look unflinchingly at despairing lives and their often-warped quests for even momentary redemption. He's a painfully deft chronicler of the meaningless job, the poisonous relationship, and of all the myriad damaging and deadening effects of so-called normal life." -"The Boston Globe"
""Rant" is fast and true, savagely clearsighted and intelligent, a luxury to read, and so funny that your facial muscles soon tire." -"The" "Guardian
""Just as "Fight Club" pondered the price of everyone becoming supermen, Rant goes one further and wonders the price of us all becoming gods. It is a common thread in Palahniuk's writing: the yearning for a ground zero of social parity versus our genetically programmed rebellion against hegemony." -"Time Out
"
Praise for Chuck Palahniuk
"What elevates Palahniuk's best novels (e.g., Fight Club) above their shocking premises is his ability to find humanity in deeply grotesque characters."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"Palahniuk displays a Swiftian gift for satire, as well as a knack for crafting mesmerizing sentences."
--"San Francisco Examiner"
"To Palahniuk's credit, there is something here to appall almost every sensibility. The author has a singular knack for coming up with inventive new ways to shock and degrade."
--"The New York Post"
"Ever since "Fight Club" . . . Chuck Palahniuk has enjoyed a reputation as a down-dirty, cultish kind of writer with his finger on the pulse." -"Telegraph
""Chuck Palahniuk puts out books the way The Beatles and The Stones used to release records -- nearly every year, with precision and artistry." -"Metro Times
""Palahniuk's world might be a freakshow, but it's one that makes a disturbing amount of sense." -"Telegraph"
"[Chuck Palahniuk]'s a writer of remarkable talent, willing to look unflinchingly at despairing lives and their often-warped quests for even momentary redemption. He's a painfully deft chronicler of the meaningless job, the poisonous relationship, and of all the myriad damaging and deadening effects of so-called normal life." -"The Boston Globe"
""Rant" is fast and true, savagely clearsighted and intelligent, a luxury to read, and so funny that your facial muscles soon tire." -"The" "Guardian
""Just as "Fight Club" pondered the price of everyone becoming supermen, Rant goes one further and wonders the price of us all becoming gods. It is a common thread in Palahniuk's writing: the yearning for a ground zero of social parity versus our genetically programmed rebellion against hegemony." -"Time Out
"
Praise for Chuck Palahniuk
"What elevates Palahniuk's best novels (e.g., Fight Club) above their shocking premises is his ability to find humanity in deeply grotesque characters."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"Palahniuk displays a Swiftian gift for satire, as well as a knack for crafting mesmerizing sentences."
--"San Francisco Examiner"
"To Palahniuk's credit, there is something here to appall almost every sensibility. The author has a singular knack for coming up with inventive new ways to shock and degrade."
--"The New York Post"
"From the Hardcover edition."
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Initially I wasn't sure about the style of Palahniuk's new book. As an oral history, it pieces together some urban folklore style reminisces about the main character, Rant Casey. However, as the book progresses, the connections between people become more apparent. It follows similar ground, socio-politically to Fight Club & Survivor. The urban games part of the book reminds me of the Santa Rampage in Fugitives & Refugees.
The book does lose its way when it starts to imply a life of Matrix style plug-ins, draconian curfews and conflict between daytime and night time peoples.
However, Palahniuk as usual digs up some fascinating historical parallels to his main story lines and on the whole the new style of writing works.
The book does lose its way when it starts to imply a life of Matrix style plug-ins, draconian curfews and conflict between daytime and night time peoples.
However, Palahniuk as usual digs up some fascinating historical parallels to his main story lines and on the whole the new style of writing works.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Rant Casey is an icon of the future. He has become a god like creation for the people that live in the dark hours of the day. In the future, society is split between people who work during the day, and those during the night. Treated like second class citizens the nightimers take to dangerous games to keep themselves occupied. One man arrives that will spread a disease that will change the way the two societies co-exist.
'Rant' is another strange offering from the master of weird, Chuck Palahniuk. The format is an oral history of Rant's life so is told from various view points by the people that knew him. It takes a little getting used to but the format works well. I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book as it introduced twisted, yet intelligent, storylines the like which Palahniuk specialises in. However, I felt that the end went too far into the strange and undid a lot of the good that happened before. This is not one of Palahniuk best books, but still a good read - try the magnificent `Haunted' first.
'Rant' is another strange offering from the master of weird, Chuck Palahniuk. The format is an oral history of Rant's life so is told from various view points by the people that knew him. It takes a little getting used to but the format works well. I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book as it introduced twisted, yet intelligent, storylines the like which Palahniuk specialises in. However, I felt that the end went too far into the strange and undid a lot of the good that happened before. This is not one of Palahniuk best books, but still a good read - try the magnificent `Haunted' first.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Palahnuik takes us to the world of Daytimers and Nighttimers, where the Nightimers spend their evenings engaged in Party Crashing and where Porting has replaced other forms of media.
But the world isn't important, Buster Casey is, and to quote one of the characters - he's, `... the worst Patient Zero in the history of disease'.
Rant Casey carries rabies, but not only carries it, but infects himself and others around him with it again and again. And in doing so becomes a legend, a fable, that spreads much like the rabies he carries from person to person and Rant's oral history is retold through a series of interviews all used to help to explain the bigger picture.
The interview technique is a bit complicated as hearing different points of view and perspectives from several people takes some concentration. Luckily all of the interviewees are named and on their first appearance in each chapter we are told (or retold) a bit more about them like if they are a Party Crasher, Historian, or Mother. You get to know more about some those that were close to Rant and as well as his story as the book progresses. And the in some ways the other people are more interesting than Rant himself.
Palahnuik is an excellent storyteller as he uses this book to explore the spiderwebs of connections that each person has around them. There are no minor characters here. Each has an important role in moving the story forward and in revealing the connections that aren't so obvious as they first appear.
This book is also a tale about the lies we tell ourselves like the tooth fairy who, as you grow up, replaces your useless tooth with money and to Buster Casey teeth are very valuable indeed. Or that if you're wearing a wedding dressed driving a car covered in decorations that you must have just got married.
Rant is not the book I expected it to be. I though that this would be a simple retelling of the life of Buster Casey from those who knew him. Instead it's an exploration of life and how Buster Casey is the secret to a world that you wouldn't think existed.
It does have its flaws mostly due to the style of the short sections meaning it doesn't flow easily on occasion. As you either find yourself hearing from a person you're not particularly interested in (even if what they say is meaningful to the plot) or you loose who is talking and what connection they are to everything.
By the time I got to the end I wanted to start all over again in order to see how what's revealed in the end is already told to you from the beginning. I probably will re-read it was the end is a little more complicated than I expected. This might make it a little disappointing to some readers who want everything a bit more cut and dry or who enjoyed the Party Crashing for just causing chaos.
This was my first Chuck Palahnuik novel and it won't be my last.
But the world isn't important, Buster Casey is, and to quote one of the characters - he's, `... the worst Patient Zero in the history of disease'.
Rant Casey carries rabies, but not only carries it, but infects himself and others around him with it again and again. And in doing so becomes a legend, a fable, that spreads much like the rabies he carries from person to person and Rant's oral history is retold through a series of interviews all used to help to explain the bigger picture.
The interview technique is a bit complicated as hearing different points of view and perspectives from several people takes some concentration. Luckily all of the interviewees are named and on their first appearance in each chapter we are told (or retold) a bit more about them like if they are a Party Crasher, Historian, or Mother. You get to know more about some those that were close to Rant and as well as his story as the book progresses. And the in some ways the other people are more interesting than Rant himself.
Palahnuik is an excellent storyteller as he uses this book to explore the spiderwebs of connections that each person has around them. There are no minor characters here. Each has an important role in moving the story forward and in revealing the connections that aren't so obvious as they first appear.
This book is also a tale about the lies we tell ourselves like the tooth fairy who, as you grow up, replaces your useless tooth with money and to Buster Casey teeth are very valuable indeed. Or that if you're wearing a wedding dressed driving a car covered in decorations that you must have just got married.
Rant is not the book I expected it to be. I though that this would be a simple retelling of the life of Buster Casey from those who knew him. Instead it's an exploration of life and how Buster Casey is the secret to a world that you wouldn't think existed.
It does have its flaws mostly due to the style of the short sections meaning it doesn't flow easily on occasion. As you either find yourself hearing from a person you're not particularly interested in (even if what they say is meaningful to the plot) or you loose who is talking and what connection they are to everything.
By the time I got to the end I wanted to start all over again in order to see how what's revealed in the end is already told to you from the beginning. I probably will re-read it was the end is a little more complicated than I expected. This might make it a little disappointing to some readers who want everything a bit more cut and dry or who enjoyed the Party Crashing for just causing chaos.
This was my first Chuck Palahnuik novel and it won't be my last.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Rant Casey: Mad, bad and dangerous to know!
I've never read Palahniuk before, and although everyone raves about Fight Club, in particular, I wasn't really sure his famously oddball style would be 'my kind of thing'. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Miss E. Potten
......
Love this book was expensive but worth it. I really like the artwork for this book and the fact that its genuinly signed makes it extra special. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Rich1987
No ranting needed here...
Like many others, I came to Palahniuk through the film Fight Club, which I'm not ashamed to admit, as I loved both the book and the film. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Time To Waste
well written
a well written book , though somewhat rubbish coming from a good writer
as Palahniuk. its 2 long and very disturbing-
have not finished the book yet, since other better... Read more
as Palahniuk. its 2 long and very disturbing-
have not finished the book yet, since other better... Read more
Published on 28 May 2009 by Bjørn Erik Kleiven
great
Rant is easy to read and contains loads of thought provoking concepts, many of which could be made into a novel of their own. Read more
Published on 6 April 2009 by Dr. A. DEWITT
A Bit Lost
I have just finished reading this book and I have to say that it didn't impress me like the other books I've read by Chuck Palahniuk (I started reading it straight after I finished... Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2009 by Ms. A. E. Davies
Rant the oral History of Buster Casey
like all chuck novels, it has twists and turns and suggests of how society could be in a strange way,also how we all need human contact
Published on 15 Jan 2009 by Wheels
subtle but hard work
Palahniuk has used the multiple narrative form before, but the oral history conceit of this novel gives him the opportunity for further subtlety and ambiguity. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2008 by barbicandy
Typically Chuck P.
"Rant" is full of Chuck P's usual violence, sex, unbalanced characters with a mix of high adrenaline action, philosophy for the 2000's and some truly bizzare moments. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2008 by Tommy Jet
The Underdog
I am a massive fan of Fight Club and Haunted, for me this book gave me elements of both. There is real substance to this book, full of those moments when you think you've figured... Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2008 by S. Lewis
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