My first experience of reading Palahniuk – and what an experience. ‘Loser’ is a portrait of a student who, according to fraternity tradition, has gone along to a recording of The Price Is Right, taken some acid – and is invited to come on down. Palahniuk’s telling is intense, conveying the disorientation of his protagonist, who can’t remember the name of the show but knows it’s not that one, and is surprised to see bread in its raw state, before made into sandwiches. It may take a moment to return to reality after reading ‘Loser’ – and the story has left me intrigued to read more of Palahniuk’s work.
Rating: ****
Elsewhere
Chuck Palahniuk’s website
19th August 2010 at 11:43 pm
I loved this story, and I’m not a CP fan that much. The narration was hysterical to listen to. In a mostly fantasy collection — it’s interesting to see “drug-addled” as a source of the fantastic.