Invisible Monsters Remix by Chuck Palahniuk Summary: Injected with new material and special design elements, Invisible Monsters Remix fulfills Chuck Palahniuk's original vision for his 1999 novel, turning a daring satire on beauty and the fashion industry into an even more wildly unique reading experience. Palahniuk's fashion-model protagonist has it all--boyfriend, career, loyal best friend--until an accident destroys her face, her ability to speak, and her self-esteem. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from becoming a bona-fide woman. Laced in are new chapters of memoir and further scenes with the book's characters. Readers will jump between chapters, reread the book to understand the dissolve between fiction and fact, and decipher the playful book design, embarking on a ride they'll never forget.Add to Goodreads
Source: I purchased a paperback.
Review:
I will start by saying I’ve never read Invisible Monsters, the original version. But in the way that a person might pick up the Director’s Cut of a movie they haven’t seen before, I figured why not get the newer and beefed up version if I am going to buy it. Okay, so maybe the original wasn’t on the Buy 2, Get 1 Free table at Barnes and Noble, either. So that’s how I ended up with this version.
I am a huge fan of Palahniuk. I like his voice. I like the way he hates society, but he’s not all preachy about it. He’s dark and rubs our faces in our own shame without a real solution. I don’t know why so many hipsters like him because I don’t really think he likes hipsters. I think he probably hates the trends and the trends about hating trends, right? Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. But I am a fan and I was eager to see how this look at the fashion industry would turn out.
I immediately regretted my decision to buy the Remix. I’m an organized person and this shifting from Chapter One to Chapter 41 just drove me crazy. I mean, I don’t mind a nonlinear story, but typically I still turn the pages in the right order. I was getting a nonlinear story in a nonlinear format and I have to admit that I was not okay with it. It stopped being annoying after awhile, as I did see how it resembled flipping through a magazine. It’s a cool way to format a book once you’re big enough to get away with it. If you have an e-reader, you should probably not use it on this book. It’s way easier to flip through the pages on a real book. I’m a little aggravated that there are “unused” chapters that are extras and not part of the “Turn to Chapter Whatever” order of things, and I admit that I didn’t read them. I’m supposed to remember what chapter numbers I haven’t read yet? No way. I played your game.
As far as the story went, I enjoyed the book. I had no idea how/why/what was happening. And as the plot moved forward, I was granted a tiny piece of the puzzle until the big picture was shown at the end. I feel like I can’t even talk about it because I don’t remember how it started and what I initially I thought, but nothing turned out to be anything like I thought. The characters, their motivations, their connections.. all of that morphed throughout the book. What a ride.
Invisible Monsters was an awesome story. Fucked up and brilliant, it makes you think about beauty, fashion, identity, motivation, and life. I do recommend it, but I mean, in the way that I can recommend any of his books. I have no idea if other people will like it. I think you just have to jump in and try one of his books and then you know if you are a person who likes him.
"The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend."
“You only ask people about themselves so you can tell them about yourself.”
“Just each of us being me, me, me first. The murderer, the victim, the witness each of us thinks our role is the lead.
Probably that goes for anybody in the world.”
“My point is, that if I'm honest, my life is all about me.”
“You're safe because you're so trapped inside your culture. Anything you can conceive of is fine because you can conceive of it.”
