First Post

Hi everybody. (Hi Dr. Nick!) In the past I've kept a list of the books I read over the course of the year, and I always enjoy talking with other people about the books I love, as well as the books I hate.

I've just finished reading "Lullaby" by Chuck Palahniuk, the author of "Fight Club" which I haven't yet read. He also wrote "Choke" which I read a few years ago, and I liked it enough to buy another one of his novels. OK so it took me a while to get around to reading "Lullaby", but now that I have I'm keen to get my hands on his other books.

I found "Lullaby" heart breakingly sad, with just a hint of redemption, which is just the way I like my novels. There is a very black sense of humour throughout the book, which not only appeals to my sensibility, but also lightens the mood, which is desperately needed in a novel about the death of children.

The narrator, Carl Streator is not particularly likable at first glance, but by the end of the book I was commited. Palahniuk has a gift for creating flawed, complex characters. They act irrationally and do stupid things, but keep struggling towards redemption, for want of a better word. I fell in love with the characters in "Lullaby", and it's one of the highlights of the books I have read this year.