More Religion!
I keep picking up books which have something to do with Christianity. This is done by Chuck Palahniuk though, that dude who created Fight Club. It's about the right time for a smothering hug of nihilism.
Palahniuk's writing can be a bit confusing. That's how I spent a tram journey reading the book from the wrong direction. Most books start at page 1. Survivor starts at the final chapter. At the end the book. Once I figured it out, I quite enjoyed being the commuter reading from back to front.
Survivor's protagonist, Tender Branson, is recording his life story on the black box (which is really orange) of a plane plummeting in the direction of Australia. He is the surviving member of a suicidal Christian cult.
This the second novel I've read about a cult which has an orange cover. This is the second novel I've read about a cult (that I remember). So from now on, if I fancy a bit of cultism, I know to look for an orange cover.
Survivor contains all the usual elements of a Chuck Palahniuk novel. The role of masculinity is looked at quite strongly, with the protagonist's appearance being probed and prodded (quite literally at times) throughout. Tender Branson shifts through quite radical appearance changes. As a member of the Creedish Christian death cult, he wears the hand made woolen costume all the Creedish men wear. Outside the Creedish community, often referred to as the 'outside', Tendor's appearance is described with negative terms such as 'fat' and 'geeky'. As the last remaining (supposedly) member of the Creedish, Tendor is approached by an agent who ensures Tendor considerably alters his appearance to ensure the image the media need.
Tedor Branson enters the outside world at the age of 17, on a work placement set up by the Creedish (a work placement for the rest of his life), in which he cleans houses for rich people. This contrast of American classes is another typical Palahniuk. A lot of handy cleaning tips are given out though. I might keep my copy as a reference. It's useful knowing how to clean blood and hide a body without leaving a trace.
There's some good shop lifting tips in there too. Tendor Branson goes through a period of kleptomania. This appears to be a real trait the character has. As a survivor of the Creedish cult, Tendor Branson has a case worker who visits him. She weekly diagnoses Tendor with a different mental illness. Looking at mental illness is another area Palaniuk likes to explore. The use of the technique by Tendor's case worker seems to be quite useful for keeping Tendor alive in order to tell his life tale from a crashing plane.
Survivor is pretty much what you would expect from Chuch Palhaniuk as a commentary on the western world. And it's worth it.
