Lullaby by Chuck Palahinuk

Name: Caitlin

Grade: 12

Book: Lullaby

Author: Chuck Palahinuk

Have you ever heard a culling song?

Chances are, you haven't. If you had ever heard one, reading this would be difficult...because you would be dead. A culling song is spell used in ancient Africa to relieve dying people from their pain, or, in modern application, untraceably kill those around you. It is also the basis of Lullaby by Chuck Palahinuk.

In Lullaby, we are introduced to Carl Streator, a run-of-the-mill, middle-aged journalist living alone. Streator is on a mission- to figure our why Sudden Infant Death Syndrome occurs so randomly in so many homes. On this routine investigation, Streator uncovers an ancient African poem called "The Culling Song."

Though this poem is only a few lines of text on a page, it's also the world's deadliest weapon. Stretor soon finds himself using the Culling song to his advantage. Fed up with all the noiseophobes and quietoholics, he kills several people in his apartment building, people that run into him on the street and people that generally annoy him- like his boss. He soon realizes what he has become and teams up with Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent, her razed assistant, and her crazed assistant's eco-terrorist boyfriend on a quest to destroy all copies of the culling song.

On this adventure, they seek the original book the Culling song comes from; but at the same time, both Helen and Streator have a constant struggle not to kill their passengers-- or each other.

Palahinuk uses repeated sentences, awful characters, and bleak situations to demonstrate his lack of hope for humanity. It's twisted, dark, disturbing, and at times left me feeling claustrophobic. However, the idea of simple words being so devastating, a single poem wreaking so much destruction, became almost and obsession for me as I read on in the novel. This books was an amazing piece of fiction that spans so many different topics and ideas. IT left me sitting up long into the night pondering exactly what was happening to not only the people in the book, but also everyone in the real world as well.

Why I picked up this book: I loved Fight Club, and wanted to try another one of his novels.

Why I finished it: I literally could not put it down.

I'd give this book to: Anyone up for a dark, disturbing, amazing read.

I wouldn't give this book to: Noiseaholics, Quietophobes, or anyone opposed to the darker, bleaker, more twisted view of the real world.

My Rating for this book: *****