Chuck Palahniuk’s ‘Guts’ and Fainting Fits
Do you have the ‘guts’ to read Chuck Palahniuk?
Most people hear of the author via the modern cult movie Fight Club, which was adapted from his novel of the same name. In the film, a disillusioned Edward Norton attempts to overcome the emasculation and hollowness caused by modern American life by starting a club devoted to violence.
The story spoke volumes to a generation of young adult men who felt empty in the absence of a great cause or struggle. After the success of Fight Club, Palahniuk went on to write other novels and short stories, often making use of disturbing incidents to bypass the reader’s walls and go straight for his innards. The author was often accused of gratuitousness, but as he said in a Guardian interview:
“Every time I write something, I think, this is the most offensive thing I will ever write,….but, no, I always surprise myself…..I’m always trying to reach a transcendent point, a romantic point…but reach it in a really unconventional way, a really profane way. To get to that romantic, touching, heartbreaking place, but through a lot of acts of profanity.”
Should a visceral reaction be considered less valid than an emotional or cerebral reaction? I’m still not sure…Every time I read something shocking and feel the resulting emotion I wonder if I should classify it as artistically valuable or the result of cheap manipulation.
Shock value can also cause some extremely dramatic physiological reactions. During a Palahniuk’s reading of his piece “Guts“, several overcome audience members passed out. These fits continued at other readings and the short story is currently said to be responsible for 73 total faintings!
In any case, Guts is not something you read everyday and is worth checking out should you have the ‘intestinal fortitude‘….
All black humor aside, this story is very disturbing and not for everybody, so consider yourself warned:
Guts by Chuck Palahniuk
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wow!shocking story!
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