About the Author

Chuck Palahniuk's seven novels are the bestselling Haunted, Lullaby, Fight Club (which was made into a film by director David Fincher), Diary, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, and Choke. He is also the author of the nonfiction profile of Portland, Fugitives and Refugees, published as part of the Crown Journeys series, and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

“One of the most feverish imaginations in American letters. . . . More than your weekly prescribed dose of humor and humanity, cleverness and outrage.”
—The Washington Post

“Brilliant. . . extremely fun. . . . With his love of contemporary fairytales that are gritty and dirty rather than pretty, Palahniuk is the likeliest inheritor of Vonnegut's place in American writing.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“Mr. Palahniuk doesn't write for tourists. He writes for hard-core devotees drawn to the wild, angry imagination on display and the taboo-busting humor.”
—The New York Times

“Unpredictably hilarious. . . . The writing is vivid, raw, and mordantly knowing.”
—Chicago Sun-Times

“Truly unique. He writes at the edge of crazy, and you can feel his desperate urge to get at the truth of things.”
—The Seattle Times

“Twisted? Come on, it's Palahniuk. Impossible to put down? Same answer.”
—Men's Journal

“It's a rare novel that's as funny and as brain-bending as this one. Buckle up.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“A white-knuckled what-if, Rant is the author's most idiosyncratic work to date.”
—The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“A strong dose of gore and sinewy prose.”
—Time Out New York

“So funny that your facial muscles soon tire.”
—The Guardian

Buster Casey, destined to live fast, die young and murder as many people as he can, is the rotten seed at the core of Palahniuk's comically nasty eighth novel (after Haunted; Lullaby; Diary; etc.). Set in a future where urbanites are segregated by strict curfews into Daytimers and Nighttimers, the narrative unfolds as an oral history comprising contradictory accounts from people who knew Buster. These include childhood friends horrified by the boy's macabre behavior (getting snakes, scorpions and spiders to bite him and induce instant erections; repeatedly infecting himself with rabies), policemen and doctors who had dealings with the rabies "superspreader"; and Party Crashers, thrill-seeking Nighttimers who turn city streets into demolition derby arenas. After liberally infecting his hometown peers with rabies, Buster hits the big city and takes up with the Party Crashers. A series of deaths lead to a police investigation of Buster (long-since known as "Rant"-the sound children make while vomiting) that peaks just as Buster apparently commits suicide in a blaze of car-crash glory. This dark religious parable (there's even a resurrection) from the master of grotesque excess may not attract new readers, but it will delight old ones. (May) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

"One of the most feverish imaginations in American letters. . . . More than your weekly prescribed dose of humor and humanity, cleverness and outrage."
-The Washington Post

"Brilliant. . . extremely fun. . . . With his love of contemporary fairytales that are gritty and dirty rather than pretty, Palahniuk is the likeliest inheritor of Vonnegut's place in American writing."
-San Francisco Chronicle

"Mr. Palahniuk doesn't write for tourists. He writes for hard-core devotees drawn to the wild, angry imagination on display and the taboo-busting humor."
-The New York Times

"Unpredictably hilarious. . . . The writing is vivid, raw, and mordantly knowing."
-Chicago Sun-Times

"Truly unique. He writes at the edge of crazy, and you can feel his desperate urge to get at the truth of things."
-The Seattle Times

"Twisted? Come on, it's Palahniuk. Impossible to put down? Same answer."
-Men's Journal

"It's a rare novel that's as funny and as brain-bending as this one. Buckle up."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer

"A white-knuckled what-if, Rant is the author's most idiosyncratic work to date."
-The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"A strong dose of gore and sinewy prose."
-Time Out New York

"So funny that your facial muscles soon tire."
-The Guardian