Call number
FIC PAL
Collection
Genres
Publication
Doubleday (2009), Edition: First Edition, 256 pages
Description
Fiction. Thriller. HTML: "Begins here first account of operative me, agent number 67 on arrival Midwestern airport ____ . Flight ____. Date ____. Priority mission top success to complete. Code name: Operation Havoc." Thus speaks Pygmy, one of a handful of young adults from a totalitarian state sent to the US, disguised as exchange students to live with typical American families and blend in, all the while planning an unspecified attack of massive terrorism. Palahniuk depicts Midwestern life through the eyes of this thoroughly indoctrinated little killer, who hates us with a passion, in this cunning double-edged satire of an American xenophobia that might, in fact, be completely justified. The Manchurian Candidate meets South Park in Chuck Palahniuk's finest novel since the generation-defining Fight Club..… (more)
Media reviews
Readers of Palahniuk’s excellent early work (“Fight Club,” “Invisible Monsters”) will sense a shallow, phoned-in quality to his new novel. Despite its transgressive trappings and cultural-critique posturing, “Pygmy” is as defanged as Marilyn Manson.
For all its satirical tail-swallowing, however, the novel's strongest currents of feeling swirl around the hero's experiences in the education system. Behind the often quite funny overkill and casually exiguous plot, it's essentially a fantasy about being a small, picked-on outsider in high school
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while fancying yourself a secret agent on a mission of revenge. Show Less
Sloppy yet smart, Chuck Palahniuk's "Pygmy" veers from sublimely ridiculous to just plain ridiculous, sometimes within a single paragraph.
User reviews
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
Not nearly in the running to be one of my favorite Chuck Palahniuk books, Pygmy still had the author's twisted sense of humor in evidence. The first-person narrative voice -- attributed to the protagonist, terrorist exchange-student infiltrator "Pygmy" -- shuns standard English, which, if not a
The whole story is over-the-top and not at all believable, but it scores a few obvious criticisms of American culture, while instating (on a more fundamental and tacit level) a defense of that same culture. It amplifies the cartoonish elements evident in earlier Palahniuk work like Survivor. I don't regret having read it, but I can see how many readers would.
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deal-breaker for me, makes it unlikely that I will enjoy a novel much. So I guess it succeeded in that uphill struggle. A representative sentence: "Horde scavenger feast at overflowing anus of world history." (146) The whole story is over-the-top and not at all believable, but it scores a few obvious criticisms of American culture, while instating (on a more fundamental and tacit level) a defense of that same culture. It amplifies the cartoonish elements evident in earlier Palahniuk work like Survivor. I don't regret having read it, but I can see how many readers would.
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LibraryThing member Scriptopus
Pygmy is one of those books you don't enjoy but on balance, when it's all over, are glad you read. It feels like a worthy literary experience rather than an intellectually or emotionally satisfying one. The weirdly constructed first person English in which the story is told is initially difficult
The cleverest thing about Pygmy is this use of language; the way it draws you into the mindset of the thoroughly brainwashed, hormonally charged teenage terrorist and then lets you watch from within as he both subverts and is subverted by his new, equally irrational and inhumane environment. It's unfortunate that the plot isn't equal to this narrative voice. In his quest to skewer the pop-psychology cliches of modern American life, Palahniuk piles them on so thick and fast that they blur into meaninglessness. Then he tops it off with an unsatisfying ending that feels as unlikely and contrived as all the cliches that went before. Maybe he was trying to make a point about the pervasiveness of banality, but it just feels like he lost his nerve.
I do think that this is a good read for writers. The technical achievements - and failings - are instructive. Palahniuk reminds us that there are many ways to tell a story. Like it or not, there's a lot to learn from the way he's told this one.
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to decipher, but then strangely hypnotic. It emerges as literally the language of propaganda; not just that into which the eponymous narrator had been indoctrinated in his unnamed, cartoon-totalitarian homeland, but that of the crass, hypocritical middle America in which he finds himself. The cleverest thing about Pygmy is this use of language; the way it draws you into the mindset of the thoroughly brainwashed, hormonally charged teenage terrorist and then lets you watch from within as he both subverts and is subverted by his new, equally irrational and inhumane environment. It's unfortunate that the plot isn't equal to this narrative voice. In his quest to skewer the pop-psychology cliches of modern American life, Palahniuk piles them on so thick and fast that they blur into meaninglessness. Then he tops it off with an unsatisfying ending that feels as unlikely and contrived as all the cliches that went before. Maybe he was trying to make a point about the pervasiveness of banality, but it just feels like he lost his nerve.
I do think that this is a good read for writers. The technical achievements - and failings - are instructive. Palahniuk reminds us that there are many ways to tell a story. Like it or not, there's a lot to learn from the way he's told this one.
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LibraryThing member write-review
Exchange Terrorists
Chuck Palahniuk casts a jaundiced eye on and takes a highly satirical pen to American life, and in the end American life wins out, sort of. There was a time when we called an idea like Pygmy high camp, meaning a whole conglomeration of things, exaggerated, vulgar, ostentatious,
A nameless nation that feels like North Korea and ISIS rolled into one has trained almost from birth an elite core of terrorists. When the novel begins, they have just become teenagers and have been brought to the U.S.A. by an evangelical church in a Midwestern city as exchange students. The idea, of course, is to inculcate them with American and Christian values. However, they come over on a mission, code name Operation Havoc. Chief among the group of adolescent terrorists is “agent number 67.” He relates the story of their arrival, their training, the purpose of their mission, and he in particular their take on various aspects of American life, which he approaches as a decadent society busy destroying the world. Seen through his eyes, life here gets exposed for its absurdity. Unrequited love for his host family’s daughter whom he calls Cat Sister (the father is Cow Father, the mother is Chicken Mother, and the brother Pig Dog Brother, which gives you idea of the novel’s tone), this unrequited love undoes him, or does him, if you’re of that mindset.
Palahniuk’s inventiveness in describing and skewering aspects of American life makes the novel enjoyable. After all, not only is seeing how you live from another, albeit extreme, vantage point funny, but it also can be enlightening. Let’s be honest here, not everybody views America as the pinnacle of living well, including many living the American dream. So, from Agent 67’s perspective we have “retail product distribution facilities” (Walmart), “religion propaganda distribution outlets” (church), “domestic structure Cedar” (his host family’s house), “public education institutions” (school), and the like.
In keeping with the tone of the novel, the characters are more caricatures, highlighting certain aspects of their personalities for humorous effect. Pig Dog Brother thinks only about sex, evaluates women on their physical characteristics, and lobs more euphemisms for breasts than you probably thought existed. Sex obsesses Chicken Mom, who keeps a vibrator handy and, on the Thanksgiving recounted in the story, in her. Cat Sister practices stealth thievery from her father’s business to keep herself well stocked in office supplies. And, not to be outdone, Agent 67 has sex on his mind, though purely as a means of producing more warriors.
To keep the story moving, Palahniuk packs the novel with plenty of humorous, often slapstick violent, set pieces, among them the science fair massacre, the school dance brawl, the Thanksgiving dinner drugging, Devil Tony’s (Agent 67’s name for the pastor) murder in the church, the exploding dildo experiment, and these are just samples. What will happen next, you’ll wonder, and how outrageous will it be?
So, should you give Pygmy a try? If you like your funny novels very broad, absolutely you should. And if you break a smile at the following short excerpt from the science fair, you’ll certainly want to grab a copy:
“Next, parade learned academics arrive experiment invented stealth cat sister. Rested atop table, display moderate missile comparable to light mortar round Japan artillery, caliber fifty-millimeter Type 89 ‘leg’ mortar shell. Missile encased skin pink-color plastic. Smooth polished. Painted letter across placard, written: ‘Bliss 2.0.’”
Chuck Palahniuk casts a jaundiced eye on and takes a highly satirical pen to American life, and in the end American life wins out, sort of. There was a time when we called an idea like Pygmy high camp, meaning a whole conglomeration of things, exaggerated, vulgar, ostentatious,
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and the like. Palahniuk’s novel is all of these things, and maybe a bit more. While it will probably not be to everybody’s liking, especially those who dislike reading dialect (here a stylized Engrish with a distinct Mr. Spock attitude), those who revel in over the top humor will appreciate it. A nameless nation that feels like North Korea and ISIS rolled into one has trained almost from birth an elite core of terrorists. When the novel begins, they have just become teenagers and have been brought to the U.S.A. by an evangelical church in a Midwestern city as exchange students. The idea, of course, is to inculcate them with American and Christian values. However, they come over on a mission, code name Operation Havoc. Chief among the group of adolescent terrorists is “agent number 67.” He relates the story of their arrival, their training, the purpose of their mission, and he in particular their take on various aspects of American life, which he approaches as a decadent society busy destroying the world. Seen through his eyes, life here gets exposed for its absurdity. Unrequited love for his host family’s daughter whom he calls Cat Sister (the father is Cow Father, the mother is Chicken Mother, and the brother Pig Dog Brother, which gives you idea of the novel’s tone), this unrequited love undoes him, or does him, if you’re of that mindset.
Palahniuk’s inventiveness in describing and skewering aspects of American life makes the novel enjoyable. After all, not only is seeing how you live from another, albeit extreme, vantage point funny, but it also can be enlightening. Let’s be honest here, not everybody views America as the pinnacle of living well, including many living the American dream. So, from Agent 67’s perspective we have “retail product distribution facilities” (Walmart), “religion propaganda distribution outlets” (church), “domestic structure Cedar” (his host family’s house), “public education institutions” (school), and the like.
In keeping with the tone of the novel, the characters are more caricatures, highlighting certain aspects of their personalities for humorous effect. Pig Dog Brother thinks only about sex, evaluates women on their physical characteristics, and lobs more euphemisms for breasts than you probably thought existed. Sex obsesses Chicken Mom, who keeps a vibrator handy and, on the Thanksgiving recounted in the story, in her. Cat Sister practices stealth thievery from her father’s business to keep herself well stocked in office supplies. And, not to be outdone, Agent 67 has sex on his mind, though purely as a means of producing more warriors.
To keep the story moving, Palahniuk packs the novel with plenty of humorous, often slapstick violent, set pieces, among them the science fair massacre, the school dance brawl, the Thanksgiving dinner drugging, Devil Tony’s (Agent 67’s name for the pastor) murder in the church, the exploding dildo experiment, and these are just samples. What will happen next, you’ll wonder, and how outrageous will it be?
So, should you give Pygmy a try? If you like your funny novels very broad, absolutely you should. And if you break a smile at the following short excerpt from the science fair, you’ll certainly want to grab a copy:
“Next, parade learned academics arrive experiment invented stealth cat sister. Rested atop table, display moderate missile comparable to light mortar round Japan artillery, caliber fifty-millimeter Type 89 ‘leg’ mortar shell. Missile encased skin pink-color plastic. Smooth polished. Painted letter across placard, written: ‘Bliss 2.0.’”
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LibraryThing member mcandre
The style of writing is funny, but the story itself is simple.
LibraryThing member SimoneA
Actually, this is not really a review, because I stopped reading after only a few chapters. The way the book is told definitely takes some getting used to, but just when I started to appreciate it, there was a scene which described a quite violent rape in such a graphic way that I couldn't read on.
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I can take a bit of violence, but somehow this completely turned me off. Maybe I can be convinced to try this book again, but I won't pick it up again until someone tells me it's really worth it. Show Less
LibraryThing member avhacker
it was pretty good but i did not understand the ending and some of it was hard to follow. wasnt my favorite of chucks but i think its very interesting and i give applause to the writing style!
LibraryThing member souci
This book is not unfunny, but I mean to damn it with faint praise.
As soon as I started reading it I wondered if it would have been published before the success of "Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer, which already richly covered the ground of fractured English.
Then I thought of
I guess Palahniuk has a kind of trademark violence and vulgarity that has made him a cult figure. It shows in this book. THAT makes me think of Matthew Collings, the art critic, saying something like :...when everyone is transgressing, then it is no longer transgression." In other words, boring.
This experience won't stop me from giving "Fight Club" a try, if it falls into my hands, or any book of Palahniuk's that a friend might recommend, but this book is slight, derivative and formulaic.
I recommend you pass.
As soon as I started reading it I wondered if it would have been published before the success of "Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer, which already richly covered the ground of fractured English.
Then I thought of
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the Simpsons episode with the foreign exchange student. I looked it up on TheSimpsons.com. It was episode 111, from 1990: "...the Simpson family takes in Adil, a student from Albania, who's actually a spy stealing the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's secrets." The very cover summary of this book could be applied to the TV show "...this cunning, double-edged satire of a xenophobia that might, in fact, be completely justified...For Pygmy and his fellow operatives are cooking up something big...that will bring this big, dumb country and its fat, dumb inhabitants to their knees." Hello Homer.I guess Palahniuk has a kind of trademark violence and vulgarity that has made him a cult figure. It shows in this book. THAT makes me think of Matthew Collings, the art critic, saying something like :...when everyone is transgressing, then it is no longer transgression." In other words, boring.
This experience won't stop me from giving "Fight Club" a try, if it falls into my hands, or any book of Palahniuk's that a friend might recommend, but this book is slight, derivative and formulaic.
I recommend you pass.
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LibraryThing member TurtleKnitta
I fell in love with Palahniuk when I first read _Fight Club_ (before the movie came out) during high school. I found his early works unique and interesting. However, ever since _Haunted_, I'm beginning to feel he's a one-trick pony. In _Pygmy_, his one trick gets old - fast. The way in which the
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agent writes is understandable, but gets to be a drain on the speed of the plot. As per usual there is a lot of gore but it seems to not serve a point. I was just disappointed all around. Show Less
LibraryThing member lukespapa
What a strange little book, but then again what should one expect by the writer of the now [movie] classic, “Fight Club”. Written in a manner that I would describe as poor English as Second Language, it takes a while to adjust to this style. Every word has to be read with intention and then
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phrases “re-translated”. The narrator, Pygmy, trained for terroristic acts since a small child, has been sent, along with other comrades, as exchange students to the U.S. to live with host families. From this base, “Operation Havoc” can commence. However, once infiltrated, Pygmy becomes smitten with the host family “cat” sister and…. There are some disturbing moments in the book, such as forced sodomy along with intermittent quotes by totalitarian leaders of the past that help explain the mindset of these would-be terrorists. Palahniuk also includes some “truth hurts” descriptions about the impact of American consumerist culture. However, one is left with the sense that love, twisted or otherwise, matters still to us humans, Americans or otherwise. What a strange little book…. Show Less
LibraryThing member ngeunit1
So overall, I think this is one of Palahniuk's weaker novels as a whole. But there were some things that I did like about it that made it much more than bearable to get through. First, I though the voice used in the novel, which was the "Engrish" voice of a foreign child, worked well in the context
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of the novel. It created funny interpretations and some funny misunderstandings throughout the novel. It was also interesting to hear the protagonist describe particular events or objects in a very objective matter, and figuring out what he was talking about created an interesting moment of reflection. This even more effective when reflected with the addition of the heavily scientific terminology that the protagonist used in the novel. The story itself was probably the major weakness of the novel. It felt a little disconnected and I never really felt it take its stride. It was by no means absent, but it never really felt full. A lot individual events in the novel were very entertaining and well written, especially towards the end. But there was decent amount of downtime between these moments, and for such a sort novel as it is, it was a bit dry. Palahniuk's description of some of the events in the novel are just downright brutal. This should not come to much of surprise, and I for one think it works well for him, but some may consider it overboard and might lose interest at this point. So, if you have found other Palahniuk novels to be a bit to gruesome, that is also present here too. Finally, the novel is really confusing to get a hold of at first, and even up until the end still kinda keeps the reader a bit off their mark. Sometimes this winds up working well for the story, but in this case it just felt like it made it a bit more convoluted then it needed to be at times. Sure, there were many moments of "aha" at the end when things started to come together, but it was a bit frustrating at times to get to those. Show Less
LibraryThing member leFroo
I have opted to stop reading Pygmy maybe 5/6ths of the way through it. What started out as a promising revival of the Palahniuk literary stylings was quickly marred by overwrought broken-English narration which drones on, at best, and, really, some disturbing-for-the-sake-of-disturbing violent
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pedophilic quasi-liberal-statement porn. Now, I'm not saying that it doesn't have its moments of real promise, but it just keeps dropping down within a moment of spiking. I get it. Please don't think I don't. I've been a fan of Palahniuk's for years and, until he dropped the bomb of "Haunted" on the market (which I bought upon release), I considered him one of the most interesting and certainly most entertaining and provocative contemporary writers. However, even with the up-to-the-last-minute possibility of "Rant" everything he's churned out since "Diary" has seemed relatively lack luster, redundant, and just edging past what I consider to be worthwhile. The best scene in this novel happens quite early on during the Spelling Bee and subsequent United Nations middle school dance. That's IT. I gave it a chance but, after the massive disappointment that was "Tell All" I'm really not holding out any hope for another good scene or, most importantly, a satisfying culmination to an otherwise flashy and unsubstantive work of fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member brianinbuffalo
Put simply, I hated it. In fact, it's probably the first book in several years that saw me trudge through two-thirds of the story, only to give up with a sigh of "who really cares?" I can't recall a book that was built on a more irritating narrative style. What began as a mildly amusing "shtick"
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became somewhat annoying -- then downright intolerable. Perhaps it's an unfair conclusion, because the only other Palahnuik work I've read is "Choke." But I just don't think this author is my proverbial cup of tea. I was intrigued by the advance spin and the promising story line. But in the end, "Pygmy" was an utter waste of my reading time. Show Less
LibraryThing member dczapka
Chuck Palahniuk's Pygmy, from the very first sentence, struck me as the kind of book that a Palahniuk fan would probably love, and that the casual reader would almost certainly despise. Roughly 200 pages later, it delivers exactly what you would expect from a Chuck Palahniuk book, and not a whole
First of all, is this an objectively good book? I'm not sure. The plot, which transpires in an epistolary fashion through a series of missives sent back to Pygmy's home country, involves the title character and several of his countrymates, all of whom are sent from an unnamed Asian dictatorship to an unnamed Midwestern state, where they become exchange students at the local school. They are all, as it turns out, highly trained covert assassins who are attempting to infiltrate American culture in order to execute an extremely deadly attack on American citizens. In other words, the plot is absolutely ludicrous. And, notably, totally secondary to the book's style, which is an accusation that has been leveled upon Palahniuk many times (and much more frequently as of late). But again, is it good? I can't in good conscience answer "yes," because the ideas just seem so half-baked and the style so overbearing that it's clear what parts of the book Palahniuk actually cared about focusing on.
Which leads me to my second question, which is, does the book accomplish what it sets out to? Again, I'm a bit unsure, but I have to lean a little more towards "yes" this time. I've alluded to the style several times, but it's hard to really fathom until you crack the book open: the whole tale is written in a choppy, barely comprehensible "Engrish," in the stereotypical manner of an Asian person in the midst of an ESL class. It's borderline offensive, frankly, but then again I think that's Palahniuk's point. That, and making sure that his characters' pygmy Engrish is sprinkled with stereotypical American (specifically Midwestern) references to church, football, and Walmart. Indeed, I'm pretty confident the whole book intends to be a 200-page-long stereotype, and by that measure--right up to the out-of-nowhere, surprisingly cheesy ending--it's a success.
But what I failed to see was the point. Palahniuk is usually pretty good at finding interesting targets for his satirical jabs, but this one feels too easy, too cheap, and not at all fresh. For all the potential that our contemporary relations with southeast Asia can provide, Palahniuk seems content to simply keep drilling into our heads that this guy talks funny. And while that seems the point--stupid Americans mock the Asians because they can't speak English, and so they miss the knife hidden behind their backs--it's insanely, frustratingly simplistic, and almost doesn't feel worth the effort. Which puts me in an awkward position, because I do consider myself a Palahniuk fan, not just a casual reader--and while I certainly didn't love it and don't think I despised it, I'm not sure Pygmy was really worth the read.
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lot else. So I'm of two minds about this review, and I suppose it would only make sense to cover both of them.First of all, is this an objectively good book? I'm not sure. The plot, which transpires in an epistolary fashion through a series of missives sent back to Pygmy's home country, involves the title character and several of his countrymates, all of whom are sent from an unnamed Asian dictatorship to an unnamed Midwestern state, where they become exchange students at the local school. They are all, as it turns out, highly trained covert assassins who are attempting to infiltrate American culture in order to execute an extremely deadly attack on American citizens. In other words, the plot is absolutely ludicrous. And, notably, totally secondary to the book's style, which is an accusation that has been leveled upon Palahniuk many times (and much more frequently as of late). But again, is it good? I can't in good conscience answer "yes," because the ideas just seem so half-baked and the style so overbearing that it's clear what parts of the book Palahniuk actually cared about focusing on.
Which leads me to my second question, which is, does the book accomplish what it sets out to? Again, I'm a bit unsure, but I have to lean a little more towards "yes" this time. I've alluded to the style several times, but it's hard to really fathom until you crack the book open: the whole tale is written in a choppy, barely comprehensible "Engrish," in the stereotypical manner of an Asian person in the midst of an ESL class. It's borderline offensive, frankly, but then again I think that's Palahniuk's point. That, and making sure that his characters' pygmy Engrish is sprinkled with stereotypical American (specifically Midwestern) references to church, football, and Walmart. Indeed, I'm pretty confident the whole book intends to be a 200-page-long stereotype, and by that measure--right up to the out-of-nowhere, surprisingly cheesy ending--it's a success.
But what I failed to see was the point. Palahniuk is usually pretty good at finding interesting targets for his satirical jabs, but this one feels too easy, too cheap, and not at all fresh. For all the potential that our contemporary relations with southeast Asia can provide, Palahniuk seems content to simply keep drilling into our heads that this guy talks funny. And while that seems the point--stupid Americans mock the Asians because they can't speak English, and so they miss the knife hidden behind their backs--it's insanely, frustratingly simplistic, and almost doesn't feel worth the effort. Which puts me in an awkward position, because I do consider myself a Palahniuk fan, not just a casual reader--and while I certainly didn't love it and don't think I despised it, I'm not sure Pygmy was really worth the read.
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LibraryThing member magonistarevolt
One of my dog-walking clients has this book in his apartment. After I'm done walking his dog, I eat some of his candy and I read a couple of chapters from this book on the couch.
I suppose it was time I grew up anyways: Chuck Palahniuk is a hipster. Whatever subversive themes you can dredge up out
The ending is such a disappointment. I was looking for subversive evil tragedy. But I just got bullshit capitulation. I hope that was an editor's insistance and not from the author.
The use of rape in this book is casual, which is meant to shock/tittilate the reader. I can't read books like that anymore. It's only funny/shocking/tittilating if you've remained blind and ignorant to the rape that happens to friends and family too often. If you understand it, then you don't treat it with hipster casualty.
PS: If you want to read a book in Engrish, try Everything is Illuminated. It doesn't have the hipster scorn for all humanity, so it's a geniunely different book. But that's what makes it better.
I suppose it was time I grew up anyways: Chuck Palahniuk is a hipster. Whatever subversive themes you can dredge up out
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of his books are pretty well battered by cliche, and too-obvious tropes. Drugs, rape, racism, violence, sex, shock shock shlock. No underlying spirit. Fake nihilism that makes us say, "welp, glad that's not my life, let's go shopping."The ending is such a disappointment. I was looking for subversive evil tragedy. But I just got bullshit capitulation. I hope that was an editor's insistance and not from the author.
The use of rape in this book is casual, which is meant to shock/tittilate the reader. I can't read books like that anymore. It's only funny/shocking/tittilating if you've remained blind and ignorant to the rape that happens to friends and family too often. If you understand it, then you don't treat it with hipster casualty.
PS: If you want to read a book in Engrish, try Everything is Illuminated. It doesn't have the hipster scorn for all humanity, so it's a geniunely different book. But that's what makes it better.
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LibraryThing member agirlandherbooks
Chuck, you're getting humane in middle age! What are we fans going to do with you?!? Not his best book, but I thoroughly liked it.
LibraryThing member Replay
Sorry but it's just unreadible. I don't see the point... or maybe I see it too vividly...
LibraryThing member DanaJean
Now, I've had a hard time with Chuck's books in the past, but for me, I liked this one. Apparently it's a departure from his usual fare (I've only read Rant and CHOKE), but I'm glad it was. There were the hints of the perverted writing he enjoys so much, but I'm glad it was much more than that.
It took me about half the book to really appreciate the voice of this character. The broken English was very difficult to read, and I had to slow my pace down to really absorb it. Vital information is blacked out at the beginning of each entry--time, date, location--and the focus of each chapter centers around a quote that these children operatives were brainwashed with back in their own country. Hitler, Nixon, Nietzsche, Castro--to name a few have shaped their plan of action since they were 4 years old, taken from families to fulfill their destiny to their country.
Funny in places; sad in others -- this type of experimental writing, with a decent story--now this is odd ball creativity I can get behind. Chuck is definitely an interesting guy who marches to the beat of his own dark and boundary-pushing ideas.
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Operatives from a country we do not know go undercover as exchange students to start Operation Havoc against the greedy American machine. Dropped into "typical" families, we are given information through Agent #67--nicknamed Pygmy--and through very broken English, we are told the story through his eyes.It took me about half the book to really appreciate the voice of this character. The broken English was very difficult to read, and I had to slow my pace down to really absorb it. Vital information is blacked out at the beginning of each entry--time, date, location--and the focus of each chapter centers around a quote that these children operatives were brainwashed with back in their own country. Hitler, Nixon, Nietzsche, Castro--to name a few have shaped their plan of action since they were 4 years old, taken from families to fulfill their destiny to their country.
Funny in places; sad in others -- this type of experimental writing, with a decent story--now this is odd ball creativity I can get behind. Chuck is definitely an interesting guy who marches to the beat of his own dark and boundary-pushing ideas.
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LibraryThing member Meggo
I have to confess that I'm not much of a Palahniuk fan - even for me, his books can get a little creepy (and that's saying something). But I liked this book. Written in the strange syntax of a non-native English speaker (a sleeper infiltrated into America with a perplexing mission), the story
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follows Pygmy's adventures, with periodic flashbacks to his training in an unnamed Communist country. True to his inner voice, Palahniuk never once drops character. A little tough to get into, this book is worth reading to the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member lildrafire
As a rabid Palahniuk fan, I was tickled to get this book and start it. As I read the first page, my first response was WTF Chuck?!? Another gimmicky style? The book is written as if it is a first person account of a person whose primary language isn't English, but the account is written in English.
I almost quit the book, but I kept on, and I finally adapted to the writing style. The story is about Pygmy and his comrades, who were taken from their parents at a very young age and made into weapons of "the state." We never find out which country--Palahniuk does this on purpose--the country who wants to destroy the USA is a composition of what could be many other countries. Anyway, Pygmy and his comrades all enter the USA as foreign exchange students, with their goal to inflict "Operation Havoc."
I really did enjoy the story, even as distracted as I was by the writing. I really wish Ole Chuck would just weave us a few good novels without the gimmicks. He's a great writer, has a huge base and doesn't need to "play." Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe his gimmicks are forever sealing his fate as one of the greatest contemporary writers of our time.
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For example, flowers are called "plant genitals." I almost quit the book, but I kept on, and I finally adapted to the writing style. The story is about Pygmy and his comrades, who were taken from their parents at a very young age and made into weapons of "the state." We never find out which country--Palahniuk does this on purpose--the country who wants to destroy the USA is a composition of what could be many other countries. Anyway, Pygmy and his comrades all enter the USA as foreign exchange students, with their goal to inflict "Operation Havoc."
I really did enjoy the story, even as distracted as I was by the writing. I really wish Ole Chuck would just weave us a few good novels without the gimmicks. He's a great writer, has a huge base and doesn't need to "play." Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe his gimmicks are forever sealing his fate as one of the greatest contemporary writers of our time.
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LibraryThing member reakendera
i enjoyed the story, but it was hard to read. i don't think i got used to the style till 3/4 of the way through. regardless it was funny and entertaining, i’d gladly read it again (if only to go over passages i had trouble understanding). Palahniuk’s still one of my favourite authors.
LibraryThing member 3RiversLibrary
Chuck Palahniuk has explored some dark and strange places. He’s crafted tales of pornography, multiple personality disorders, and disfigured divas. He has taken his readers to some of the seediest places on earth, astonishing and scaring at nearly every turn. But he’s no shock jock out to get a
On the surface, the story is about Pygmy’s migration to the United States into a middle class white family. The story is really about the undercover operations of Pygmy and his comrades in their efforts to destroy America using something they vaguely refer to as “Operation Havoc.” It is never said where Pygmy comes from, and Pygmy isn’t even his name (it was given him by his classmates presumably because of his appearance). What is stressed is that his country is militant, probably communist, and has a hatred of the West and the United States in particular. Guesses could be made as to what country it is, but it hardly matters in the context of the book. All one really needs to know is that there is a band of communist-programmed sociopaths roaming the high school halls and that this is the story of their leader.
There is a pattern to most Palahniuk books that follows the tease, hide, and reveal pattern. In Fight Club we were teased with images of Tyler Durden, had his true nature hidden from us, then had the mind blowing revelation of his truth shown to us at the end. Pygmy doesn’t change this formula much. Operation Havoc is the tease, the hidden bit, and the revelation.
I suppose the real question is: how does it stack up? The problem with Chuck Palahniuk is that he is constantly competing with his former self. It’s hard to top his classics. I would not say that Pygmy tops any of his former works either. It fits right in, and the language conventions and liberalities used throughout make it stand out all on its own.
There is a problem with the language that may make it difficult for many readers, even dedicated fans, to parse through the book. It’s very difficult to read. If you can imagine what an immigrant coming to this country with a very warped sense of the English language can sound like while trying to communicate with U.S. natives, then maybe you’ll get the gist of what this book tries to convey. And it does get easier to read as the book progresses, not because the language changes at all, but rather because the eyes and the mind become accustomed to the rhythm and oddness of the stilted phrases.
Despite all that, and maybe even because of it, Pygmy is more than worth reading. The characters are some of Palahniuk’s best (Pygmy in particular is as charming as a cold blooded killer can be who barely speaks English), and the story very much keeps you guessing and intrigued. I applaud Palahniuk for taking such risks both in story and wordplay lately, even if it makes his writing more niche than ever before. Niche or no, Pygmy is something every fan and enthusiast should pick up and devour at the first opportunity.
Reviewed by David Stewart, Three Rivers Public Library
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cheap chuckle or to embarrass an unwitting church girl. He doesn’t write pulp. He writes some of the best fiction of this decade, possibly even this century if you were to ask this reader. And he’s always pushing the envelope. His latest work is perhaps his most innovative, and probably the hardest to read. It is called Pygmy, and its protagonist is…well that’s a little difficult to say. One thing we know from the outset is that Pygmy barely speaks English, and you’ll be a little surprised to know that his narration of the events in the book never corrects this deficiency. On the surface, the story is about Pygmy’s migration to the United States into a middle class white family. The story is really about the undercover operations of Pygmy and his comrades in their efforts to destroy America using something they vaguely refer to as “Operation Havoc.” It is never said where Pygmy comes from, and Pygmy isn’t even his name (it was given him by his classmates presumably because of his appearance). What is stressed is that his country is militant, probably communist, and has a hatred of the West and the United States in particular. Guesses could be made as to what country it is, but it hardly matters in the context of the book. All one really needs to know is that there is a band of communist-programmed sociopaths roaming the high school halls and that this is the story of their leader.
There is a pattern to most Palahniuk books that follows the tease, hide, and reveal pattern. In Fight Club we were teased with images of Tyler Durden, had his true nature hidden from us, then had the mind blowing revelation of his truth shown to us at the end. Pygmy doesn’t change this formula much. Operation Havoc is the tease, the hidden bit, and the revelation.
I suppose the real question is: how does it stack up? The problem with Chuck Palahniuk is that he is constantly competing with his former self. It’s hard to top his classics. I would not say that Pygmy tops any of his former works either. It fits right in, and the language conventions and liberalities used throughout make it stand out all on its own.
There is a problem with the language that may make it difficult for many readers, even dedicated fans, to parse through the book. It’s very difficult to read. If you can imagine what an immigrant coming to this country with a very warped sense of the English language can sound like while trying to communicate with U.S. natives, then maybe you’ll get the gist of what this book tries to convey. And it does get easier to read as the book progresses, not because the language changes at all, but rather because the eyes and the mind become accustomed to the rhythm and oddness of the stilted phrases.
Despite all that, and maybe even because of it, Pygmy is more than worth reading. The characters are some of Palahniuk’s best (Pygmy in particular is as charming as a cold blooded killer can be who barely speaks English), and the story very much keeps you guessing and intrigued. I applaud Palahniuk for taking such risks both in story and wordplay lately, even if it makes his writing more niche than ever before. Niche or no, Pygmy is something every fan and enthusiast should pick up and devour at the first opportunity.
Reviewed by David Stewart, Three Rivers Public Library
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LibraryThing member tanenbaum
(Vulgarity warning)
Like others before me, I cannot write a real review of this book, because I simply could not make it through. Now, I'm no wuss when it comes to reading bizarre fiction. I've read almost all of the rest of Palahniuk's oeuvre, and quite enjoyed them. I've read Warren Ellis and
Like others before me, I cannot write a real review of this book, because I simply could not make it through. Now, I'm no wuss when it comes to reading bizarre fiction. I've read almost all of the rest of Palahniuk's oeuvre, and quite enjoyed them. I've read Warren Ellis and
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Garth Ennis, and those guys revel in some fucked up shit. So I can handle vulgarity, and violence, and the horribleness that is human behaviour at times, and I get parody and satire and social commentary, and I'm sure that this is a brilliant example of all those things. But I could not get into this book. Between the broken English writing style and the violent anal rape committed by the protagonist in the open chapter, I decided this wasn't something I was interested in exposing myself to. Sorry, Chuck. I just couldn't do it. Show Less
LibraryThing member amobogio
Highly recommended for those with strong stomachs, though with this author I assume that is most readers/fans. Laugh out loud funny and also compelling and moving, Pygmy is a sweet love story between a violent terrorist, the eponymous Pygmy, and a sweet American girl who roofies her parents to to
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facilitate her ninja theft of highlighters and office supplies from a high security site. Show Less
LibraryThing member bertamini34969
a very interesting book, that will keep you entertained
LibraryThing member jeanned
The anti-hero whose name we never learn, but who is referred to by his American host family and school mates as "Pygmy", arrives in the US on a mission of destruction. The novel is structured as a series of dispatches back to Pygmy's unnamed totalitarian country of origin and are written in an
"Calibrated tasks assigned to destroy all self-esteem. For official example, purpose lesson titled 'Junior Swing Choir' many potential brilliant youth compelled sing song depicting precipitate remain pummel head of operative me. Complain how both feet too large size for sleeping mattress. Idiot nonsense song. Next sing how past visited arid landscape aboard equine of no title."
Satirical jabs at American culture are interlaced with disturbing scenes of violence and sex, making this book definitely off-limits for the squeamish and faint-hearted. I rate this novel, which probably served as source material for the 2010 terror-baby conspiracy, at 5 out of 10 stars.
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initially humorous yet ultimately tedious pidgin English. Pygmy's language doesn't improve after months in America, but I got more adept at reading it. A taste:"Calibrated tasks assigned to destroy all self-esteem. For official example, purpose lesson titled 'Junior Swing Choir' many potential brilliant youth compelled sing song depicting precipitate remain pummel head of operative me. Complain how both feet too large size for sleeping mattress. Idiot nonsense song. Next sing how past visited arid landscape aboard equine of no title."
Satirical jabs at American culture are interlaced with disturbing scenes of violence and sex, making this book definitely off-limits for the squeamish and faint-hearted. I rate this novel, which probably served as source material for the 2010 terror-baby conspiracy, at 5 out of 10 stars.
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Awards
Delete Key Award (2010)
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (Fiction — 2009)
Pages
256
ISBN
0385526342 / 9780385526340