Lullaby : a novel

by Chuck Palahniuk

Paper Book, 2002

Status

Available

Call number

813/.54

Genres

Publication

New York : Anchor Books, 2003, c2002.

Description

Investigating Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, journalist Carl Streator finds the same anthology of poems and rhymes at each child's bedside. The book is always opened to a specific African chant--a culling song that kills when recited, whether silently or aloud. Suddenly, Carl's knowledge of the chant makes him an involuntary serial murderer and he must learn to control himself, then remove all copies of the book from libraries across the country.

User reviews

LibraryThing member ireed110

Journalist Carl Streator is assigned a series on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and sets about collecting the details of every scene. When a pattern emerges, he finds himself in possession of an ancient secret that could wipe out the human race.

As always, Palahniuk creates a host of strange and

quirky characters.- caricatures, really. Mona, the young wiccan with her psuedo-dreadlocks loves to do primitive crafts while she watches tv, "they put you in touch with all sorts of ancient energies and stuff." Her boyfriend Oyster teaches us that Johnny Appleseed was a biological terrorist. Nash the greasy ambulance attendant gives us the skeevies. And Helen Hoover Boyle, Realtor extraordinairre, is the hero of the story, or so we're told.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was bizarre in a way that held my attention. Some of the lectures became a tad bit tedious, intentionally, I think, to drive home a bigger point. If I have a complaint, it is that -- there's not much subtlety here. Otherwise it was a fast fun read.

Show Less

24 more

LibraryThing member DRFP

I don't expect high literature from Chuck Palahniuk but I thought this was rather dire. I guess the main problem are the characters who are all extremely unlikeable. Our lead is all too willing for most of the book to kill people who slightly aggravate him (and thus why he doesn't kill his god

awful travelling companions I do not know). Oyster is even worse with his desire to cull the innocent population of the planet. Helen is not all that bothered by the collateral damage they rack up either. Mona is slightly more likeable but that's really not saying much.

The whole idea of the novel, which seems good on paper, is, I think, actually very poorly executed. It's not just all the copies of the book lying around and all that entails. It's also about the whole stupid idea of the grimoire, which takes the novel further out into ridiculousness.

Even Palahniuk's rants felt rather feeble in this one. Unlike in his other books there seemed to be a slight lack of conviction. The awful repetition of certain sections of prose was also very annoying. I wish he'd shut up about the "calm-ophobics" and all that lot.

Bah, it makes me feel bad just thinking about it. Really not a very good book. If it hadn't been on the short side I doubt I'd have managed to finish it.

Show Less

LibraryThing member jeanned

A journalist writing a series about Sudden Infant Death meets a realtor who specializes in selling haunted houses, nice haunted houses, over and over again. Both accidentally killed their child and spouse with a 'culling song'. With two young adults who are the ages their children would be had they

lived, they form a surrogate family and go on a road trip in search of all of the books in the US that contain the culling song and the source book, a witch's grimoire. I'm not sure what to say about this book other than I feel I should read this 2002 Bram Stoker nominee again, soon. Satire, farce, social commentary, fantasy, horror--I'm not even sure what it is or how to rate it.

Show Less

LibraryThing member lildrafire

Classic Palahniuk...lots of philosophy, crazy plot twists, and his perpetual lists. Contains sensitive subject matter (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) that might make some readers uncomfortable. Other than that highly recommended.

LibraryThing member hayduke

Lullaby is a wild ride. The basic premise is that a newspaper reporter, who is writing a story about SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), discovers that at the scene of most of the recent deaths a book of poems and rhymes is found open to an African "culling" poem. We soon find out that Frank

accidentally killed his own wife and child when he read the poem out loud to them. Frank meets up with Helen Hoover Boyle, who sells haunted real estate and then profits from the quick turnovers. She also has a personal history with the culling poem. Add Helen's secretary Mona and her boyfriend Oyster and the four characters are soon on a road trip/quest to destroy every hard copy of the culling poem. Palahniuk's work is especially enjoyable if you happen to agree with his character's rants. The success of the Fight Club movie was due to the feeling of emasculation by the American male and our growing resentment of society's manipulation. Deep inside we want to rebel and we are able to do that through Palahniuk's writing. The novel is being called a work of horror, but it's also packed with political rants, intense moral struggles and a peek into our own sometimes-dark psyche.

Show Less

LibraryThing member alyce413

Palahniuk's best book is Fight Club, I think, but this one is worth reading too. Not for the squeamish (as is the case with many of his books).

LibraryThing member DarkWater

A viral poem which kills when it is spoken or thought is Chuck Palahniuk’s attempt at fantastic realism. Calling his characters flawed would be an understatement, as they are the broken, detached, or hateful products of their society. Carl is a forty-something widow who writes about sudden infant

death syndrome, Helen is a realtor who scams couples into and out of haunted houses like a turnstyle, Mona the secretary who is into New Age and Wican studies, Oyster her mankind-hating environmentalist boyfriend who places bogus class action lawsuit ads in the newspaper, and Nash a necrophilic paramedic. Discovering that the previously unexplained deaths of their family members were due to an African culling song, Carl and Helen aim to eradicate all remnants of the poem before its apolyptic power is unleashed. However, with the knowledge of this sorcery resting in the hands of this strange Motley Crue, the story and reader take an equally strange trip. Carl’s journalistic style actually bleeds over into Palahniuk’s writing of the book itself, every scene told in astute, camera-like detail. Recurring themes and artistic patterns throughout the book drum the rhythm for the novel, accompanied by insightful poetic dissertation.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Ix0x0L

Great book. I still prefer Palahnuiks non-fiction, but will continue to read his novels. This author is a must read if you have not already.

LibraryThing member stillbeing

I really enjoyed this one. I've always devoured Palahnik's work like a greedy kid with junkfood, but I've always found some to be better than others. Thankfully, this was one of the better ones, and I think the fact it was so unusual and wacky really worked well.

I think as long as you're not

looking for something serious, realistic and warm and fuzzy, this one's definitely worth the read.

Show Less

LibraryThing member gazzy

Like an off-road drive - fun, exhilirating, and ultimately stupid. I am all for literature of the fantastic, but I like the fantasy to be tied to the plot, not as a parade of McGuffins.

LibraryThing member robertjgarcia4

Awesome concept about a man who can wish death on people with a thought. God I wish I had that power....

LibraryThing member shawnd

My first Palahniuk. Not sure what I was expecting, but it was in the same genre as the movie Fight Club, with themes of cultural terrorism; being unemployed by making money off corporate blackmail; lack of substance or hope in today's society, etc. From a wider perspective, I'd describe the book as

a sort of Stephen King meets Douglas Coupland (esp Life After God). I enjoyed it and was engrossed, which says a lot since I'm not a fan of any kind of supernatural at all.

Show Less

LibraryThing member arsmith

This is one of the first Palahniuk novels I read, and it has remained one of my favorites. There is something about the way he writes that makes his work extremely compelling, even though you know he’s working up to something grotesquely tragic. You can’t help but keep going. Like picking at

scabs. Extremely satisfying.

Show Less

LibraryThing member tonyalex

This book is so far set into a fantasy world, but it still seems to stay grounded on Earth. The crazy notion that a culling song used to kill people in Africa hundreds of years ago is still killing people, especially infants, as a lullaby sung to babies. The characters are so colorful and

different, and present such strange and conflicting personalities, that their faults are inherently human. The story is very supernatural, and as strange as it gets, Chuck Palahniuk puts normal characters to contrast with the other, weirder ones, making funny situations occur. If you can suspend your disbelief well, you will really love this novel

Show Less

LibraryThing member Trogdor7899

As crazy and deviant as Palahniuk's "Fight Club", but with an occult twist. The attention to detail is astounding and the story itself? Well, let's just say the book has a wonderful eccentric quality to it that fails to put you to sleep, no pun intended.
Highly recommend this one.

LibraryThing member RosesAreRed

This is probably my favorite book of all time. It kept me turning pages and writing down great quotes.

LibraryThing member kainlane

This is the second Palahniuk novel I have read, thus far, and I am starting to see his style of prose. I really like the selective use of repetition and simple form. I previously read Fight Club, and I have to say, this book is much better, much stronger, and much more interesting than that. It

makes sense, as this was written after he had a little more experience.
The story was very interesting. Mr. Streator finds a culling song, a song that when simply thought, could kill. It turns out it is a focus for a witch's spell. He finds another woman, Helen, that had control of the spell for some time, using it to her advantage. They set out on an adventure, accompanied by her assistant/secretary Mona and Mona's boyfriend, Oyster. Mr. Streator, who Oyster calls 'Dad' is a very run of the mill kind of guy, but the song gets to him. He wants it stopped, so they try to find the original source of the spell. Each of the four characters are on their own agenda. Oyster stands out in particular as he very much reminds me of Tyler Durdan from fight club, and his ideals. Mona just wants to help people and be more natural. Helen wants to rule the world. Mr. Streator wants to destroy the source and end the carnage.
The ending was particularly powerful. It wasn't quite the same kind of twist as finding the truth of Tyler Durden in Fight Club, but it has a curiously odd and interesting plot point. This review really doesn't do the story justice. The book is a short read, just under 300 pages. It goes very quickly and I enjoyed it thoroughly from start to end. 4.5 stars.

Show Less

LibraryThing member CliffBurns

My favorite book by Chuck, even better than FIGHT CLUB. More moving, without the over-abundance of gore that mars his later efforts.

LibraryThing member crazybatcow

How does one rate this book? It is not really a fantasy, though the premise is fantastic (as in "ridiculous", not as in "terrific"). If I had to pick one word to describe this story it would be "insane". The book is a spoof/satire of modern life and has very little grounding in reality so you

really have to suspend your disbelief from the start or you'll never make it through the story.

There were several points I was about to give up because, well, the story is ridiculous, but then there are some parts that are absolutely hilarious. I don't recall any other book that caused me to waffle between laughing out loud (naked wiccan meeting anyone?) and throwing it out.

It is certainly a book you'll either like or really really REALLY dislike. The author goes off on long tirades of made up words (noiseoholics, silenceophobes, etc) which gets rather irritating after awhile.

This was the first I'd heard of Palahniuk and while I liked his writing enough to read Haunted, the long winded tirades were just too, well, long winded and the ridiculous a little too ridiculous.

Show Less

LibraryThing member branimal

Chuck Palahnuik cannot seem to write a bad book. The 4th book of his that I've read, I'm continually impressed by each novel. The man really knows how to write an ending..this one does not fall short.

LibraryThing member ragwaine

Too repetitive. Some cool lines but kind of silly.

LibraryThing member Bookmarque

This was weird because it jumped around in time quite a bit and it was also somewhat preachy. The ecoterrorist guy was clearly created so that Palahnuik could have someone’s mouth in which to put all of his ecological beliefs and rants. As a character though, it made Oyster thoroughly unlikable.

The sub-plots were more entertaining than the main plot though. I liked the haunted house broker. What a scam! She could keep on turning over the couple dozen or so houses she had because no one could live in them for more than a few weeks. Excellent.

I also kind of liked it when Streator simply killed off the people who got him angry (mister mcgee, don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry). Oh how wonderful a power like that would be sometimes. Although, I’m not sure I would have the necessary control to avoid becoming a mass killer!

Another sub-plot is Streator and a character named Sarge are tracking down all kinds of purported ‘miracles’. Like a talking cow that tells people not to eat meat. A roadside jesus who brings roadkill back to life. A flying holy Mary type woman. It turns out that Sarge is really Helen the real estate lady. She found some master book of spells and she took over the body of this old cop. She had to do this because Oyster also got a hold of one of the spells and took over her body and made her drink drain cleaner. So to escape death, she transported over. Now she and Streator are after Oyster and the Wiccan chick. Oyster wanted to make everyone his slaves and if he finds the culling song, they’re screwed. But I couldn’t tell that this was really the conclusion of the book interwoven with the rest of it. By the first person point of view it was obvious that Streator lived in the end, but I couldn’t figure out who Sarge was until near the end when Helen first took over his body in order to spring Streator from jail. He was brought in because of a string of killings (all his fault of course) and he really wanted to be locked up an stopped because he couldn’t control it anymore.

Helen, as it turns out, knew about the culling song all along. She lost a son to it and then killed her husband because he blamed her. Yeah, it was her fault but she didn’t knowingly kill her kid. So she begins to work as a killer for hire. She kills drug lords and evil dictators and assassins, all for different governments. She figures if you do something for money, a lot of money, you won’t do it for free. It almost works.

Show Less

LibraryThing member KLmesoftly

A reporter discovers a poem published in a children's anthology is actually a "culling song," and will cause the death of whoever hears it. This is definitely an interesting premise, and executed cleverly, but I didn't end up really connecting with or caring much about the characters--whether by my

own fault or the authors--so I can't say I enjoyed this one as well as some of Palahniuk's other work. I'd say skip this one, and pick up a copy of his Diary or Haunted instead.

Show Less

LibraryThing member TiffanyHickox

I absolutely love Chuck Palahniuk and this books is one of my favorites by him. I highly recommend this to anyone who is cycnical, needs a little cynicism or just wants to here someone tell it like it REALLY is.

Yay for chuck Palahniuk. Yay.

LibraryThing member running501

Like many of Palahniuk's books, any one of the plot lines going on among the characters would make for an interesting read, but the culmination of the whole creates a story that speaks of his signature style.

The story mainly follows a journalist investigating crib deaths, who discovers that a

"culling song" is the cause, and the interesting characters he meets, such as a Realtor who only sells, and resales, haunted houses.

I've read a few of Palahniuk's books, and this one is by far, my favorite. His style of writing can be a bit confusing if you haven't read any of his work before, but it is very easy to follow otherwise. The story was so intriguing that I didn't want to put the book down, and it was a quick read.

Show Less

Fewer