Haunted
"The camera behind the camera behind the camera."
Imagine people of all different backgrounds circled around a campfire, all telling scary stories of their own. The tales range from devastating to disgusting to horrifying, some being all of those at the same time. Now, imagine the intensity of these stories cranked up to ten; add in some darkly ironic names for the characters (e.g. Saint Gut-Free, Baroness Frostbite), a dash of existential themes, and a pinch of violent, greedy narcissism and… voilà: here lies Haunted, a novel made up of (otherwise unconnected) 23 short stories, the tellers of such tales on a “Writers’ Retreat,” formed by the elusive Mr. Whittier. It takes place in an abandoned theatre, with enough food to last them the scheduled three months and more. What could possibly go wrong?
Many, many things. I know that for sure.
Chuck Palahniuk has always been named as a pioneer of the new “transgressive fiction” movement. This genre always finds new ways to push the social boundaries, but a true transgressive work never strays into pandering; rather, they straddle the line between what is acceptable and not, using the darkest themes imaginable to explore the darkest recesses of humanity. Indeed, the best writings here are in fact the ones with the most theme-centered value. Guts, arguably one of Chuck’s most infamous works, deals with teenage sexual repression; Exodus, with society’s obsession with objectification; the stories of Mrs. Clark with the most audience sympathy you’ll get in the 400-page length, the main plot of 19 characters trapped in the theatre included!
Speaking of the main storyline, it is extremely important to note that Haunted isn’t worth reading just for the shorts alone: the primary narrative features themes of personal credibility, the human fixation with its own suffering, and dark comedy so ink-black you couldn’t light a match to see it if you tried.
Haunted is a truly unforgettable experience. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, well, that’s up for you to decide.
7/10- Although the stories themselves vary drastically according to each reader, Haunted is consistent enough in its themes and controversy to merit at least one read through… if you can stomach it.