Tvé překrásné já

by Chuck Palahniuk

Penny Harriganová je obyčejná holka z amerického zapadákova, která sice může říct, že má flek v advokátní firmě na Manhattanu, nicméně hlavní náplní její práce je nosit kafe a rovnat židle. Nikdy by si ani ve snu nepředstavovala, že jednou večer bude sedět v superluxusní restauraci s multimiliardářem Linusem Maxwellem. Ale nejen to. Vzápětí se s ním ocitá v Paříži, kde ji zasvětí do tajných zákoutí ženské smyslnosti, předvede jí – za pomoci různých intimních pomůcek – sedmé nebe rozkoše… Penny však záhy pochopí, že se stala testovacím objektem finální fáze nových erotických pomůcek, které mají změnit „ženské chápání světa“. A že před ní to v různé míře absolvovaly stovky a tisíce jiných. Intimní pomůcky pro něžné pohlaví jsou tak dokonalé, že se ženy už brzy obejdou bez mužů… A tohle se Penny pokusí zastavit.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Contemporary, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook

264 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2014

About the author

Written in stolen moments under truck chassis and on park benches to a soundtrack of The Downward Spiral and Pablo Honey, Fight Club came into existence. The adaptation of Fight Club was a flop at the box office, but achieved cult status on DVD. The film’s popularity drove sales of the novel. Chuck put out two novels in 1999, Survivor and Invisible Monsters. Choke, published in 2001, became Chuck’s first New York Times bestseller. Chuck’s work has always been infused with personal experience, and his next novel, Lullaby, was no exception. Chuck credits writing Lullaby with helping him cope with the tragic death of his father. Diary and the non-fiction guide to Portland, Fugitives and Refugees, were released in 2003. While on the road in support of Diary, Chuck began reading a short story entitled 'Guts,' which would eventually become part of the novel Haunted.

In the years that followed, he continued to write, publishing the bestselling Rant, Snuff, Pygmy, Tell-All, a 'remix' of Invisible Monsters, Damned, and most recently, Doomed.

Chuck also enjoys giving back to his fans, and teaching the art of storytelling has been an important part of that. In 2004, Chuck began submitting essays to ChuckPalahniuk.net on the craft of writing. These were 'How To' pieces, straight out of Chuck's personal bag of tricks, based on the tenants of minimalism he learned from Tom Spanbauer. Every month, a “Homework Assignment” would accompany the lesson, so Workshop members could apply what they had learned. (all 36 of these essays can currently be found on The Cult's sister-site, LitReactor.com).

Then, in 2009, Chuck increased his involvement by committing to read and review a selection of fan-written stories each month. The best stories are currently set to be published in Burnt Tongues, a forthcoming anthology, with an introduction written by Chuck himself.

His next novel, Beautiful You, is due out in October 2014.

Reviews

[Peter Derk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dug it.

On the one hand, not a perfect book. But I wanted to know what happened, and I wanted to keep reading, and there was a really interesting (to me) narrative voice that co-mingled a third-person omniscience with a first-person voice. Which is why I sometimes wonder if Chuck Palahniuk is unfairly maligned for the contents of Chuck Palahniuk's books.

Let me explain a bit.

Have you ever heard of the Fregoli delusion? It's kind of hard to explain. Let me explain it through the idea of mocking Nicholas Sparks.

When you read a Nicholas Sparks book, I think you get a Nicholas Sparks narration. It's through the lens of a character, maybe a cowboy or something, but basically it's Nicholas Sparks in a cowboy hat.

The Notebook: A vet comes home, restores a house, is haunted by a girl he loved.

A Walk To Remember: Boy falls in love with cancer girl.

Dear John: A "rebel" who "rebelled" by joining the army meets a girl he really likes.

The Lucky One: Marine finds a picture of a woman while he's in Iraq, falls in love with her.

Message In A Bottle: Lady finds a literal message in a bottle, some kind of love quest ensues.

Okay, so when you read a Nicholas Sparks book, you've got a narrator that's good-hearted but perhaps a bit scarred in some way (war experience, bittersweet love experience, and so on) who meets another character, and their love is made difficult in some way, but is ultimately achievable because they are all good inside.

For the most part, when you read one of these books, it's easy to flip to the back flap and see Sparks' toothy smile and think, He must be a real good guy. It's easy to confuse the man writing the books with the men in the books. To think, Nicholas Sparks really believes in love and the kinder, gentler things in life.

And what Sparks engages in is a little bit of literary Fregoli delusion.

Fregoli delusion is an odd disorder where the sufferer thinks that several people in her life are being played by one person. For example, if I had the disorder, I might think that my five friends were really one person who showed up in disguise every time. I have my friends, Jimmy, Johnny, Jeremy, Josiah, and Alec. Because I suffer from Fregoli delusion, I think that Alec is a real person, and Jimmy, Johnny, Jeremy, and Josiah are all Alec in disguise. He has a bunch of masks and outfits that obscure his real identity. Maybe he affects a British accent when he's Johnny. But because I suffer from this delusion, I 100% believe that all of these people are one.

Back to Nicholas Sparks. When we're talking Sparks, it's really not a problem when people assume that the writer is within these characters. That the characters and narrators in his stories are speaking Sparks' words, his truths. That, basically, Sparks wears a mask that makes him look like a war vet, but from behind that mask he's speaking all of his truth. It's not a problem because what he says in his books is, generally, pleasant.

For a writer like Chuck Palahniuk, this literary Fregoli delusion is a big, big problem.

Because when you read his books, you are almost always presented with characters who make bad decisions. Who do things you absolutely would not do. The trick of his books, and what separates the ones that work for me from the ones that don't, is that he makes it seem like those characters make awful choices, but you sort of understand why. You don't like the choices, oftentimes you don't like the characters, but you feel sympathetic towards them.

So while Nicholas Sparks has these lovelorn vets, what do you get with Palahniuk:

Fight Club: Men who brutally beat each other.

Choke: Man who chokes in restaurants just to be touched.

Diary: Woman who questions whether her artistic talent has totally fizzled as her life falls to pieces.

Survivor: Man who is extremely confused about spirituality and does not find answers.

Haunted: Chronic masturbator.

Rant: Someone who purposely infects people with a disease.

And when you round up those traits and flip to the back picture, I can understand why someone would say, "Chuck Palahniuk is a bad guy." Or "Chuck Palahniuk hates women." Or "Chuck Palahniuk hates humanity."

Dear readers, I think that it's time to grow up and dissuade ourselves of this notion. The notion that every character is the creator in disguise.

I don't think Chuck Palahniuk is a bad guy. Or that he hates women. Or that he hates humanity.

I DO think his characters are bad guys. That some of them hate women or are women who are not very positive about themselves. I think a lot of his characters and narrators express a deep hatred for some of the trappings of humanity.

And I do believe that, to an extent, fiction is autobiographical.

But, BUT, I also believe that true autobiography is about expressing dark sides, things that are wrong, and things we're not proud of. True autobiography, and true fiction for that matter, aren't about making the good guys good, the bad guys bad, and that the bad guys get punished. It's not about putting aside negative thoughts. It's not about shying away from saying something because it will hurt someone's feelings or because it's not accurate or because it's not an accurate depiction of statistical data in the real world, or an accurate representation of a poll on HuffPo, which seems to be what passes for reality now.

I believe that an author who can express darkness and doesn't have to write about heroic characters is a good author, and I think this is the key to Palahniuk's success. It's pretty rare, in my opinion, to read about characters that you don't like, that you don't want to be friends with, who don't have a lot of redeeming qualities. It's even rarer for those characters to be the NARRATORS of the story, the guides that take you through the events.

I think it's a test of one's humanity to read a character who makes brutal, violent choices and to identify with that character, to empathize with how broken and sad that character is. To say that you can really hate certain things about a person, but goddamn it, that person is still a person. And you wish they were different. You wish that Tyler Durden would stage his rebellion against corporate America without anyone having to die. You wish Misty Wilmont from 'Diary' took more control of her life, but she doesn't. You wish that Penny from 'Beautiful You' viewed women's needs and wants differently, you wish that instead she would be more progressive. But she isn't. Penny is not. Penny, that character, that person, is not.

I want books with fucking characters. With honesty. If I want to read a book that consists of everyone being careful all the time, of saying the right things so as not to hurt a career, of always saying what will please everyone, of talking about real-life issues in a way that's fair to everyone and values the current idea of being progressive over story, if I want that, I'll read that. I DO read that! But I want characters too, I want writing, I want voice, and I want a voice that says something, even if I don't agree with what that voice says.

Fuck, I want characters who explore parts of the world that I can't, that are closed off to me because I behave myself, I call my mom, and I think about a retirement fund. That's me, and I don't want to read about me all the time!

Let's put the icing on the cake.

As of now, Chuck Palahniuk has zero criminal record. He's not a guy who beats up other guys. He's yet to hijack a plane. As far as I know, he still possesses the entirety of his lower GI tract, has not lost it to a masturbatory incident with pool suction. So he certainly writes about some weird shit, and bad things happen to his characters and his writing is unusual in that his main characters so often express views outside the norm of polite society. But is he actually doing these things? It would appear not.

In the interest of fairness for what's coming, I'll link to this (http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/chuck...). In this article, dailydot shows their evidence for the sexism of Chuck Palahniuk. I think it's a very narrow vision of what he's saying, and it's telling to me that he provides several examples when he makes his point, but dailydot does not.

I have to say, I've been to a lot of author readings. Like dozens, poets, non-fiction, straight, gay. Chuck Palahniuk is the only one I've ever seen purposely alternate Male/Female during the Q&A period. The ONLY one. Seems pretty fair and even-handed to me. Seems that this is a man who is going at least a small, extra length to be fair in real life.

Nicholas Sparks?

Well, it just so happens that Mr. Lovelorn veteran, who was never enlisted, by the way, is currently being sued for a number of things that, if the suit is legit, boil down to saying black people are poor and can't do academic work, and his response to a group of LGBT students: "What’s with this gay club?" Read for yourself, decide for yourself: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles...

Continue to see characters as pure extensions of authors if you'd like. Thankfully we live in a society that allows you to choose who you want to listen to, even if what you're listening to is the inauthentic pandering of a jerkoff.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

I'm done, Chuck P. Thanks for nothing. Bye.

P.S. I made it to page 158, but something about the lead character gently probing the sex witch's "bunghole" not only put me off my lunch for the next 3 weeks but also made me really unhappy about the state of the book in America today. Great job, asshole!

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Oh Chuck . . . I have a disappoint : (



I requested Beautiful You before ever even glancing at the synopsis. That’s how positive I was I would enjoy it. I’m a loyal fan and am prepared for whatever Palahniuk wants to throw at me. Even if those items are dildos. The premise of this book actually sounded pretty promising – a middle-aged millionaire (C. Linus Maxwell – a/k/a “Climax-Well”), known for having some serious voodoo when it comes to the punany, has worked his way through models and actresses and has now set his sights on one special lady.

Sound familiar????


What that lady (Penny) doesn’t realize, is that she is being used as guinea pig in order to test Maxwell’s latest money-maker – a line of sex toys that will be mass-marketed under the name “Beautiful You.”

Once these new products hit the shelves, women find themselves unable to resist the temptation of endless pleasure, men find themselves obsolete and Maxwell has his sights set on world domination. Can Penny stop this madness before it’s too late????

Beautiful You started out like typical Palahniuk fare – pushing the limits of what is “okay” for the average person to read about with his trademark brand of dark humor and featuring a plotline I should have found offensive, but somehow didn’t (the only explanation for this is “because it’s Chuck - of course he’s going to try and offend me”). Unfortunately, Chuck got so wrapped up in the science and grotesquery of sex that all I ended up being was bored.



Luckily this was a short read – and I had read enough Palahniuk in the past to keep chasing the dangling carrot that is his signature twist ending – but the experience as a whole was “meh.” Have no fears, though, I’ll jump right to the front of the line for his next book and cross my fingers that it is better.

(Sidenote: If I could only rate the cover, it would get 1,000 Stars)

ARC provided by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

[Patrice Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I loved or hated Chuck Palahniuk's latest novel Beautiful You. I mean, any rational woman would run very far from this book after reading the first few pages of our heroine Penny Harrigan getting raped in a court of law by a bunch of sex-deprived men. The opening scene unfolds and provides little fragments of information that will either latch its ugly little claws on the reader or force many to chuck Chuck's latest weird novel.

Those who are aware of Palahniuk's work won't shy away and continue reading. This review is for you. Those die-hard fans (such as myself), who can't help but be entranced by Palahniuk's weird fiction. So... I stuck around to watch the story unfold. I needed to see why there were no more women, where they'd gone, and why they'd left.

What it all comes down to is that we women are easily manipulated by sex-toys and pleasuring ourselves to the point that we would even replace our boyfriends (or girlfriends), husbands (or wives), for these cute little pink toys called "Beautiful You" made by a billionaire genius. He claims he wants women to tap into their um... bodies and experience only the best sexual pleasures any man-made toy can provide. First of all, the fact that a man has to tell me what pleases me is ironic in itself but then things get weird, hence the opening scene of men tearing at Penny Harrigan like animals.

Beautiful You follows more of a traditional storyline than most of Palahniuk's other works yet the characters are still caricatures. Kinda fitting for a satirical novel, but still you want someone to root for when a book is written that way. Although having fully fleshed characters isn't necessary, I still felt it was missing. Penny was boring as hell. Her genius boyfriend C Linus Maxwell (the billionaire) was just as boring.

What wasn't boring was learning more about the va-jay-jay than I wanted to know. I imagine there was a lot of research into the female anatomy to make half of the toys created semi-plausible. So FYI if you're a prude, this is not the book for you assuming my first word of warning wasn't enough to shy you away from this book. Actually, the entire opening scene would be enough if you are a prude and don't like smut. Clever smut, but still smut.

Without going into too much of a tangent and giving away the entire plot I will close and say I liked Beautiful You. No, I didn't love this novel like his others Survivor or Fight Club but I won't soon forget it. Or that one guy from his book Haunted that got his intestines sucked through the pool thing-a-ma-jiggy. But I very much enjoyed knowing that we, all humans, want nothing more than to slip into oblivion by way of indulging in all pleasures, good or bad, right or wrong, until we wither away into nothing.

Copy provided by Doubleday via Netgalley

[Imogen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yknow if Chuck could just back off the rape jokes and racist tropes for one single book, it would be so awesome. He's really good at making a plot gather steam and then sending it off the rails - but he always puts whatever momentum he's built into the most boring, predictable white dude misogyny and dick jokes. The most interesting thing in this book is a very elaborate rape joke! What if he had put that his very real storytelling skills toward, I don't know, like, anything else? It could be awesome! But instead, UGH. If you like rape jokes, you'll love Beautiful You. If you don't like rape jokes but you manage to read through this anyway - like I did - you might find yourself as frustrated as I am that dude keeps wasting his really powerful talents on such toxic lowest common denominator pointlessness.

[Kathy Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chuck Palahniuk’s BEAUTIFUL YOU is a darkly satiric examination of our human obsession with pleasure. The novel begins with 25-year-old Penny Harrigan being raped on the witness stand in open court, with judge, jury, and a room full of eager witnesses doing nothing to save her. The story, then, flashes back several months to explain how this awkward plain-Jane girl from Nebraska ended up in such a predicament. Penny is a would-be lawyer desperately trying to pass the bar exam when she runs into multi-billionaire C. Linus Maxwell, who for some inexplicable reason invites her to dinner at the most exclusive restaurant in town. Maxwell, or Max as everyone calls him, has already romanced the first female president of the United States, the new Queen of England, and a French superstar, so Penny is baffled – what could he possibly see in her? Ultimately, she becomes a pawn in his plans to introduce a line of female sex products (called “Beautiful You”), products that he tests on her for weeks on end. But Max’s plans go beyond selling sex products, and as the world’s women become increasingly addicted to the overwhelming pleasure produced by the “Beautiful You” toys, life as Penny knows it ceases to exist.

This is a wildly satiric novel, which turns the screws on many aspects of modern culture, from Obama’s presidency (the first female president started out as a “community organizer,” and then had a brief run as a US Senator) to the “Twilight” phenomenon (all those sex-crazed women who use Max’s products are also addicted to “a banal romance novel about vampires”). Palahniuk has fun tweaking women’s obsession with designer clothes (lots of references to Prada, Yves St. Laurent, DKNY, and Vera Wang) and the color pink (all of the “Beautiful You” products come in pink boxes and are sold in pink stores nationwide). His suggestion is that the easiest way to control the masses is to stimulate their pleasure centers and keep them orgasmically supercharged. Aldous Huxley would agree – his “Brave New World” was based on a similar principle.

But BEAUTIFUL YOU has little in common with “Brave New World.” The early section (where unkempt waif Penny is swept up in Max’s world of money and fame) suggests the film “The Devil Wears Prada.” Penny is the Cinderella character transformed from schlub to princess through dresses, jewels, and media attention. And as in that film, the more wrapped up she becomes in that world, the more she begins to wonder whether she’s losing herself. But once the story really gets going I was reminded more of Showtime’s “Masters of Sex,” about the real-life Masters and Johnson team of sex researchers. Max’s nightly experiments with Penny are performed under the guise of clinical scientific research – he takes copious notes as he stimulates her with his many devices and potions, and once the “Beautiful You” product line takes off, she demands equal credit for the “research” they did together. Anyone who has seen the Showtime series will see the connection.

Palahniuk’s point here is that we are all slaves to our basest instincts – whether it’s teenage boys submerging themselves in video games and internet porn or women holing themselves up with sex toys designed to produce mega-orgasms, we are all at our weakest when kept blissfully satisfied. Max’s plan for world domination is ridiculous and insane, but you can’t help but wonder whether a product line like “Beautiful You” really would turn the world inside out.

Be warned that there is plenty of explicit sex in this novel, although it’s not particularly stimulating. There’s something patently creepy about the way Max pleasures Penny, and the way the product-obsessed women pleasure themselves. Throughout this novel, Penny wants to do something that will benefit the world and make things better for women; she wants to be Betty Friedan or Gloria Steinem. What she ends up doing is being a part of something that undermines the very fabric of humanity. It’s a dark and sobering look at the things that really do control us (sex, food, money) and the people that manipulate them (politicians, marketers, magnates). As crazy and over-the-top as this novel seems, it’s familiar enough to be scary.

[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]

[Jason Pereira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful Blah is more like it....

Chucky, baby, buddy, my friend who used to write beautiful masterpieces like Survivor, Haunted, Lullaby, Diary to name a few - What the fuck happened!?

Serious. What happened, did you go through some life altering episode in your life that would make you create sub-par works like: Snuff, Rant (pffft), Damned and Doomed - I mean, shit man, Pygmy was kind of decent but this? For reals?

Beautiful comes out of the gate completely insulting to all women in my opinion, I know there will be trolls who disagree with me - including women - but if you enjoyed this book, you are one messed up individual.

I do enjoy Chuck's weird works and how he pushes the limit, but this one was just SMUT. I mean, you should have called this SMUT, not Beautiful You.

I gave a two stars because I still think he has it in him to produce magic, but at this pace things can only get more odder, misogynistic and down right dirty - which is not always a bad thing - in this case, it totally is.

Good job, I guess...

[Stay Fetters · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the fuck did I just read? It was the craziest book he's written to date. Lately, his books have been good but this one blows them all away. One of my favorites by Mr. Palahniuk.
I am Penny's smirking revenge.
Beautiful you starts off with Penny in a court room getting raped and no one is stopping it. She's screaming for help but everyone just sits and watches. Bizarre. After that it just gets weirder.
Penny is not quite an intern and not quite a lawyer. She just can't seem to pass the bar exam to become a lawyer. She still fetches coffee and sets up rooms for meetings at BB&B. Her boss is a complete jerk and treats her as a slave. Monique works with her and sends her on errands to degrade her. Even calls her Omaha Girl well because she's from Omaha Nebraska.
Monique sent her to get coffee and she's running late. Tries every door in the building to get in and she finally has success. As she goes through the door, she stumbles and falls. Flattening the coffee and intruding on a meeting between her boss and the richest man. His name is C. Maxwell.
She is embarrassed and her boss is fuming. He keeps screaming for her to get out but Maxwell tries to help. He suddenly asks her to dinner and she accepts. She goes and buys a fancy dress and tells people she's got a date with "climax-well". No one believes her. At dinner, she talks non-stop and he listens while taking diligent notes. Penny finds this weird but goes with it.
The next day her face is everywhere. She was seen with the richest most powerful man in the world. He's been known to date princesses, the most beautiful model/actress and even the president of the united states (who is a woman btw. Girl power!)
They start to date and his ex, Alouette D'Ambrosia is jealous. Well, that's what Penny thinks. She tells penny whatever she does do not sleep with Mr. Maxwell. This just intrigues her so she goes for it.
Penny is put through a lot of orgasms while Linus experiments with these gadgets to please her. He is making his own line of sex toys and testing them out on her.
They start to date but he's not affectionate. He tries all his sex toys on her but doesn't show love toward her which upsets her. So, she fakes it and he gets furious when she does.
All his exes look like hell after they split. He only dates women for 136 days and kicks them to the curb. No one knows why except that's he's a Playboy.
Linus Maxwell is one of those men you don't want to double cross. EVER!
Alouette crosses him by talking to Penny. She wins an award and is accepting. Linus pushes a button and kills her instantly.
Beautiful You launches and women are crazy over these products. They line up for days for these new sex toys. Women go missing and men are left without sex.
The dragonfly sex toy is the most dangerous. I will not spoil why this is so. Its genius and disturbing. So beware of the dragonfly. And dont say I didn't warn you....
Crazy shit ensues. Women become sex crazy zombies and men go about there day as horny crazed men.
Penny finds out what the hell is going on and decides to get her revenge when Maxwell dumps her 136 days later. She travels to Nepal to find out what the hell he got into there.
After Nepal shit just gets crazier with his off the wall ideas. I wonder what kind of mind you have to have for these ideas. Palahniuk is a complete crazy genius. Never in a million years would I of thought of something this outrageously fantastic. Please just read this book. It is really his best book in awhile. This will suck you back into his world and it won't let you go.

Please write more to this. It left me craving more like a Palahniuk zombie.

[°°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ʜᴇʟᴇɴ Ροζουλί Εωσφόρος ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° ★·.·´¯`·.·★ Ⓥⓔⓡⓝⓤⓢ Ⓟⓞⓡⓣⓘⓣⓞⓡ Ⓐⓡⓒⓐⓝⓤⓢ Ταμετούρο Αμ · Rating 4 out of 5]

«Είθε οι ταντρικοί θεοί να σας επισκέπτονται συχνά στον ύπνο σας και να σας χαρίζουν νύχτες απόλαυσης, γεμάτες καρδιοχτύπια και ιδρώτα».

Το «Είσαι Όμορφη» είναι μια τεράστια,
ροζ βιομηχανική επανάσταση που παράγει με απόλυτη επιτυχία εκατοντάδες σεξουαλικά παιχνίδια,
βοηθήματα αξεσουάρ, συσκευές ταντρικών ηδονικών γεύσεων, απόλυτες μεθυστικές συσπάσεις έντονων ερεθισμών. υγρά διέγερσης με βάση τα αρχαία μυστικά πολυοργασμικών εκστάσεων και πλύσεις με ελιξίρια κολπικής έκρηξης, μαγνητικές πετρούλες με σιλικόνη που διεισδύουν σε γυναικεία σώματα και χαρίζουν απίστευτες ώρες επαναλαμβανόμενων οργασμών και πολλά διάπυρα, αρχέγονα και γεμάτα ατελείωτη λαγνεία και απόλαυση υποκατάστατα.

Όλα στο βωμό της ιερής γυναικείας φύσης.
Μια επανάσταση κολπικής εσωτερικής φρενίτιδας με χαοτικά εθισμένες γυναίκες σε μια άβυσσο αυτοϊκανοποίησης που κατέχει δυναμεις παγκόσμιας κυριαρχίας.

Πρόκειται για ένα σκαμπρόζικο, παιχνιδιάρικο, πρωτότυπο, σκανδαλώδες, σαρωτικό, δυστοπικό σατιρικό και τρομοκρατικό έργο.

Ξεπερνάει στερεότυπα, ψευδαισθήσεις, ήθη, πολιτικά ορθές δυστυχίες και ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα.
Σε πολλά σημεία ξεφεύγει προς το μεταφυσικό αρχαϊκό σύμπαν με περιγραφές που ξεπερνούν κάθε φαντασία αισθησιασμού, τείνοντας απλά σε έναν φαύλο κύκλο απο αηδιαστικές μυσταγωγικές ηδονές, κάπου ανάμεσα στα Ιμαλάια και την Ν. Υόρκη.

Τονίζοντας την επίτευξη του κέρδους πέρα και πάνω απο κάθε συναισθηματισμό ιδανικών ή ιδεολογικό και συνειδησιακό ήθος κοινωνικού δισταγμού και ανθρώπινου προβληματισμού, δημιουργεί θηλυκά ζόμπι αχόρταγα, εξαθλιωμένα και ακόλαστα που εκδίδονται ή εγκληματούν με σκοπό να ενεργοποιήσουν τα προϊόντα για τους ηδονικούς ακατάσχετους οργασμούς τους.

Μια μεγάλη μυθοπλασία κολπικής συνομοσιολογίας σχεδιασμένη απο ανδρικούς συλλογισμούς, ατομικού συμφέροντος για εξουσία και κυριαρχία πάνω στις πολυάριθμες ανθρώπινες μάζες του πλανήτη.

Ο γνωστός Πόλανικ -όχι στα καλύτερα του- μα σίγουρα το ίδιο ανατρεπτικός, μοναδικός, στιβαρός, ευφϋέστατος καλλιτέχνης και ιδιαιτέρως ενοχλητικός και αναζωογόνητικος, ένας απαράμιλλος γραφιάς.


Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.

[Korey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Palahniuk's slump continues. This is a terrible book, the worse I have read of his. I really want to emphasize this is a bad, bad, bad book. It reeks of laziness. There is absolutely no character development. This seriously has some of the flattest, most one dimensional, cipher like characters I have ever read. The prose is completely devoid of style or wit. The dialogue is terrible. The plot, which is supposed to be oh so wacky and satirical, is badly undercooked. It reads like a skeleton draft or an outline, not a fleshed out concept. Since the plot is so underdeveloped everything that happens feels stupidly far fetched. I wouldn't mind an unrealistic plot in a book like this as long as the author puts some effort into explaining/justifying why the crazy things occur. That doesn't happen here.

There is nothing worthwhile here whatsoever. This book is incredibly boring. Not one clever plot twist, not one interesting character, nothing. I really think Palahniuk might be done as a writer.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

World domination via vibrators. It sounds funny and sexy, no? No.

I'd strangely never read Chuck Palahniuk, even though he's a local boy right here in Portland, OR. So when I found that it was available on a digital advance reading copy, and what the subject matter was, I decided it was time.

A slightly overweight Everygirl (who of course winds up being smoking hot by the end of the book) meets a corporate genius who tests his line of sex toys and other sexual products on her before releasing them to the world. Swiftly, women drop out of society, as using the toys becomes the only thing they want to do. But the products aren't just spreading sexual pleasure. There are more diabolical plans at work.

Whatever. I guess he was trying for Picaresque and satire, but a very strange, smirky attitude about women and his lack of interest in character is about all that comes through. There are orgasms on every page, almost, but it's not a remotely sexy book, and while he was clearly trying to be funny, this book was just cold, cold, cold. The power of sex is mostly in our brains, and this book didn't have any of that power. I can't believe I finished it.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I read this book almost without stopping. Now that I have finished it I still can't believe I read it. Did I just read that?

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Conceptos de importancia notable manejados con derivas que no están a la altura o que, tal vez, no casan de manera natural.-
Género. Novela (por mucho que recurra a conceptos fantásticos y/o de ciencia ficción en su trama).

Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Eres hermosa (publicación original: Beautiful You, 2014) nos presenta a Penny Harrigan, asaltada sexualmente durante un juicio frente a un buen número de personas que no reaccionan ante la agresión. Penny, antes de llegar a ese momento, era becaria en una firma de abogados donde conoció a Cornelius Linus Maxwell, el hombre más rico del mundo, reservado, soltero y con interés romántico en Penny. Cuando empiezan a intimar, Maxwell muestra un interés científico en el sexo y un desempeño fuera de lo común a la hora de dar placer a Penny. Con el tiempo, Penny descubre el plan comercial de Maxwell del que ella forma parte en su fase final: una línea de juguetes sexuales completamente innovadores que den placer a las mujeres hasta niveles insospechados. Pero el verdadero plan de Maxwell es mucho más complejo, ambicioso y secreto.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...

[Aldo Meza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uff !! Que viaje !!!

No entiendo por que critican tan duro a Palahniuk fuera de "El Club de la Pelea", la verdad sus obras me han gustado mucho, crea estos mundos tan ácidos y satíricos, que me resulta difícil no disfrutar o dejar de leer.

Definitivamente es un gran escritor, un estilo muy definido, muy buenas letras y adictivo.

Sus libros, siempre son un viaje !!

[AmberBug com* · Rating 4 out of 5]

www.shelfnotes.com review

Dear Reader,

Reviewing this is going to be HARD, really HARD, super rock HARD, throbbing rock HARD. Blushing yet? You will be after you read this. All you folks who read "Fifty Shades" and thought it was "so naughty" better not pick this book up... you might DIE from the lack of constraint Palahniuk uses. Just like all of Chuck's books, this should have warning labels slapped all over it. As the saying goes... if you don't have the stomach for it, get out of the kitchen?!? (Okay, that might not be the exact saying, but it works).

Right away, reading the description, we know this book is centered around sex, sex, more sex and sex toys. Nobody should be reviewing this book in shock about the subject matter, clearly if they do... they don't know Chuck very well. I almost want to say this book was made as a response to those who thought "Fifty Shades" so taboo (because it sure seemed like a complete farce of that book) but I think the intention was only to brushed upon it. This book is in NO way a better written copy but Palahniuk does include quite a few hysterical jabs here and there. Suck it, E.L. James! (which is what I imagine Chuck saying while writing this book). A friend of mine, Shane T. French (amazing/talented and up-and-coming graphic novel/comic writer), has brought it to my attention that Chuck Palahniuk waited until his parents died in order to write and publish this book. Nice little fact, one that gives you a better idea of what you'd be faced reading if you pick this one up.

Beautiful You might not have my favorite plot line in the Palahniuk collection, but I do think he has used his super power to bring his fans what we've wanted. Penny (such a classic and innocent name) finds herself tangled with a billionaire (cough, cough, fifty shades of PLOT line anyone?), where he proposes to pleasure her with all his newest techy toys, giving her the highest amount of pleasure imaginable. Little does Penny know, there is a plan in place to use these sex toys for his own evil plans. Beautiful You has sex, crime, danger, espionage, adventure, exotic travel, addiction, shall I go on? Who wouldn't want to read a book like that? If this review had a little too much shock for you, don't bother reading this. Palahniuk has his following and I'm always riding up front, salivating at the mouth for his next masterpiece. You don't have to like this book. However, I do. Pass the lube, because this book is like the biggest slip and slide you have ever seen.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

P.S. - Guess who has tickets to see Palahniuk in Brooklyn, NY on HALLOWEEN? Yep, both Arianna and I do. Stay tuned for that event post (as long as I can sit still enough to take notes).

[Snotchocheez · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Surely you must be familiar with Chuck Palahniuk's m.o. by now: 'pushing the envelope', getting a rise out of his readers, eliciting uncomfortable laughter. With more than a dozen novels under his belt, he's certainly made a name for himself by straddling that tenuous line between the deliciously outré and outright tastelessness.

He wastes no time with Beautiful You to push readers' buttons by depicting his protagonist Penny Harrigan being raped in a courtroom, sometime in the not-so-distant future. We learn that this scene is an absurd climax (ahem) to a porny Cinderella-esque fairy tale, wherein Palahniuk channels the likes of Tom Robbins, Nicholson Baker (well, circa House of Holes and Vox anyway) and Hans Christian Andersen (at his misogynistic worst).

Penny, an aspiring attorney at a prestigious NYC law firm, by happenstance runs into billionaire C.Linus Maxwell (aka Climax-Well), a sex toy magnate hell bent on total global domination of the Women's Pleasure Enhancement industry. Penny, an ugly duckling of sorts, is swept off her feet by this dashing character, whose designs on Penny have a nefarious subtext. We find out that his prior female relationship conquests (including a multiple Oscar-winning actress, a princess in England, and the first female president of the US) all ended mysteriously after 136 days, with tragic consequences.

It's pretty obvious from the outset that this hyperreal tale is a farcical allegory for society's penchant for overconsumption and the dogged pursuit of pleasure. What is less clear: why Pahlahniuk chose women (not just our protag Penny, but all women in general) as his personal subjects of subjugation? Is the abuse heaped upon them really necessary for this allegory to work? And, worse, did he really have the temerity to frame topics such as rape in a comedic light?

Despite my misgivings as to Palahniuk's rationale in writing this, I still (kinda) liked it (though I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone). Even the pervy porny bits (and there are plenty) are so clinical in nature (perineal sponge, anyone?) only the most sexually-deprived wack-jobs would derive any titillation from Palahniuk's fairy tale. It pales in comparison to his best stuff, and by no means marks a Chuck renaissance (whose quality of books seem to get worse and worse as he runs out of buttons to push), but if I push down the *erp* forming in my throat, it queasily works for me.

[Claudia Recinos · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you don't ask for things like character development, challenging prose, subtlety, or any sort of examination of the universal truths surrounding our shared human experience then, yeah, I can see how this book might do. Personally, I struggled to stay awake.

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-review@14/01/2015:

Penny Harrigan is a low-level associate in a big Manhattan law firm with an apartment in Queens and no love life at all. So it comes as a great shock when she finds herself invited to dinner by one C. Linus Maxwell, aka "Climax-Well," a software mega-billionaire and lover of the most gorgeous and accomplished women on earth. After dining at Manhattan's most exclusive restaurant, he whisks Penny off to a hotel suite in Paris, where he proceeds, notebook in hand, to bring her to previously undreamed-of heights of orgasmic pleasure for days on end. What's not to like?

Wow. Oh, dear me...wow.

Is Mr. P trying to make fun of 50 Shades of Grey here?

If it's what Mr. P is up to, then I'd say: "Go ahead!"

My thoughts after finished reading:

I Did Not Finish both Rant and Damned, so believe me, I'm not someone who would blindly praise Chuck Palahniuk just because he's one of my most favorite authors. But I was surprised to find myself keep turning pages when reading Beautiful You and enjoying the entire book quite well, despite of the negative reviews, low rating and people bitterly and loudly express their distaste toward this book.

However, I can still see why people do not like this book and how this book isn't for everyone.

Still, here's my advises:

First, remember this story is a satire! And the jokes are on consumerism and the rape culture pop culture, more than they're on women.

Let's repeat with me! It's a satire!

Let's repeat again: It's a satire!

Secondly, don't let the low rating and negative reviews discourage you!

Thirdly, although the ending part of the story is on the 'What. The. Fuck!?' side and none of the characters are likable, still I'm
willing to give this book four stars for its sense of dark humor, the insight and the over-the-top hilarious plots,if nothing else.

Last but not least, I understand why many people might find Beautiful You offensive and distasteful, but please bear in mind Mr. P had written the things mentioned below in his other novels:

(a) a man had his gut pumped out when he tried to jerk himself off in a swimming pool.

(b) both men and women trying their hardest to get laid.

(c) both men and women doing many, many outlandish and silly things because of their sex drive.

So, please don't burn Mr. P at a stake just because this time around he puts the sex jokes on the womenfolks instead of the menfolks.

Helpful reviews by other reviewers: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I also saw other reviewers bringing up the question: "Would women really forsake their lives and all their hard earned rights for the sake of sexual pleasure?" That's a good question, and regretfully my personal honest answer to this "Yes! A thousand times yes! Because there are too many women who don't even appreciate the rights they're now enjoying, and ignorance really knows no bounds!"

Mr. P has every reason to be worried for the womenfolks, we have every reason to be worried for our own female fellows. And tell me, how am I supposed to keep my hope up when faced by this kind of stupidity and ignorance!?


(LINK: https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.ne...)

'Fifty Shades of Grey' sets record at box office


(LINK: http://weknowmemes.com/2013/07/twilig...)

Need I say more?

[☆LaurA☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Penny voleva una scelta al di là dell’alternativa tra casalinga e avvocato, tra madonna e puttana qualcosa di follemente al di là dello stesso femminismo!"

Ragazze e ragazzi qui abbiamo aperto le dighe. Cosa diamine hai scritto mio caro e adorato Chuck?
Per capire e comprendere a fondo questo testo, oltre ad una mente aperta, bisogna aprire anche le gambe.
Chuck critica una società maschilista e consumista e lo fa con la sua solita grottesca ironia, la sua acidità corrosiva e quel pizzico di violenza, il tutto farcito con un malato erotismo.
Orgasmi che minano la vita della donna, stati d'eccitazione al limite del sostenibile....non provare un formicolio durante la lettura è quasi impossibile 🙈🙊

Dipendenza da eccitazione....sarà mai possibile?
Il fenomeno è più attribuito agli adolescenti maschi,sedotti dalle endorfine prodotte da videogiochi e youporn...ma qui abbiamo milioni di donne in tutto il mondo le cui normali attività del tempo libero le annoiano. Gli abituali passatempi perdono qualsiasi interesse. E senza la costante eccitazione dei prodotti per la cura personale Beautiful  You le donne sprofondano in una grave depressione.

Max, il multimiliardario che seduce la provincialotta anche un po' bruttina. Tutte le più classiche storie d'amore americane sono nate su quella base. Ma qui siamo ad altri livelli, Chuck continua ad impressionarmi, checché ne dicano a me piace sempre.
È un libro malato! Dove il sesso mediante masturbazione la fa da padrone e se siete bigott* o vi scandalizzate per un cunnilingus lasciate stare.

Il libro comincia ad essere ancora più assurdo ed interssante dalla metà in poi, arriverà Baba barbagrigia (vecchia lussuriosa himalayana) ad insegnarci i più antichi segreti dell'autoerotismo, quindi non abbandonate al primo gemito!

Se provate un inturgidimento dei capezzoli, se tra le vostre gambe sentite caldo, molto caldo, allora potreste essere nelle mani di Max e siete in pericolo di vita!

Ora la parte divertente. Non è che conosca ogni dildo o sex toy sul mercato, così sono andata a documentarmi un pochino ed oltre "LA FIORELLA" ci sono anche ROMEO e GIGIONE (cercate cercate)....se non sapete cosa regalare alla vostra compagna o anche al vostro compagno perché no, provate l'articolo 216, detto ‘Modella-ortaggi’, un apparecchio per il trattamento del cibo che trasforma rapidamente qualsiasi vegetale crudo in un giocattolo erotico. E dopo esservi divertiti potete anche fare una bella zuppa, previo lavaggio e cottura mi raccomando 🤪

[SUSAN *Nevertheless,she persisted* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ummmm,what did I just read.
I have never read any of this author's work,perhaps this was an unwise starting point. I found it weird,and I like weird. Just weird in an unfunny,creepy way.
I will give Mr Palahniuk another chance,his writing kept me interested but this book was just baffling.

[John Bruni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a work of mad genius from a great writer. The cover flap-copy in no way will prepare you for the insanity you'll find here. Are you familiar with the term "arousal addiction?" You will be by the end. It's a great piece of satire, skewering our consumer culture from top to bottom. In PYGMY, Palahniuk revealed a terrorist act that would 100% work, even if you knew it was coming. In BEAUTIFUL YOU, he reveals the perfect plan for . . . well, I don't want to say too much because it's much better for you to discover it on your own. The imagery is off-the-wall, especially near the end. And the amazing part is that this book masquerades--at first--as a parody of chick-lit, stereotypes and all, but by the end of the book, you'll feel like you've digested a lot more than the 222 pages you just read. Palahniuk plays it tricky. He pulls an incredible trick in the opening scene, which is a very surreal description of a rape. It isn't until about halfway through the book that you realize what he's really done before it comes to fruition near the end.


Make no mistake: this is a bizarro book, and it has somehow infiltrated a mainstream audience. That's a very remarkable thing.

[Jerritt Hovey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this Novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It's a complete satire, poking fun of today's society and the classic men versus women battle. It's brilliant, really. Not surprised that the first novel making fun of the current popular and "hip" stories was written by Palahniuk. He writes apologetically, creating such an over-the-top plot, you can't help but realize how society has become numb to the issues he addresses throughout the story (i.e. the classic battle of the sexes, feminism, the female's quest for a vaginal orgasm, the power behind corporate companies, and more).

I researched this book before buying and read several reviews complaining about the lack of depth the novel had, how weak the characters are and how Palahniuk weakly address issues but I disagree with all of them. I think readers are taking the context of the story and trying to marginalize the symbolism and meaning. When that much thought is put into trying to make a story more than it simply needs to be, I feel the reader is often let down in the end, expecting more substance. Beautiful You, in my opinion should be taken simply as it is - a satire. Yes, Palahniuk does address today's issues, but he creates an over-the-top, exaggerated view of everything.

Beautiful does not pertain the warm, fuzzy-feeling of most erotic novels, but instead creates this cold, frigid, business-only picture during the more sexual parts.

Kudos to Palahniuk for his novel, Beautiful You.

[Lizz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t write reviews.

“You’re helpless. Your entire erogenous nervous system is under assault.”

That’s the kind of territory we’re in. Mind (and hence body) control through nanotechnology. A far-fetched idea, you’re thinking. You’re wrong. Look into ferritin-based nanotechnology. They wouldn’t spread it? Look into smart dust. Insect allies programs. Self spreading vacc…. Oh oh oh don’t say the V-word! They wouldn’t do it covertly, for the greater good? Check out the Crutchfield paper “Compulsory moral bioenhancement should be covert,” 2019, on Pubmed/NIH.

Didn’t recognize me? I’m your neighborhood “conspiracy theorist.” Sorry, I’m not wearing my tin foil hat right now. That’s so 2001. I just tell you the things they openly talk about doing, then you label me. Gosh, I love our relationship.

What does this have to do with Beautiful You? It’s a fun, silly, entertaining read, yet I get the PP feeling big time. That stands for predictive programming. Even the Gill Bates character in the book has his media companies present the truth in ludicrous ways so no one will ever believe it.

Anyone else find it odd that a few years after this book old Billy Goat Gruff is still playing god, involved with something under the skin of far more people than the millions of women affected in the novel? No one? Bueller? Bueller?

Book 2 - The Year of Chuck

[Po Po · Rating 4 out of 5]

This makes Bukowski seem like a prudish ankle-length-skirt-wearing school marm.

Delves in squirming, quivering, and hypnotically graphic detail the supreme pleasures derived from carnal enlightenment, with an emphasis on anal orgasms.

Not for the faint of heart or those easily offended-- this is a fiendishly crass, aggressive, deranged and politically-incorrect satire with totally ludicrous slapstick-y scenarios at every turn.

You will want to run, hide, vomit, throw the book against a wall, but then you'll remember this story is supposed to be off-the-wall and completely kooky. It's a f'd up train wreck-of-a-story and you'll love it if you keep in mind that Palahniuk wants you to realize how women's sexuality is still unremittingly repressed in our current world. Boys/men have video games and porn for their release, but what do girls/women have? Arousal addiction is real and now, more than ever before, males suffer in silence. Beautiful You confronts us head-on with the question: How would the world cope if women were to fall victim to the same plight?

* * *

Includes:

+ ridiculous # of references to butter-brickle ice cream

+ technical terms you've never heard of before: inguinal canal, bilbo urethral glands, Howard gland, tunica vaginalis, just to name a few. This book is an odd (but thoroughly rollicking) cross between a medical reference journal and pure smut.

+ blatant high-end merchandise whoring as seen in practically every CP work (Prada, Louis Vitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin and the like)

And finally,

+ fuck fantasies of:


[Ron Howard]

* * *

Gave me goose bumps; I felt chills followed by overheated spasms in the crotch region; I benefited from perpetual wetness.

Ahh, thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα βιβλίο του Τσακ Πόλανικ ήταν τον Απρίλιο του 2012, τότε που απόλαυσα σε μεγάλο βαθμό το "Νανούρισμα" του. Επιτέλους ξαναπιάνω βιβλίο του στα χέρια μου, το πέμπτο κατά σειρά, ένα απ'τα καινούργια του. Το βιβλίο παίρνει εξαιρετικά μέτριες κριτικές στο Goodreads (και αλλού). Ίσα που αγγίζει το 3 στα 5 με κάτι χιλιάδες αξιολογήσεις. Όμως εγώ το βιβλίο το αγόρασα με το που κυκλοφόρησε στα ελληνικά από τις εκδόσεις Αίολος, δίχως δεύτερη σκέψη, γιατί πρόκειται για βιβλίο του Τσακ Πόλανικ, ενός συγγραφέα που θαυμάζω για τα ανατρεπτικά, διαφορετικά, βρώμικα βιβλία του.

Καταλαβαίνω αυτούς που απογοητεύτηκαν από το βιβλίο, το σιχάθηκαν, το μίσησαν. Έχουν αρκετούς και σημαντικούς λόγους. Επίσης δεν ξέρω πως θα νιώσουν πολλές γυναίκες, όταν το διαβάσουν. Θέλω να πω, αυτά που συμβαίνουν μέσα στο βιβλίο είναι θεόμουρλα, παρανοϊκά. Έχουμε την επαρχιωτοπούλα Πηνελόπη Χάριγκαν, από την Νεμπράσκα, που προσπαθεί να πάρει άδεια δικηγόρου, όντας ασκούμενη σ'ένα μεγάλο δικηγορικό γραφείο της Νέας Υόρκης. Στο γραφείο θα γνωριστεί με τον πλουσιότερο άνθρωπο του κόσμου, τον Κορνίλιους Λάινους Μάξγουελ, ο οποίος έχει πλούσια ερωτική δράση ανάμεσα στις πλουσιότερες και πιο δυναμικές γυναίκες του πλανήτη. Τι θα συμβεί όταν οι δυο γνωριστούν καλύτερα και δημιουργήσουν σχέση μεταξύ τους; Και ποιοι είναι οι στόχοι του Μάξγουελ με τα αφροδισιακά προϊόντα της φίρμας "Είσαι όμορφη";

Η περίληψη δεν λέει και πολλά για την τρέλα, την παράνοια, την βρωμιά της ιστορίας. Θυμίζει μάλιστα ένα χαζό και εύπεπτο ρομαντικό μυθιστόρημα. Ε, καμία σχέση! Πρόκειται για μια ανελέητη και ανατρεπτική σάτιρα απέναντι στην σύγχρονη κοινωνία, τον έρωτα, τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις, την τεχνολογία και την καταναλωτική μανία. Φέρνει πολύ σε μια δυστοπία. Ειλικρινά, αυτά που συμβαίνουν κατά την διάρκεια της πλοκής είναι πέρα από κάθε περιγραφή. Οι πρώτες σελίδες σε βάζουν για τα καλά στο κλίμα, πάντως. Όσον αφορά την γραφή, είναι λιγότερο πειραματική, λιγότερο μεταμοντέρνα σε σχέση με άλλα βιβλία του συγγραφέα, πραγματικά παρακολουθείται πολύ εύκολα. Είναι όμως εξαιρετική, με έντονη ειρωνική διάθεση και μπόλικο μαύρο χιούμορ, με τις περιγραφές των διαφόρων τραγελαφικών καταστάσεων να είναι απίθανες.

Με λίγα λόγια το βιβλίο (σχεδόν) με ενθουσίασε. Βέβαια δεν του βάζω πέντε αστεράκια, γιατί κάποια πράγματα μου φάνηκαν ιδιαίτερα τραβηγμένα, μην πω σιχαμερά, ενώ κάποια άλλα δεν με έπεισαν. Όμως απόλαυσα θεόμουρλες, παρανοϊκές καταστάσεις και εικόνες, με την γραφή να είναι εξαιρετική, ευκολοδιάβαστη και άκρως εθιστική. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι περίμενα κάτι το διαφορετικό και το ξεχωριστό, όμως δεν περίμενα ότι ένα βιβλίο με έντονες ερωτικές και σεξουαλικές προεκτάσεις θα μου άρεσε τόσο πολύ. Φυσικά δεν είναι όποιος και όποιος ο συγγραφέας. Το βιβλίο προτείνεται μόνο για συγκεκριμένα γούστα.

Υ.Γ. Πολύ ωραία η έκδοση από τον Αίολο, με προσεγμένη μετάφραση και εξαιρετικά ταιριαστό εξώφυλλο.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the what. <- Initial reaction upon finishing the book.

Reaction after sleeping on it (not literally) - What the heck?! This was one of the oddest books I've ever read. There are no words to describe this thing, other than a trainwreck. But a fun trainwreck, where no one gets hurt and there are a lot of sex toys flying everywhere (fun might not be the best word choice).

I greatly enjoyed this book, and I learned that I have a plethora of awkward faces - all of which I employed while reading this book.

[Matteo Fumagalli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Videorecensione: https://youtu.be/Gz4USoaA79E

[Leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm stuck in a 3 star rut! This one started out interesting, and I've always enjoyed Palahniuk's writing style, but it just devolved into nonsensical madness by the end. Should be quite the book club discussion!

[Carla Dente · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5

Voy a empezar a expresar mi opinión diciendo que nunca había leído algo tan horrible en toda mi vida (puede que esté exagerando, ténganlo en cuenta jaja). Chuck siempre se caracterizó por su tipo de escritura experimental y por tratar temas "tabú" de la forma más "grotesca" posible, siempre haciéndolo de modo que quede bien (utilizando ese tipo de lenguaje con un fin y no solo "porque sí"). Si vamos al caso, eso es lo que hace de sus libros las joyas que son. "Eres hermosa" es un libro que, si bien está bien escrito, viniendo de él es muy pobre y tiene una prosa totalmente insulsa y corriente, sin contar el hecho de que en este caso fue "grotesco porque sí", o eso parece, y lo odié completamente......

Lee mi reseña completa acá: http://mimundoestaentuspaginas.blogsp...

[Ρένα Λούνα · Rating 2 out of 5]

Αγαπητέ Τσακ,

Δεν έχω διαβάσει το fight club, αλλά η ταινία με σημάδεψε, την είδα ως έφηβη και ενθουσιάστηκα. Τι φοβερό μυαλό πρέπει να κατέβασε αυτή την ιδέα! Διάβασα πριν μερικά χρόνια το choke και πραγματικά το απόλαυσα (και η ταινία καλή). Σήμερα λοιπόν τελείωσα το beautiful you και ένιωσα την ανάγκη να σου γράψω.

Τι σκατά Τσακ! Πραγματικά.

Το beautiful you είναι ένα κάλτ εξωφρενικό βιβλίο. Παρακολουθούμε την θλιβερή ζωή της Πέννι Χάριγκαν, μιας επαρχιωτοπούλας από το Μισούρι, η οποία προσπαθεί να πάρει την άδεια δικηγόρου, εργαζόμενη εν τω μεταξύ ως ασκούμενη σ' ένα μεγάλο δικηγορικό γραφείο της Ν.Υ.

Η Πέννι είναι καμπυλάτη και αδέξια, καθώς συνέχεια της πέφτουν οι καφέδες, σωστό στραβάδι. Τουλάχιστον πέφτει και προσγειώνεται με σέξι τρόπο. Δεν μαθαίνουμε τίποτα άλλο για την Πέννι. Α ναι! Μαθαίνουμε πως είναι φεμινίστρια – αλλά κάπως χαζούλα και μπερδεμένη. Την βιώνουμε λίγο σαν σέξι χαριτωμένο ζωάκι, κουτοπόνηρο. Επίσης, μαθαίνουμε πως ο φεμινισμός δεν επιτρέπει δημιουργίας οικογένειας στο μυαλό της, μόνο ακαδημαϊκή και επαγγελματική διάκριση. Η Πέννι δεν νιώθει ακριβώς πως θέλει να φάει την ζωή της πίσω από τα βιβλία (σαν φεμινίστρια ντε) αλλά ούτε και να γίνει μια νοικοκυρούλα. Καθώς ξέρουμε πως οι γυναίκες μπορούμε να υπάρξουμε μόνο σε δίπολα καρικατούρας. Η μοναχική φεμινίστρια, έξυπνη και δυναμική, που χάνει σε εμφάνιση και αγάπη ή η ελαφρόμυαλη νοικοκυρά που αγαπήθηκε, όσο μπορούσε να την αγαπήσει ο κακοποιητικός σύζυγος. Τουλάχιστον η δεύτερη θα κάνει παιδιά, σωστά;

Αυτά αλλάζουν φυσικά, με τον μόνο τρόπο που ξέρουμε. Χρήμα! Το μοναδικό πράγμα στο οποίο υποκλίνονται και σέβονται (όλες) οι γυναίκες. Αχ αυτή η ματαιοδοξία τους! Από το πουθενά, αποφασίζει να τα φτιάξει μαζί της ο Λάινους Μάξγουελ, ένας δισεκατομμυριούχος γυναικάς (ε πως αλλιώς), ο οποίος χρησιμοποιεί γυναίκες ως πειραματόζωα για να λανσάρει μια εξωπραγματική σειρά από sex toys. Μέσα σε αυτή την σειρά από πειράματα έχουν συμμετάσχει και πανίσχυρες γυναίκες (η πρόεδρος της Αμερικής!) οι οποίες δεν ήθελαν καμία σχέση εξουσίας. Ο Μαξ τις «φύτεψε» όλες στην θέση τους, για να ελέγχει την παγκόσμια οικονομία. Μα φυσικά και θα ήταν παράλογο να υπήρχαν γυναίκες σε σημαντικές θέσεις. Θα υπάρχουν αντρικά συμφέροντα από πίσω. Τα πράγματα δεν είναι τόσο απλά, γιατί αυτά τα evil sex toys, καταστρέφουν τις ισορροπίες. Άντρες κυκλοφορούν χαμένοι και αξύριστοι ψάχνοντας κάποια γυναίκα να τους μαγειρέψει.

Οι γυναίκες είναι πάλι μια μεμονωμένη οντότητα. Ξανά. Ο Μάξγουελ έκανε τεράστια έρευνα για να ξεκλειδώσει τα μυστήρια του γυναικείου οργασμού και υπάρχει μια βεβαιότητα πως αυτή είναι η πρόκληση: Να βρεθεί μια συνταγή για όλες, μιας και προφανώς, με τον έναν τρόπο ή με τον άλλον είμαστε ένα. Δεν υπάρχει περιβάλλον, τραύμα και φαντασιώσεις. Υπάρχει μόνο το «females». Το συλλογικό ασυνείδητο και η ψυχολογία των μαζών αποκτά άλλο νόημα εδώ.

Δεν μπόρεσα να ξεπεράσω τις περιγραφές με βασανιστήρια και βιασμούς.

Αγαπητέ Τσακ, τι πάει στραβά μαζί σου;

Ένα πρωί που δεν είχα φάει τίποτα και διάβαζα στον δρόμο για την δουλειά, ξέρασα λίγο. Δεν κάνω καν πλάκα.

Φυσικά και κόσμος ρώτησε τον Τσακ γιατί τα έγραψε αυτά. Μας απάντησε αυτό που όλες έχουμε κουραστεί να ακούμε. «Για πλάκα». Το ότι δεν έχουμε χιούμορ. Δεν καταλαβαίνω πως μπορεί να είναι χιούμορ κάτι που δεν είναι εξωφρενικό, αλλά συμβαίνει παντού και συνέχ��ια και καταστρέφει ζωές. Είναι κάτι ιδιαίτερα συνηθισμένο.

Ωστόσο, δεν αποθαρρύνω ποτέ αναγνώστες, υπάρχουν μερικά καλά σημεία, αλλά από εμένα είναι 2 στα 5 και αυτό γιατί η καρδιά μου είναι τόσο μεγάλη, όσο η ματαιοδοξία της Πέννι, που επέμεινε αυτά, γιατί ‘έχτιζε γκαρνταρόμπα’ και για το ένα λεπτό δημοσιότητας στα σκανδαλοθηρικά περιοδικά. Αυτά που θέλουν όλες οι γυναίκες, όπως μάθαμε άλλωστε.

50shades of grey με incel περιγραφές.