Lullaby

By: Chuck Palahniuk

Narrated by: Richard Poe

New York Times best-selling author of Fight Club, which was adapted into a major motion picture, Chuck Palahniuk offers a haunting tale. Winner of the Northwest Booksellers Association Award, Palahniuk is one of the rare literary geniuses who has been able to bridge the gap between a cult following and commercial success.

Carl Streator, a 40-something widower and newspaper reporter, has lived a reclusive life since the death of his wife. His latest assignment is to write a series of articles on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In doing so, he discovers that there is an underlying commonality in the deaths. A children's book, Poems and Rhymes Around the World, containing an African Death chant, is found at the scene of the cases he investigates. Having read the chant aloud, he quickly realizes the lethal power of the words. As he fights against its powerful grip, which has turned him into a serial killer, he enlists the aid of some eccentric compatriots who vow to rid every library and bookstore of the deadly text before further lives are jeopardized. But what begins as a crusade to save lives soon becomes the ultimate game of cat and mouse, as they uncover the truth about the rhyme and are hunted by the force holding Streator captive.

Newsday hails Palahniuk as "one of the freshest, most intriguing voices to appear in a long time." Richard Poe's powerful narration expertly captures every tormented detail of this paranormal thriller.

©2002 Chuck Palahniuk (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Hilarious satire." (Publishers Weekly)
"Outrageous, darkly comic fun of the sort you'd expect from Palahniuk." (Kirkus Reviews)
"In his last novel, Choke, Palahniuk proved he could write a best seller without sacrificing his trademark biting satire. And in Lullaby, he manages an even more impressive feat by showing himself capable of tenderness as well as outrage." (Booklist)
"This is vintage Palahniuk: weird, creepy, twisted, upsetting, and ultimately a great read for anyone who wants to be scared for pleasure." (Library Journal)

Such an interesting concept

If you could sum up Lullaby in three words, what would they be?

Magic is alive

What did you like best about this story?

I thought the characters were well developed and even though it was a scary idea most show their internal character. The antaganist is a great person to hate

Which scene was your favorite?

When the hero must keep counting to ten to make sure he does not act with the power that he wants to control

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

be careful what you read, words are powerful

starts strong, then doesn't advance very much

Excited by the first chapter, full of possibilities by the end of the first third of the book; but, not much new gets introduced for the remainder. The themes are engaging when first introduced, but gets bland when repeated over and over again. The plot gets too neat, too convenient, too contrived throughout the second half: everything just seems to happen to prove a point instead of having outside motivators (like a morose sitcom).

OK, but a little long in the tooth

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The performance is wonderful. The story is dark, and can be very depressing at time. It is also a bit long winded. At times, it was a little hard to follow. All and all, it was OK, but not fantastic.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It ended like I expected.

What about Richard Poe’s performance did you like?

He created each character wonderfully. You could almost see them when he read their parts.

Could you see Lullaby being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

It might be a good TV movie, perhaps on Syfi. I don't know who should star in it. I am not that up on the latest movie stars.

Any additional comments?

The ending is better than the beginning.

Chuck being Chuck

Not for the feint of heart, but if you enjoy his other work you'll love this.

A philosophical giant

Palahinuik in true form. The characters are all gritty and real, some of them you love, and some of them you just want to read the culling song to yourself. I really enjoyed the depth of uncomfortable philosophy involved. Palahinuik brings forth grand ideas and their ugly consequences. He puts the microscope of what is truly wrong, and what it is truly right, using parallels that seem odd but in a way couldn’t be explained any other way. (My personal favorite: “Maybe we don’t go to hell for the things we do, we go to Hell for the things we didn’t do”

The only reason I didn’t give this story 5 stars, however, is because with all the focus on philosophy, the story gets put a little by the wayside. It moved at a slow pace at times, and could even be a bit predictable. This is my third Palahinuik book, and compared to Fight Club, which I read cover to cover in a single day, and Invisible Monsters, this just failed to grab me all the way through. The third act starts to tie all the loose ends together, and then just ends abruptly. Maybe it keeps the magic, maybe it’s supposed to leave you asking questions, I’m not Palahinuik so I will never know. What I do know is I felt a bit unfulfilled at the ending.

All that being said, I really enjoyed this book, Richard Poe deserves a lot of credit for bringing Carl and the rest of the world to life. If You are a fan of the uncomfortable, meaty, and gritty style of Palahinuik, I 100% suggest this book to you

Chuck at his finest!!!

fantastic! one of his best. a must read for any Chuck fan. It’s even better the second go around

No middle ground

I'm pretty sure that Chuck Palahniuk is not an acquired taste. You'll know within the first couple of pages of any of his books or stories whether you like his work or hate it. I'm in the former category. If you are easily offended, stay away from his writing. Like his other books, this one starts out with a premis so unsettling and bizarre (death induced by an ancient nursery rhyme) that it's hard to imagine how he might sustain it. But somehow he does - and with style.

Magic sounds like another scheme of capitalism

Palahniuk manages to punctuate every moment with vibrant description, rhythm, and sometimes scathing commentary on American culture. Magic is more like another plague of consumerism gone wild. The scenes often lack transition pieces constantly shoving the audience into unfamiliar territory before the connections become clear. I was constantly thinking I'd skipped ahead by accident. The climactic scene in the clinic was graphic enough to make me almost stop the book. Overall, I'd give it a four out of five stars.

great ride

kept me hooked the whole time. great narrator. wish it was a little bit longer

not my style

although the story was all right, I didn't really care for this story. It was cynical and lacked.... something. For some, this book will be worth the time I wasted on it. I hope someone will like it.