The Rendition Experience

Well, I did not follow through with the Kathy Reichs’ book last time. Instead, I followed the advice of my one and only commentator up to now (C. doesn't count) and got myself a book by Chuck Palahniuk. I started with Fight Club of course because it was the first one to be written and I had seen the movie.
There will probably be some spoilers in this…

I shall start with the end, the afterword by the author.
I was surprised to find that it all started with a short story. When he was asked to expand that story into a book, all the author did was gather experiences from men all around him and put them together. I am over simplifying this… He collated these experiences together, writing in a simplistic half cynical way that made the story extremely compelling to me. In this, he wrote a code which men all around the world were already following or discovering for the first time. It amazes me how something done in a few hours of boredom could have triggered such an effect. Men all around the world.

So, basically, it is about a white collared job man who goes about his life feeling miserable. He makes himself feel better by being materialistic and by frequenting help clubs that help people cope with all sorts of random ailments. He doesn’t really have any diseases but goes there looking for some comfort for his misery.

He meets Tyler Durden during one of his business trips and after losing his home to a gas leak explosion, they start living together and start gathering to fight so that men can be men as they were meant to be.

Enough with the spoilers. I’m sure it is more interesting to actually read it.
I wish I had read the book before I watched the film. I think the impact might have been a lot bigger when, after the surreal read of intertwined of contradictory thoughts and dialogues, it all clicked into place and you realize it is two in one and the whole split personality thing.

So, what else makes this book so great? The answer is… it just tells you how it is. It is fiction but it is so real. We are all materialistic sheep defined by what we own and most don’t even know how to live and feel alive.

This is the story of a guy who is becoming lost in this world of pleasantries and fakeness and how his sub-conscious creates a personality in a cry for liberation.
His name is Tyler Durden and he is everything everyone wants to be.

PS - I never ever noticed in the movie or in the book until after I had finished that the narrator’s (main character’s) name is never mentioned, only his alternate personality.

PSII – This was one of the hardest reviews I have written so far. I have found it difficult to express the multitude of feelings I had when reading this book and I’m still not sure it is everything I wanted to say.

Wow 3 books to my one I better get cracking.

I had decided to give the slasher stabby killer novels a rest for the time being and read something more mystery and far fetched as it were, I do like the escapism from time to time. The book I chose was by an author I hadnt heard of before much but wrote in a similar style to the author who wrote the bourne supremacy and is similar to dan brown who i really like.

The story is based around the theories surrounding the untimely death of the great composer Mozart and the conspiracy theory that he was part of the masons and that it was rival sects of the masons that potentially got him killed. The central character is Ben Hope who appears in another of Scott's books and I think there is a planned series of books with this character. At first it's not something I immediately warmed to although it does grab you right from the start and you learn what kind of man Ben Hope really is. A well written story that twists and turns and leaves you breathless at times with shock at some of the ordeals that characters are put through.

This book was all action and plot twists the characters were developed enough for you to start to care about them but other than Ben Hope you never really get to the nitty gritty of any of the characters. In some ways this is a relief as the book is quite a detailed and action packed one. I didnt get tired of reading this book and there are times when I couldnt put it down in places as all I could think is "has he really done that to them??" There is also a certain amount of gore which made even me cringe.

The ending wasnt one that I liked for escapism purposes but in terms of plot twist it was a work of genius as now I cant wait for the next Ben Hope book and I am going in search of the last one with him in it. It is a good read for anyone into stories written in the style of Dan Brown or Ian Fleming. Give it a try you maybe surprised at its understated start but keep reading and the surprises keep coming.

C :)

I have always enjoyed the Bones series on TV (it is not just the fact that David Boreanaz stars on it, although that is a good contributor to my liking of the series...) so I have been looking forward to starting to read the books that inspired it all.

There are quite a few differences to start with. The character in the book is more believable as we get to hear her thoughts and doubts. Anyhow, this is about the book, not a comparison between television and book.

Temperance Brennan is a Forensic Anthropologist who specializes in determining causes of death by analyzing bones. She's middle aged divorced woman and mother to a teenage girl. She takes a position in Canada in order to take a break from her marriage and ends up staying there. 

The story starts when a mutilated corpse is found inside bin bags. After analyzing the remains, she sees a connection between the current case and one she analyzed before. The connection is faint but her instinct keeps telling her there is a connection. She has to deal with Claudel, a cynic detective who doesn't know the meaning of "being nice", scrutinizing her findings and dismissing her due to the lack of concrete evidence of a connection.

Throughout the rest of the story, she keeps finding these links to a puzzle that the police department doesn't think exists. She keeps investigating for herself, despite the admonition of her colleagues and puts herself in danger as the killer starts seeing her as a threat and targets her.

I have found this book difficult to read at times, as the mind of Dr. Brenan is a maze unlike any. The technical expertise of the author is evident when Brenan starts discussing her work with her old colleagues and a rain of technical jargon is spilled out, leaving me a bit lost. This would make it a bit tiring to read at times but did not affect the story which kept creeping surprise after surprise. The character does put herself in some stupid situations when I thought “Why are you doing that??”, but the state of mind that leads her to these is evident and helps keep it more credible.

Maybe I am a little biased because I do like the series where she is a strong confident woman who has a knack for jiu jitsu. But despite enjoying the book, it made me feel like something was missing.

I grabbed another Kathy Reichs’ one this morning. I have yet to decide whether to read it or not.

V.