Rant could be seen as the 'out there' of Palahniuk's novels. It is maybe not best place to start if you haven't read any of his other work before, but once you have become accustomed with his style of writing, it soon becomes clear that this is one of his greatest novels. Don't let this statement put you off from picking this book up, it is a brave and brilliant novel that really doesn't get the recognition it deserves. The story follows main character Buster Casey (hence the name in the title), who goes by the nickname Rant. This nickname comes from a childhood prank, which concludes with a lot of people getting sick, and sounding like they are saying 'rant' every time they are sick. This name becomes synonymous with Casey, and sticks with him throughout his life. Casey likes to get his kicks from getting bitten by poisonous animals and black widow spiders in particular, because they cause him to get a rise in his bathing suit area. He uses his obsession with this to make his way through life with the minimal amount of effort and this allows him to leave his home town and explore the big wide world. It is during this time that he is introduced to 'party crashing', a night time sport where contestants crash cars into one another. During the book, some big themes are introduced, including time travel and how to live in a patriarchal family, especially when you may be your own father. The novel is narrated by many of the characters that have met Buster during his life, giving the title its oral history section. The reader is never actually introduced to the main character of Buster Casey, so we have to rely on the people that have been involved with him over the years, so how much can we truly trust of the narrators? That is up to the individual to decide.
Bearded. Geek. Ba Hons in Film and Media Studies and MA in Film and Cultural Studies. You've caught me at a very weird time in my life and I have to return some videotapes
