5 Best Chuck Palahniuk Books

1. Haunted (2005)

The reason Haunted has taken the Number One spot over all of the other books that he has written, is because in my opinion it draws together all the themes and ideas that have skirted around the edges of his previous works and brings them in all into one claustrophobic masterpiece that grabs you by the throat from the very first page and doesn't let go until the end. Haunted follows the story of an unrelated group of people, who, for their own reasons choose to leave their old lives behind and steal off in the middle of the night to take part in a writers retreat where they feel they will be able to write their own masterpiece and show the world what they have to offer. Much like Palahniuk's other novels, things aren't as they seem. Each character is given a nickname, which ties in with a story that they each present to the rest of the group during their time at the retreat and this lack of personalisation gives an unnerving sense that these characters could be anyone from any walk of life. These people could be your next door neighbour, because who really knows all of the events that happens in a person's life and what they have to carry around with them each day; it could be even be your own self. Palahniuk used to read one of the stories out from Haunted during his book tours, and the story was that shocking that he would have people fainting during the reading. The story in question is called "Guts" and is the first story told within the book, after the scene has been set and really sets the tone for the rest of the novel. It is one of the most harrowing stories, I personally feel, you will ever read and what makes it even more ridiculous is the fact that it is based on a collection of true stories that Chuck had collected over the years whilst doing research for his other works. Haunted is not a book to be taken lightly, but I highly recommend tracking down a copy.