“Six hundred dudes. One porn queen. A world record for the ages. A must-have movie for every discerning collector of things erotic.” “Didn’t one of us on purpose set out to make a snuff movie.” Cassie Wright, porn priestess, intends to cap her legendary career by breaking the world record for serial fornication. On camera. With six hundred men. “Snuff” unfolds from the perspectives of Mr 72, Mr 137 and Mr 600, who await their turn on camera in a very crowded green room.

Palahniuk has outdone himself with the research for this delicious novel.  Not only are we fed information about cervical weight training, vaginal embolisms and how a seasoned porn star can relieve herself of semen through very firm contractions (allegedly), but we are also treated to titbits of celebrity escapades, dark factoids and stories so outlandish they must be untrue, and yet they make a disturbing amount of sense…

A huge amount of the plot is left out in the synopsis, yet the synopsis has been as effective as the name is drawing a crowd.   Thus, the content inside the x-rated cover (interesting to read on a coach to London near a child, I assure you) is a very pleasing surprise.  The three men are revealed to be connected to one another as well as to Cassie Wright herself, and we are only given teasing glimpses of the porn queen herself and the actual event - the best kind of writing.  Then there’s the twist - not as outlandish as in Diary or Survivor but as fitting and brilliant as in Fight Club.  Snuff is certainly one of Palahniuk’s best, and a must read for any fan, no matter how casual.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 11:41 am and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.