Una fatica assurda. Scritto con una prosa volutamente sgrammaticata, è un'impresa portarlo a termine. Dopo aver letto alcuni libri di Palahniuk, posso dirlo: lo trovo un romanziere molto mediocre e ampiamente sopravvalutato. ( )

Not nearly in the running to be one of my favorite Chuck Palahniuk books, Pygmy still had the author's twisted sense of humor in evidence. The first-person narrative voice -- attributed to the protagonist, terrorist exchange-student infiltrator "Pygmy" -- shuns standard English, which, if not a deal-breaker for me, makes it unlikely that I will enjoy a novel much. So I guess it succeeded in that uphill struggle. A representative sentence: "Horde scavenger feast at overflowing anus of world history" (146).

The whole story is over-the-top and not at all believable, but it scores a few obvious criticisms of American culture, while instating (on a more fundamental and tacit level) a defense of that same culture. It amplifies the cartoonish elements evident in earlier Palahniuk work like Survivor. I don't regret having read it, but I can see how many readers would.

Exchange Terrorists

Chuck Palahniuk casts a jaundiced eye on and takes a highly satirical pen to American life, and in the end American life wins out, sort of. There was a time when we called an idea like Pygmy high camp, meaning a whole conglomeration of things, exaggerated, vulgar, ostentatious, and the like. Palahniuk’s novel is all of these things, and maybe a bit more. While it will probably not be to everybody’s liking, especially those who dislike reading dialect (here a stylized Engrish with a distinct Mr. Spock attitude), those who revel in over the top humor will appreciate it.

A nameless nation that feels like North Korea and ISIS rolled into one has trained almost from birth an elite core of terrorists. When the novel begins, they have just become teenagers and have been brought to the U.S.A. by an evangelical church in a Midwestern city as exchange students. The idea, of course, is to inculcate them with American and Christian values. However, they come over on a mission, code name Operation Havoc. Chief among the group of adolescent terrorists is “agent number 67.” He relates the story of their arrival, their training, the purpose of their mission, and he in particular their take on various aspects of American life, which he approaches as a decadent society busy destroying the world. Seen through his eyes, life here gets exposed for its absurdity. Unrequited love for his host family’s daughter whom he calls Cat Sister (the father is Cow Father, the mother is Chicken Mother, and the brother Pig Dog Brother, which gives you idea of the novel’s tone), this unrequited love undoes him, or does him, if you’re of that mindset.

Palahniuk’s inventiveness in describing and skewering aspects of American life makes the novel enjoyable. After all, not only is seeing how you live from another, albeit extreme, vantage point funny, but it also can be enlightening. Let’s be honest here, not everybody views America as the pinnacle of living well, including many living the American dream. So, from Agent 67’s perspective we have “retail product distribution facilities” (Walmart), “religion propaganda distribution outlets” (church), “domestic structure Cedar” (his host family’s house), “public education institutions” (school), and the like.

In keeping with the tone of the novel, the characters are more caricatures, highlighting certain aspects of their personalities for humorous effect. Pig Dog Brother thinks only about sex, evaluates women on their physical characteristics, and lobs more euphemisms for breasts than you probably thought existed. Sex obsesses Chicken Mom, who keeps a vibrator handy and, on the Thanksgiving recounted in the story, in her. Cat Sister practices stealth thievery from her father’s business to keep herself well stocked in office supplies. And, not to be outdone, Agent 67 has sex on his mind, though purely as a means of producing more warriors.

To keep the story moving, Palahniuk packs the novel with plenty of humorous, often slapstick violent, set pieces, among them the science fair massacre, the school dance brawl, the Thanksgiving dinner drugging, Devil Tony’s (Agent 67’s name for the pastor) murder in the church, the exploding dildo experiment, and these are just samples. What will happen next, you’ll wonder, and how outrageous will it be?

So, should you give Pygmy a try? If you like your funny novels very broad, absolutely you should. And if you break a smile at the following short excerpt from the science fair, you’ll certainly want to grab a copy:

“Next, parade learned academics arrive experiment invented stealth cat sister. Rested atop table, display moderate missile comparable to light mortar round Japan artillery, caliber fifty-millimeter Type 89 ‘leg’ mortar shell. Missile encased skin pink-color plastic. Smooth polished. Painted letter across placard, written: ‘Bliss 2.0.’”

( )

Exchange Terrorists

Chuck Palahniuk casts a jaundiced eye on and takes a highly satirical pen to American life, and in the end American life wins out, sort of. There was a time when we called an idea like Pygmy high camp, meaning a whole conglomeration of things, exaggerated, vulgar, ostentatious, and the like. Palahniuk’s novel is all of these things, and maybe a bit more. While it will probably not be to everybody’s liking, especially those who dislike reading dialect (here a stylized Engrish with a distinct Mr. Spock attitude), those who revel in over the top humor will appreciate it.

A nameless nation that feels like North Korea and ISIS rolled into one has trained almost from birth an elite core of terrorists. When the novel begins, they have just become teenagers and have been brought to the U.S.A. by an evangelical church in a Midwestern city as exchange students. The idea, of course, is to inculcate them with American and Christian values. However, they come over on a mission, code name Operation Havoc. Chief among the group of adolescent terrorists is “agent number 67.” He relates the story of their arrival, their training, the purpose of their mission, and he in particular their take on various aspects of American life, which he approaches as a decadent society busy destroying the world. Seen through his eyes, life here gets exposed for its absurdity. Unrequited love for his host family’s daughter whom he calls Cat Sister (the father is Cow Father, the mother is Chicken Mother, and the brother Pig Dog Brother, which gives you idea of the novel’s tone), this unrequited love undoes him, or does him, if you’re of that mindset.

Palahniuk’s inventiveness in describing and skewering aspects of American life makes the novel enjoyable. After all, not only is seeing how you live from another, albeit extreme, vantage point funny, but it also can be enlightening. Let’s be honest here, not everybody views America as the pinnacle of living well, including many living the American dream. So, from Agent 67’s perspective we have “retail product distribution facilities” (Walmart), “religion propaganda distribution outlets” (church), “domestic structure Cedar” (his host family’s house), “public education institutions” (school), and the like.

In keeping with the tone of the novel, the characters are more caricatures, highlighting certain aspects of their personalities for humorous effect. Pig Dog Brother thinks only about sex, evaluates women on their physical characteristics, and lobs more euphemisms for breasts than you probably thought existed. Sex obsesses Chicken Mom, who keeps a vibrator handy and, on the Thanksgiving recounted in the story, in her. Cat Sister practices stealth thievery from her father’s business to keep herself well stocked in office supplies. And, not to be outdone, Agent 67 has sex on his mind, though purely as a means of producing more warriors.

To keep the story moving, Palahniuk packs the novel with plenty of humorous, often slapstick violent, set pieces, among them the science fair massacre, the school dance brawl, the Thanksgiving dinner drugging, Devil Tony’s (Agent 67’s name for the pastor) murder in the church, the exploding dildo experiment, and these are just samples. What will happen next, you’ll wonder, and how outrageous will it be?

So, should you give Pygmy a try? If you like your funny novels very broad, absolutely you should. And if you break a smile at the following short excerpt from the science fair, you’ll certainly want to grab a copy:

“Next, parade learned academics arrive experiment invented stealth cat sister. Rested atop table, display moderate missile comparable to light mortar round Japan artillery, caliber fifty-millimeter Type 89 ‘leg’ mortar shell. Missile encased skin pink-color plastic. Smooth polished. Painted letter across placard, written: ‘Bliss 2.0.’”

( )

This is an odd book to try and place. Its written in pidgin English, which makes getting into the flow of reading somewhat difficult. The style never lets up. If you don't get it by Chapter 3 or so, you're never going to finish. It has a decent story - however, it fails to actually elaborate on the most interesting bits sticking to a fairly cliched coming-of-age high school story. There are some laughs, some groans, one or two really disgusting bits, and one of the best damned explanations about dodge ball I have ever come across. If you haven't read anything else by Chuck, I'd give this one a pass and pick up Invisible Monsters or Fight Club. ( )