Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a hilarious novel.

I can totally get why a lot of people might diss it, but I'm pretty sure it's not for the quality of the prose or the story.

It is, however, a delicious satire that deserves lots of real reads. And let's be real here: it should be read and enjoyed ESPECIALLY for how uncomfortable it makes us. I mean, seriously, it IS Chuck Palahniuk, people. Invisible Monsters? Fight Club? Hell, I chortled my head off in Survivor, too.

This isn't that far off. But where Fight Club (which is not only referenced but is straight-up ANALYZED by the characters in this book) ends, this novel really takes off. It is NOT a sequel, mind you, but it sits us down to show us how f**king insane all the post-revolution ideas are.

Does everyone get dished? Hell yes. Whites, blacks, straights or LGBTQ, educated or uneducated, rich or poor, young or old.

Everyone is pretty much given the opportunity to make their own little separate nation-states and it plays out pretty much as you might expect.

Here's the thing: even when Chuck Palahniuk is playing up all the worst aspects of human nature, all the nasty little horrible crap is full of GOOD POINTS and UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS. What could have been a great little scorcher actually turns out to be a pretty fine mirror.

Our world looks almost like this book already. There's no mass migration, sure, and people aren't putting C4 on arrowheads, and the Second Great American Civil War hasn't officially begun, but Adjustment (lol) Day is a fine, fine example of a modern 1984 that is a lot more than a tired re-imagining. This one takes potshots at everyone.

I'm reflective by nature so I don't mind taking a good long look at myself. I think that's all that's required to have a good time here. That, or a sense of humor. :)

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