"Ever heard of a culling song? It's a lullaby sung in Africa to give a painless death to the old or infirm. The lyrics of a culling song kill, whether spoken or even just thought. You can find one on page Poem and Rhymes from Around the World, an anthology on the shelves of libraries across country. When reporter Carl streator discovers that unsuspecting readers are reading the poem and accidentally killing their children, he begins a desperate cross-country quest to put the culling song to rest and save the nation from certain disaster. Written with a style and imagination that could only come from Chuck Palahniuk, lullaby is the lastest outrage from one of our most exciting writers at work today. "
What a difficult review this is going to be. I'm going to try and not give away any spoilers, but it's going to be hard. This review may seem light compared to my other reviews of Palahniuk novels. It also could be because I was a bit confused by Lullaby, but here goes!
I enjoyed reading Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk; it brought me back to when I read Diary in high school. Lullaby and Diary are so similar. I wonder what I would've thought if I read them right after each other. The narrator in Lullaby reminded me of the narrator in Diary which I loved. The narrator was unreliable even though we find out the narrator's name is Carl Streator. I really found Diary and Lullaby so similar not just because of the narrators. Also because of the weird events, the situation and the theme.
Lullaby is the most moral and philosophical Palahniuk novel I've read to date. The narrator can't tell what he actually believes from what he's been told to believe. He's talking about free will. The theme of "free will" plays a major role in Lullaby. The narrator grapples with idea as many of us may have dealt with feelings like that.
There weren't a lot of things I didn't like about Lullaby. I've gotten a lot of quotes from this novel. One being this quote: The more people die, the more things stay the same. It's kind of a contradiction because people have to die in order to keep the natural balance. But it goes perfectly well with everything that happens in Lullaby. I loved how the narrator is driven throughout the whole story because of one event that happened to him and how it keeps coming up throughout the novel. I liked the idea of him being conflicted about his situation and him being the only one who sees the irony in what they're doing. They way Palahniuk uses colors in this novel is unlike any novel I've read before. The description of how pink hair is or what kind of yellow is a suit was really appealing. The most vivid imagery of colors in a Chuck Palahniuk novel.
Carl Streator kind of looks like Castiel from Supernatural. If you don't watch the show, read Lullaby then Google Castiel. As for those you who know who Castiel is, just read Lullaby.
In all of Chuck Palahniuk's novels there's a huge twist that changes the whole novel. However in Lullaby, I think the whole book was the twist.
Most of Palahniuk's protagonists are sort of Anti Heroes. You're not supposed to feel too bad for them or sympathize with them but by the end of Lullaby, I feel bad for Carl. All he wanted was a "normal" life and now he's stuck in his new life where his old self is a ghost.
I recommend you read Lullaby! Maybe even read Diary and then Lullaby or Lullaby and then Diary.
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