Damned finds Chuck Palahniuk’s 13-year-old heroin Madison Spencer dead and in hell for nebulous reasons. Yet, rather than being broken by her damnation, the precocious Maddie seeks to make the most out of her place in death.
Maddie’s insanely rich and famous parents mourn her death on earth while she treks across hell with her rag-tag band of friends and gets a job in a call center. There, she tries to solve the mystery of how she really died, reduce several dying individuals’ fear of death, determine if she is really supposed to be in heaven and pines for her adopted foreign brother, Goran.
Through flashbacks, Maddie’s story unravels itself. And in death, she becomes much more than she was in life.
Her tale twits and turns from there, but she never gives up hope, even in the face of lakes of vomit, giant flies, hungry demons and Hitler (who’s comeuppance recalls the best scene in Inglorious Basterds).
As a narrator, Maddie can be annoying, constantly reminding the reader that though she is only thirteen, she knows big words and understands some of life’s mysteries which might befuddle most people her age.
Occasionally, Palahniuk allows Maddie a moment to be extremely profound: “What makes earth feel like Hell is our expectation that it ought to feel like Heaven,” she says.
The setting is unique, but long-time fans of Palahniuk will see themes that have been carried out in a number of his other books; unexpected leaders, subversive social movements, free will and disgustingly vivid descriptions of any number of things. Palahniuk has been prolific. Damned is his fifth book in five years.
Fans of Palahniuk will enjoy this piece more than his last two efforts. First time readers would be damned not to start with earlier works Fight Club, Choke or Survivor.
