In his latest novel, Chuck Palahniuk combines the unusual writing style and plot intricacies found in his previous novels. The story focuses on a journalist who begins his career by investigating Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and discovers a literary passage that is deadly when read aloud.
Lullaby slowly releases the suspense and gently shapes the protagonist, Carl Streator, from seasoned yet nervous journalist to the frightful bearer of a deadly song.
Streator is difficult to relate to until the last several chapters, as he seems very measured and careful in his actions and motivations.
Helen Hoover Boyle is the counterpart to the even-keeled Streator; she acts rashly and harshly, and absorbs her newfound power in an exorbitant way.
Throughout the first few chapters, the reader is slowly allowed into a world where a series of words become more dangerous than common weaponry.
This adds an interesting punctuation mark to the relevance and cultural savvy demonstrated by Palahniuk.
"People will be happy to give up most of their culture for the assurance that the tiny bit that comes through is safe and clean," wrote Palahniuk.
The idea of word filtering and making society safe is incredibly poignant, with references to airport security assisting in the general feel of one of the many undertones in "Lullaby."
Much like its predecessor "Invisible Monsters," "Lullaby" uses touching phrases to continually make reader to relate plot elements to real life. "Lullaby" carries a very sardonic and critical message of not only the characters of the novel, but of the envious and self-serving faults of mankind.
The inventive plot of this novel is incredibly worthwhile, although this book feels more careful than Palahniuk's past ventures into uncovering the motivation of mankind.
Former novels have been more demonstrative in presenting a derisive view of the world through the eyes of an outsider. This book flirts with the idea of being an insider and an outsider.
It seems a natural artistic progression, as this book is more delicately crafted than the incredibly outlandish plot of "Survivor," one of Palahniuk's earlier novels.
This plot, due to its subtlety, has a very chilling payoff. Although the development builds slowly, some absurd occurrences would be nonsensical without the incredible amount of detail put into the rising action.
Many of the plot elements are thrown in for sheer humor. The initial description of Boyle bears an aloof and familiar humor that is obviously intended to be a humorous backdrop to this otherwise somber tale.
The most interesting sub-plot in this novel is the dialogue held constantly - sometimes more forcibly than others - between the deadly potential of the words being read and the reader.
The novel drags at points, bogged down by seemingly pointless leads in no particular direction, with italicized selections requiring incredible patience to read through. These points are never clearly picked back up at any point during the novel, but serve as interesting side points throughout.
The blunt introductory commentary about Streator's ethics class in journalism school set a wonderful tone for the ethics issue skirting the pages of "Lullaby." Although at times Palahniuk's point is lost in detail, the issue of ethics is consistently enticing the reader to continue.
The ethics of the novel, the profession of journalism, the power of a deadly song are the main issue in "Lullaby." Although some characters remain flat and never develop, the plot itself and the life of the story remain multi-faceted and keep the words printed on the page alive with deeper meaning and an angry truth characteristic of Palahniuk's world.
This is incredibly appropriate for a novel acting as a vehicle for exploring the power of words.
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