Rant and Flight 370

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Chuck Palahniuk shifts gears without pushing in the clutch.  Somehow, even his jarring shifts come off as smooth.  I'm certain that many readers would disagree, but that's how I experienced Rant. 

I need to read this again now that I have the full picture. The oral-history style of the story and the shifting credibility of the narrators insure any second reading will be a new experience. 

I think the style of narrative made the book compelling, and it illustrated human habits in storytelling that are timeless, predictable, and always fascinating.  People emphasize different parts of the same scene, exaggerate, tactically omit, or simply leave much out.  All of this illustrated how we frame stories to suit our comfort needs. 

For example, I read this book during the frenzy over the fate of flight 370.  As I type this, CNN's lead story (in nearly 20-point font) is "Aircraft spots 'One of the Most Promising Leads.'"  One of the related articles is "What is too much plane news?"  I'm not making either of those up.  I'm going to say we have had way too much plane news.

People who need to feel that we as humans can immediately know or control whatever we want to know or control in our world just can't stop trying to solve the puzzle.  There is idle curiosity, interested problem-solving, manic obsession... all are represented. 

Others can't believe this thing can't sit until all the pieces settle or wonder why it's such a curiosity to those without loved ones on the plane (this is where I live).  Some of us think it just crashed in the ocean, that stuff happens (even in this day and age), and that we'll eventually know "something" about what brand of stuff happened, and that that knowledge won't satisfy everyone and there will be internet videos and basic mania lasting through ages. Many eyes will roll.    

What does this have to do with Rant?  Well, Buster Rant is like flight 370, and the people telling the story have different ideas as to whether he is like the legendary Bill Brasky bordering on diety or a random nut job.  The religion example is explicitly used in the book at times, but Flight 370 works as well, thus showing how timeless and deep these human traits are. 

It's a fun story that leaves the reader in a place to evaluate the credibility of the various onlookers while taking a really neat philosophical walk through some pretty interesting mental obstacle courses.  No matter what a reader takes from the book, the mental journey is worthy.

Some people need to believe that Rant's actions had a particular meaning, purpose, or message.  It seems to give them a reason to get up in the morning. Others roll their eyes, some for good reason, but others too quickly.  The truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

This story illustrates all of those perspectives brilliantly, and it includes some fascinating and twisted plot points and scenes that only come from Chuck Palahniuk.  



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