by No Single Name

Created on: April 18, 2009   Last Updated: April 19, 2009

Carl Streator is a sad, unlucky man. A journalist who once found his wife and child dead, Streator spends his days drowning in the details of his cases, and his nights, building intricate houses, only to stomp them to pieces upon completion. When his editor, Duncan, comes up with the idea of running a five-part segment on SIDS, (or as Duncan refers to it, "crib death"), Streator notices a pattern that links recent infant deaths to the death of his family: page twenty-seven of a book of nursery rhymes, containing a culling song that he had long-since read to them before they went to sleep for the last time.

An intriguing welcome back to the demented world of Chuck Palahniuk.

Lullaby is Palahniuk's fifth novel, one released on the heels of Choke, now a film. Never has a book so cryptically reflected its author's struggle: Palahniuk wrote Lullaby soon after his father's murder, after being asked to help decide whether or not the perpetrator would receive the death penalty. Unsure of where he stood on capital punishment, Palahniuk used the book as a way to cope with the decision; a month after its completion, the murderer was sentenced to death.

Indeed, the themes of death and murder, direct or indirect, are at the heart of Lullaby. Having seen the culling song on multiple occasions and written it in his notes, Streator has incidentally memorized it; when he tests his theory that the culling song is connected to the deaths upon his editor by reading the man the poem, Streator becomes a murderer. Continuing through his investigation with surprisingly little guilt or empathy, he stumbles upon Helen Hoover Boyle, a realtor who read the song to her son and found him dead the next day. When two of her clients are found dead without any apparent cause, Streator confronts her. Boyle infers that, in his investigations, Streator has memorized the song, and that Duncan's death has put him on the slippery slope to abusing the power.

"Power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. So just relax, Helen Boyle told me, and just enjoy the ride."

As the temptation to abuse the song grows, so too does the need to destroy remaining copies; Streator finds himself at odds with one of Boyle's associates, the eco-terrorist boyfriend of her assistant, even after he recruits them for their help in his mission.

And so, the novel heats up, tearing through a beautifully-constructed plot and to the finish line with a flowing language that can make the reader forget how long they've had their nose buried in the book; the piece is so well-constructed with such great purpose and meaning behind it as to elevate very nearly to the level of Fight Club. The book bears the marks so favored by its author: broken and twisted anti-heroes; jaded observations upon everyday life; a plot which gives a gentle nudge to the basis of everyday life, quietly asking, "What if?" What if you had the power to kill with a song, a thought? What if you killed someone, even indirectly, even if they were a blight upon society?

Would that make you a terrible person?

Though perhaps not for fans of more mainstream authors, Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby is a near-poetic insight into the struggle of its creator, a triumph in demonstrating the way tragedy can be manipulated into producing beauty. It is a smooth, engaging read, perfect for anyone who feels they need a break from the usual writing found on bookshelves and bestseller lists.

Fight Club may have given Palahniuk his cult following, but it is the continued quality of releases such as Lullaby which allows him to maintain it.

Learn more about this author, No Single Name.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.