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{{Short description|2001 novel by Chuck Palahniuk}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox book
{{Infobox book <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name = Choke
| name = Choke
| image = [[Image:Chokecvr.jpg|200px]]
| image = Chokecvr.jpg
| caption = First edition cover
| caption = First edition cover
| author = [[Chuck Palahniuk]]
| author = [[Chuck Palahniuk]]
| cover_artist = Rodrigo Corral<br>Bob Larkin
| cover_artist = [[Rodrigo Corral]]<br/>Bob Larkin
| country = United States
| country = United States
| language = English
| language = English
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}}
}}


'''''Choke''''' is a 2001 novel by American author [[Chuck Palahniuk]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://chuckpalahniuk.net/books/choke|title=Choke|work=The Cult|access-date=2018-02-22|language=en|archive-date=February 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223051349/http://chuckpalahniuk.net/books/choke|url-status=dead}}</ref> The story focuses on Victor, a [[sex addict]] and [[con man]]<ref>{{Cite news| url= https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-50156-9|title=Fiction Book Review: CHOKE by Chuck Palahniuk |work= PublishersWeekly.com|access-date= 2018-02-22|language=en}}</ref> who also works at a colonial reenactment museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/jul/22/fiction.chuckpalahniuk|title=Observer review: Choke by Chuck Palahniuk |last=Adams|first=Tim|date=2001-07-22|website= The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-02-22}}</ref> The novel was later [[Choke (2008 film)|adapted for film]] by [[Clark Gregg]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web| url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=choke.htm |title=Choke (2008) |website= boxofficemojo.com|language= en| access-date=2018-02-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/aug/15/checkoutthetrailerforchuc|title=Check out the trailer for 'Fight Club sequel' Choke|last=Child|first=Ben|date= 2008-08-15|website= The Guardian |language= en|access-date= 2018-02-22}}</ref>
'''''Choke''''' is a 2001 novel by American author [[Chuck Palahniuk]].


==Plot summary==
==Plot summary==
''Choke'' follows Victor Mancini and his friend Denny through a few months of their lives with frequent flashbacks to the days when Victor was a child.<ref>{{cite book|last=Palahniuk|first=Chuck|authorlink=Chuck Palahniuk|title=Choke|publisher=Anchor|date=June 11, 2002|isbn=0-385-72092-0}}
''Choke'' follows Victor Mancini and his friend Denny through a few months of their lives with frequent flashbacks to the days when Victor was a child. Victor had grown up moving from one [[foster home]] to another as his mother was found to be unfit to raise him. During his childhood, his mother would [[kidnapping|kidnap]] him from his various foster parents, though every time they would eventually be caught and he would again be remanded over to the child welfare agency.
</ref> He had grown up moving from one foster home to another, as his mother was found to be unfit to raise him. Several times throughout his childhood, his mother would kidnap him from his various foster parents, though every time they would eventually be caught, and he would again be remanded over to the governmental child welfare agency.


In the present day setting of the book, Victor is now a man in his mid-twenties who left medical school in order to find work to support his feeble mother who is now in a nursing home. He cannot afford the care that his mother is receiving so he resorts to being a con man. He consistently goes to various restaurants and purposely causes himself to choke mid-way through his meal, luring a "[[good Samaritan]]" into saving his life. He keeps a detailed list of everyone who saves him and sends them frequent letters about fictional bills he is unable to pay. The people feel so sorry for him that they send him cards and letters asking him about how he's doing and even continue to send him money to help him with the bills. He works at a re-enactment museum set in colonial times, where most of the employees are drug-addicts or, in his friend Denny's case, a fellow recovering [[sex addict]]. Victor spends most of his time on the job guarding his friend Denny (who is constantly being caught with "contraband", items that don't correspond with the time period of the museum) in the stocks. Victor first met Denny at a sexual addiction support group (he was there as a guy who masturbates too much), and they later applied together to the same job. Denny is later fired from the museum, and begins collecting stones from around the city to build his "dream home;" Palahniuk based this portion of the novel on the true story of [[Ferdinand Cheval]].
In the present-day setting of the book, Victor has left medical school to support his feeble mother, who is now in a nursing home. In order to pay for elder care for his mother, he resorts to being a [[con artist]]. Victor goes to various restaurants and purposely causes himself to choke midway through his meal, luring a "[[good Samaritan]]" into saving his life. He keeps a detailed list of everyone who saves him and sends them frequent letters about fictional bills he is unable to pay, causing them to send him money out of sympathy.


Victor works at a re-enactment museum set in colonial times, where most of the employees are drug addicts or, in Denny's case, a fellow recovering [[sex addict]]. He spends most of his time on the job guarding Denny (who is constantly being caught with "contraband" items that do not correspond with the time period of the museum) in the stocks. The two met at a sex addiction [[support group]] and later applied together for the same job. Denny is later fired from the museum, and begins collecting stones from around the city to build his "dream home".
⚫
While growing up, Victor's mother taught him numerous [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] and obscure medical facts which both confused and frightened him. This and his constant moves from one home to another have left Victor unable to form lasting and stable relationships with women. Victor, as a result, finds himself getting sexual gratification from women on a solely superficial level (using sex anonymous meetings to find many of his sexual partners). Later on, he starts talking to his mother again for the first time in years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bluerectangle.com/book_reviews/view_one_review/1955 |title= ''Choke'' (review) |author= |date= |work= |publisher= |accessdate=2011-10-10}}</ref>


⚫
While growing up, Victor's mother taught him numerous [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] and obscure medical facts, which both confused and frightened him. This and his constant moves from one home to another have left Victor unable to form lasting and stable relationships with women. As a result, Victor finds himself getting sexual gratification from women on a solely superficial level. Later on, he starts talking to his mother again for the first time in years.
The narrative is episodic, and is presented out of chronological order, a style common to the author's books.


==Film adaptation==
==Film adaptation==
{{main|Choke (film)}}
{{main|Choke (2008 film)}}
A film adaptation directed by [[Clark Gregg]], starring [[Sam Rockwell]] and [[Anjelica Huston]], was released commercially on September 26, 2008. Palahniuk makes a cameo appearance in the film.
A film adaptation directed by [[Clark Gregg]], starring [[Sam Rockwell]] and [[Anjelica Huston]], was released commercially on September 26, 2008.<ref name=":0" /> Palahniuk makes a cameo appearance in the film.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1566440/20070806/story.jhtml|title=On The 'Choke' Set With Chuck Palahniuk, Sam Rockwell — And Dave Matthews?!|last=Horowitz|first=Josh|date=August 7, 2007|website=MTV|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218161835/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1566440/20070806/story.jhtml|archive-date=February 18, 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=February 22, 2018}}</ref>


==Editions==
==Editions==
* ISBN 0-385-50156-0 (hardcover; New York: Doubleday, 2001)
* {{ISBN|0-385-50156-0}} (hardcover; New York: Doubleday, 2001)
* ISBN 1-58945-971-7 ([[e-book]], 2001)
* {{ISBN|1-58945-971-7}} ([[e-book]], 2001)
* ISBN 0-385-72092-0 (paperback; New York: Anchor, 2002)
* {{ISBN|0-385-72092-0}} (paperback; New York: Anchor, 2002)


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*Much of Palahniuk’s research on ''Choke'' was conducted with total strangers at the gym and sexual addiction groups.<ref>"[http://www.alternet.org/story/11049/?page=2 The Unexpected Romantic: An Interview with Chuck Palahniuk]". Tamara Straus's interview with Chuck Palahniuk. June 19, 2001.</ref>
*Much of Palahniuk's research on ''Choke'' was conducted with total strangers at the gym and sexual addiction groups.<ref>"[http://www.alternet.org/story/11049/?page=2 The Unexpected Romantic: An Interview with Chuck Palahniuk]". Tamara Straus's interview with Chuck Palahniuk. June 19, 2001.</ref>
*A song by Scottish band Biffy Clyro is titled ''Joy.Discovery.Invention.'' after a line in the novel.
*A song by Scottish band Biffy Clyro is titled "[[Joy.Discovery.Invention]]" after a line in the novel.
*The band [[Panic! at the Disco|Panic! At The Disco]] wrote a song called "Build God, Then We'll Talk" also after a line in the novel.
*Palahniuk stated in the documentary, "Postcards from the Future" that the character he has the most compassion for in any of his books is Denny, one of the main characters in "Choke". He mentioned how he usually doesn't even like the characters he creates, because they have ideals and beliefs that he actually disagrees with. However, Denny was a character created by him whom he actually liked.


==References==
==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Choke (Novel)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choke (Novel)}}
[[Category:2001 novels]]
[[Category:2001 American novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Chuck Palahniuk]]
[[Category:Novels by Chuck Palahniuk]]
[[Category:Postmodern novels]]
[[Category:Postmodern novels]]
[[Category:American satirical novels]]
[[Category:American satirical novels]]
[[Category:Sexual addiction in fiction]]
[[Category:Fiction about sexual addiction]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:21st-century American novels]]
[[Category:Books with cover art by Rodrigo Corral]]

Latest revision as of 13:41, 20 September 2024

Choke
First edition cover
AuthorChuck Palahniuk
Cover artistRodrigo Corral
Bob Larkin
LanguageEnglish
GenreSatire, Black comedy
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date
May 22, 2001
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages304
ISBN0-385-50156-0
OCLC44905122
813/.54 21
LC ClassPS3566.A4554 C47 2001
Preceded byInvisible Monsters 
Followed byLullaby 

Choke is a 2001 novel by American author Chuck Palahniuk.[1] The story focuses on Victor, a sex addict and con man[2] who also works at a colonial reenactment museum.[3] The novel was later adapted for film by Clark Gregg.[4][5]

Plot summary

[edit]

Choke follows Victor Mancini and his friend Denny through a few months of their lives with frequent flashbacks to the days when Victor was a child. Victor had grown up moving from one foster home to another as his mother was found to be unfit to raise him. During his childhood, his mother would kidnap him from his various foster parents, though every time they would eventually be caught and he would again be remanded over to the child welfare agency.

In the present-day setting of the book, Victor has left medical school to support his feeble mother, who is now in a nursing home. In order to pay for elder care for his mother, he resorts to being a con artist. Victor goes to various restaurants and purposely causes himself to choke midway through his meal, luring a "good Samaritan" into saving his life. He keeps a detailed list of everyone who saves him and sends them frequent letters about fictional bills he is unable to pay, causing them to send him money out of sympathy.

Victor works at a re-enactment museum set in colonial times, where most of the employees are drug addicts or, in Denny's case, a fellow recovering sex addict. He spends most of his time on the job guarding Denny (who is constantly being caught with "contraband" items that do not correspond with the time period of the museum) in the stocks. The two met at a sex addiction support group and later applied together for the same job. Denny is later fired from the museum, and begins collecting stones from around the city to build his "dream home".

While growing up, Victor's mother taught him numerous conspiracy theories and obscure medical facts, which both confused and frightened him. This and his constant moves from one home to another have left Victor unable to form lasting and stable relationships with women. As a result, Victor finds himself getting sexual gratification from women on a solely superficial level. Later on, he starts talking to his mother again for the first time in years.

Film adaptation

[edit]
Main article: Choke (2008 film)

A film adaptation directed by Clark Gregg, starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston, was released commercially on September 26, 2008.[4] Palahniuk makes a cameo appearance in the film.[6]

Editions

[edit]

Trivia

[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Choke (novel).
  • Much of Palahniuk's research on Choke was conducted with total strangers at the gym and sexual addiction groups.[7]
  • A song by Scottish band Biffy Clyro is titled "Joy.Discovery.Invention" after a line in the novel.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Choke". The Cult. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  2. ^ "Fiction Book Review: CHOKE by Chuck Palahniuk". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  3. ^ Adams, Tim (July 22, 2001). "Observer review: Choke by Chuck Palahniuk". The Guardian. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Choke (2008)". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  5. ^ Child, Ben (August 15, 2008). "Check out the trailer for 'Fight Club sequel' Choke". The Guardian. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  6. ^ Horowitz, Josh (August 7, 2007). "On The 'Choke' Set With Chuck Palahniuk, Sam Rockwell — And Dave Matthews?!". MTV. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  7. ^ "The Unexpected Romantic: An Interview with Chuck Palahniuk". Tamara Straus's interview with Chuck Palahniuk. June 19, 2001.
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