Lullaby
Complex
Dark
Intense

Lullaby

"Carl Streator is a reporter investigating Sudden Infant Death Syndrome for a soft-news feature. After responding to several calls with paramedics, he notices that all the dead children were read the same poem from the same library book the night before they died. It's a 'culling song' - an ancient African spell for euthanizing sick or old people. Researching it, he meets a woman who killed her own child with it accidentally. He himself accidentally killed his own wife and child with the same poem twenty years earlier. Together, the man and the woman must find and destroy all copies of this book, and try not to kill every rude sonofabitch that gets in their way. Lullaby is a comedy/drama/tragedy. In that order. It may also be Chuck Palahniuk's best book yet."
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Reviews

Photo of Ryan Mateyk
Ryan Mateyk@the_rybrary
2 stars
Jul 4, 2024

I think I've outgrown Chuck Palahniuk. When I first read Invisible Monsters, I was enchanted and disturbed and I loved it. Followed it up with Fight Club, another satisfying read. After a few years, I read Survivor and it was... fine. And now this was just kind of the equivalent of this: Bye Chuck!

Photo of Katie
Katie@katie_____ad
1 star
Jan 7, 2024

Despicable. I would fight chuck

Photo of Amanda Autumn Berrey
Amanda Autumn Berrey@booksofautumn
3 stars
Sep 6, 2023

I wanted to rate it four stars but I was zoning out at times

+4
Photo of Michael Springer
Michael Springer@djinn-n-juice
2 stars
May 1, 2023

Meh.

Photo of Miguel
Miguel @miguelenliteral
3 stars
Feb 23, 2023

No creo que sea la mejor obra de Palahniuk. Me gustó mucho la historia pero no logró tomar toda mi atención como lo hizo Monstruos Invisibles. Si no has leìdo un libro de Chuck, este es un buen libro pero no es el mejor para ser el primero que leas.

Photo of Rohan Uddin
Rohan Uddin@thesparrowfall
4 stars
Feb 3, 2023

What a crazy book. Social commentary along with psychedelic narrative, this is a funny, tragic ride.

Photo of Megan Snodgrass
Megan Snodgrass@snodingham
4 stars
Dec 12, 2022

4.5 This was my first venture into Palahniuk's writing, and boy was it a ride. It was the first book I've read in awhile where I truly was shocked about the themes and events that occurred in the book. It was such a fun mix of macabre, dark humor, and social commentary. I would not recommend for those that have a weak stomach. For those that are interested in how a culling song, anti-consumerism, crib death, and magic intertwine for a modern day Roman Gothic novel, I recommend you should check it out.

Photo of Siya S
Siya S@haveyoureadbkk
3 stars
Nov 29, 2022

I like it ... I really do. It's so absurd and crazy and full of surprises. Narrated in a mumbling, sleepwalking, self-nihilating tone of a man who was so fed up with his life, I saw this a pitchblack comedy more than a horror tale of curses, black magic and witchcraft. Weird as fuck, gimmicky (to the poin of being a hipster magnet) and definitely not everyone's cup of tea.

Photo of Jiji
Jiji@loversbynature
0.5 stars
Nov 22, 2022

Childish prose, multiple formatting/spelling errors (maybe just the fault of the ebook, but still), stilted strange pov writing that didn't serve any specific purpose or breed any real atmosphere in the book... Just boring and dare I say a little cringe worthy at multiple points. Unable to handle the subject matter that it brings up in an intelligent or meaningful way. Short, unbelievable sentences. Some scenes could have been interesting but always feel short. Strange transmisogyn is present barely beneath the surface of the latter half but never addressed head on or thoroughly examined. Characters felt flat and barely skin deep. Never cracked open and wholly examined or interrogated. Boring. I kept reading giving it a chance to become something and it kept disappointing me.

Overall; a juvenile attempt at telling a Deep, Twisted story where people are Fucked Up, and wouldn't it be So Sick if you could Kill by Thinking..but you were also Tortured by your Past. Woah.

+3
Photo of Alfredo santos
Alfredo santos@alf
4 stars
Aug 26, 2022

As any work of Palahniuk, there are so many layers to this book. Its an entertaining story but it's also a social critique to our so called free will, hopes and dreams, are they really our own?

Photo of Traci Wilbanks
Traci Wilbanks@traci
4 stars
Jul 14, 2024
+7
Photo of Marisa
Marisa@marisa44
3.5 stars
Apr 2, 2024
Photo of syana
syana@syanarchy
4 stars
Jan 7, 2024
Photo of Jennifer Bishop
Jennifer Bishop@jenrogbish
3.5 stars
Feb 24, 2022
+3
Photo of Konrad Lischka
Konrad Lischka@klischka
3 stars
Jul 7, 2024
Photo of Jordan
Jordan@jordanfischerr
4 stars
May 28, 2024
Photo of A. D. Knapp
A. D. Knapp@haselrig
3 stars
May 23, 2024
Photo of Nick Truden
Nick Truden@youngdust
4 stars
Apr 4, 2024
Photo of Jon Eckert
Jon Eckert@jeckert
4 stars
Apr 3, 2024
Photo of Gerardo González
Gerardo González@geragp
4 stars
Mar 14, 2024
Photo of James Dziemianzuk
James Dziemianzuk @jamesdz
5 stars
Mar 12, 2024
Photo of Ika
Ika@ddramone
2 stars
Mar 9, 2024
Photo of D D D
D D D @sunnyd123
4 stars
Feb 17, 2024
Photo of Peanne
Peanne@leannidus
4 stars
Feb 12, 2024

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