Diving into the world of "Choke" by Chuck Palaniuk I became entrenched into the life of Victor Mancini, a sexual compulsive, medical school dropout with mommy issues. Call Freud!! His dying mother suffering from Alzheimer disease in a nursing home led him to quit school to earn enough money for her to continue receiving care there. His mentally unstable mother dropping into his life from time to time while he was living with foster parents contributed to his dysfunctional relationships with women leading to his sexual addiction and the tongue in cheek humorous stories exchanged at the sex anonymous classes.
What makes this story worth reading? First off the novel makes anatomy and physiology lessons not seem so boring. In Victor Mancini's day-to-day activities he inadvertently notices abnormal physical characteristics, due to his partial training in medical school, of those around him scanning through his mental checklist of a possible diagnosis. A friend with a runny nose. As common as a cold to a symptom of eventual death. The mole on the strippers half naked body. The ABCD acronym (asymmetry, border, color, diameter) in identifying moles for possible cancer. Maybe watching a stripper twirling around a pole on stage and talking about skin blemishes is a memorable way of teaching on that subject.
Sex, sex, and more sex. Nothing I would imagine that's comparable to the "Fifty Shades of Grey" books. Sporadically throughout the novel Victor's sexual exploits are a big topic of conversation. Although I found his sexual stories intriguing, arousing, and at times comical I don't feel this is the main objective of the author. At the end of the audiobook he describes his inspiration for the novel attending a sex anonymous class, in more of a supporting fashion, and was moved by their stories. They were not proud of these episodes in their lives. Who is happy to admit they got their penis stuck in a Jacuzzi bubble jet or that the man or woman had to go to the doctor to get a glass bottle removed from their private parts. Tongue-in-cheek humor right. I believe Chuck desired to reveal this compulsive behavior as a big issue and nothing to poke fun of. I do enjoy hearing a well thought out and clearly spoken perspective on a part of life I am not familiar with. Some subject matter is harder than others for me to read no doubt but if I want to help others in their struggles I need to understand their situation a little.
