Rant

The demented story of Buster “Rant” Casey is told in oral-history form through the many mental states of someone apparently suffering from multiple-personality disorder. Like trying to ride the family dog as a kid, it’s a clever idea (at least in theory), and one proved ludicrous as soon as it’s subjected to the slightest test. Rant leaves the reader with lingering questions that are really nothing more than complaints. The Sybilian end game of Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey is disappointing though funny, but its blackest humor comes off on the reader’s hands like shoe polish. Palahniuk is a kid in the kitchen mixing a little bit of everything into one bowl thinking he’ll create a new element. Palahniuk has gotten so hooked on gimmickry, he’s become the Dr. Fad of modern American lit. Fight Club was his Wacky WallWalker, and now he’s just another goofball selling something strange.