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We want to take advantage of this section to share some of our favorite books with you guys. We know that reading is very important and that sometimes you might not know where to start, so hopefully these suggestions will catch your eye. If you need any more suggestions, be sure to reach out to your FC and ask!
Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey – Chuck Palahniuk (Raul Cruz)
As a massive fan of anything dark, twisted, and mind-bending, “Rant: An
Oral Biography of Buster Casey,” by Chuck Palahniuk, instantly won a special place in my heart.
The first thing you need to know about this book is that it is written in a very unconventional way. Instead of simply getting a narrative, we are presented with the recorded interviews of the people closest to Buster “Rant” Casey. This is why it is called an Oral Biography, you are learning about the life of the main character through the stories and recollections of other people. Sometimes these stories don’t match and their points of view are skewed depending on how much they liked Rant. I find that this is one of the reason this book is so great; since everyone has their own opinion and there’s always two sides (or more) to every story, you end up creating your own idea of who Buster Casey was as you try to make sense of their shared experiences.
It is difficult to recommend this book without giving too much away, but I will do the best I can. The very first thing you learn when you start reading about Rant is that he grows up to be “America’s walking, talking Biological Weapon of Mass Destruction.” Buster Casey grew up in a small town and had big-city dreams, as well as an attraction for vermin and poisonous creatures. One of his hobbies consisted of sticking his bare foot into coyote burrows just to see what pain would be inflicted on him as a way to escape boredom.
"What 'Typhoid Mary' Mallon was to typhoid, what Gaetan Dugas was to AIDS, and Liu Jian-lun was to SARS, Buster Casey would become for rabies,” shares one of his acquaintances. After causing havoc in his hometown, Rant escapes and makes his way to the big city where he joins a clandestine demolition derby where participants stalk and crash into each other in the still of the night.
If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, this book will not disappoint. It is funny, dark, dystopic, and overall brilliant. Definitely not for the faint of heart, this book will blow your mind and make your stomach turn.
