Palahniuk, with his caustic humor, sarcasm, and sharp insight, constructs an existential nightmare centered on the individual’s search for identity in a constantly changing world.
Victor Mancini is a sex addict, though he also faces much more serious problems. He struggles to make ends meet to pay for elder care for his elderly mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, by working mornings in an 18th-century American reenactment museum- village, playing the role of a settler.
This job, however, is not enough, so he has devised a devious plan: he frequents expensive restaurants and pretends to choke on food, then makes his “saviors” feel responsible for him for the rest of their lives. With vitriolic humor, sarcasm and insight, Palahniuk sets up an existential nightmare, with the main focus being on the self-definition of the individual in a constantly changing world.
