Burnt Tongues by Chuck Palahniuk

Burnt Tongues Reviews

• 
  Chris Carter

  Full disclosure: I am one of the writers who is lucky enough to have a story in this collection, so a rating of Five Stars must be oozing with personal bias, right? Well, yeah, maybe a little, but hear me out! If you're like me, you typically take anthologies with a baseball-sized grain of salt - especially those filled with names that you might not necessarily know. It's cool, I get it. But here's the thing. As someone who has read, re-read, and followed each of these pieces from early drafts, to edited drafts, to what-you'll-find-inside-this-book drafts, I can honestly say that no other collection has ever left me with so many brain-searing visuals, or gut-lump emotions - the kind of stories that you replay in your mind again and again before you go to sleep at night.
  
  Some of these pieces are heart-breaking. Some are downright shocking. Hell, a couple might be used as "Exhibit A" in a psychiatric case some day. But no matter what you think about them, I guarantee you won't forget about them. And, after all, isn't that the highest praise you can give any creative work?
  
  And did I mention the absolutely brilliant introduction by Palahniuk himself? Trust me, after you read this book, you're going to recommend at least a dozen of these stories to someone - anyone - who'll listen to you. If not, just blame it on a horribly misleading Goodreads review. Stupid Chris.
• 
  Philip Johnson

  The fact that a fair number of the glowing reviews here were written by those who have stories included in this collection is fairly telling. This collection is really a massive disappointment considering Palahniuk himself stamped it with his name. For the most part, it includes authors trying to ape Palahniuk's style and doing a poor job of it. Characterization is weak, and there weren't really any standout stories for me in the bunch. Biggest bust of the year so far for me.
• 
  Nick Younker

  There’s nothing quite as satisfying as the short story. This anthology—case and point. The spokes…thing for a bastard genre long forgotten by a generation of “obese novel” enthusiasts. The top result in a Google search query. The banned book that’s yet to be discovered by Tipper Gore. The so obscenely real it must be burned at the altar of Rush Limbaugh, sanctified and cleansed in the House of [fill in the blank]. So prudent it absolutely MUST be fiction!
  
  I’m not gonna spend much time talking about the content, but the intro and outro are exploding trigger happy school shooters (please note this is a metaphor for those easily manipulated by Jedi). Everything in between is what lit should be on the bookshelves and e-readers everywhere. Minimalism. Transgressive. Pure ecstasy for the naturalist reader.
  
  The lover of prose and originality will marvel at the jams in this forbidden fruit. Obviously, I recommend Burnt Tongues and applaud Richard Thomas (and associates) for his (their) sense of taste and editorial skill. Do yourself a favor and rock this jam.
• 
  Dakota Taylor

  This review was originally published on
  www.litdemon.com
  
  The first story I read in the workshop where the Burnt Tongues anthology was conceived was “Heavier Petting.” It’s featured in this collection, naturally. After reading it, my innocence was forever ruined. I caught the infectious writing bug. The one that makes you read and write sick and twisted stories like “Heavier Petting.”
  
  The introduction by Chuck Palahniuk isn't something to skip if you don't like reading introductions. This is one of those rare cases where the introduction is as entertaining as the stories. And don't pass this book by if you aren't a fan of anthologies, short stories, transgressive fiction, or damn fine reading. This long anticipated book is the best one I've read all year.
  
  Some of these stories echo the style and techniques present in Chuck Palahniuk's work. These stories were crafted on a Chuck Palahniuk website so this isn't a huge surprise. Even if you aren't a fan of Palahniuk's work, though, these stories stand on their own as very freaking awesome and transgressive. These guys are almost in a genre of their own due to their talent and boldness.
  
  These stories are disturbing and addicting. They range from the subtle but baleful to gut swirling, mind raping tales of despair. So if you compare them to Bret Easton Ellis’s books, they would respectively be roughly equivalent to something between The Informers and the gruesome scenes in American Psycho.
  
  Take for example the story "Mating Calls." The story revolves around a vet student's sexual frustrations, his disappointments, and existential crises. The story ultimately delves into the emotions and psychology of a character so human that it reads like a diary. There is no disembowelment, decapitations, or anything else so commonly associated with the genre of this book.
  
  "Day and night, the dominate male protects his nest, and all his labor finally pays off when a female shows up to spawn. Soon as the deed is done he kicks her out and goes right back to defending his territory, all while fanning his tail to aerate the freshly fertilized eggs.
  "Only one thing ever lures him away. Another hot female to spawn. The second he leaves his nest all his hard work goes down the drain when a weaker male zips in and re-fertilizes the eggs. Nature's equivalent to a drive-by shooting. They call these fish sneakers."
  
  The writer cleverly reminds us throughout the story that we are not as evolved as we like to believe and that a hierarchy still exists, that we are animals and only the strong survive to go on to reproduce.
  
  On the other end of the spectrum we have a less subtle story titled "Engines, O-rings, and Astronauts."
  
  "I didn't kill Mrs. Alphabet, but I helped."
  
  The writer of this story shows us that even our darling children aren't free from primal instincts and the dark side of human emotions and behavior. They are more susceptible to these things.
  
  "And Freddy came to class twenty minutes late, his daddy's old shotgun swinging at his side."
  
  Every fan of dark fiction should have this one leering from their bookshelf.
  
  And I will leave you with a teaser for “Heavier Petting":
  
  "When she tells it her way, with all the graphic finery and ruined upholstery and crawling and bucket of generic lube, half the room empties before the part where she straps on the spiked collar."
  
  "The last time I heard her tell it there was this torso guy listening in--just a head and rib cage. He'll lie on the floor at goth/industrial nightclubs and pay gals to walk across his chest in stiletto heels. Pinned down, he looked up Redemption's skirt and said, 'Now that's twisted.'"
  
  "At one party we ditched out to avoid the looks while Redemption told her tale. He told me that contrary to popular belief the human egg can actually be impregnated by canine sperm."
• 
  Ellis

  A lot of these read as Palahniuk-lite, which I suppose gives me a whole new appreciation for him as an author because the lite versions here rarely come close to being as exciting as his writing used to be. There's a story about women who have sex with dogs that sort of feels like it's trying to hard, and there's a story about The Game that bored women who work at supermarkets play that reads well but seems totally implausible as a concept. I'd like to read a whole novel about the characters in "The Line Forms on the Right", and although I wouldn't call "Survived" particularly transgressive, I do think it's quite good. And then there's "Bike," wherein Bryan Howie demonstrates how to write short stories the correct way while making it look easy. "Give me six pages," he says, "and I will give you characters, make you have feelings about them, and then I will destroy them. And you will be left thinking about them for days afterward." And I am. Worth it just for that.
  
• 
  Brandon Tietz

  As one of the authors included in the anthology, it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that it's an honor to be a part of this. Every story in here kicks ass.
  
  For those who are interested in a behind the scenes look on how BURNT TONGUES came to be, read this column:
  http://litreactor.com/columns/burnt-t...
  
  Thanks to all who are reading and reviewing.
  
  -BT
• 
  Gem

  A collection of twisted short stories, collated and edited by Chuck Palahniuk. As expected, anything that Palahniuk puts his name to is going to be dark, disturbing and should be approached with caution!
  
  This book is nowhere near as horrific as 'Haunted' by the man himself, but the stories all have the ability to make you recoil in horror. At one point (somewhere near the middle) I had to put the book down for a few hours and collect myself (I think it involved a chicken satay stick...). There were one or two more tame additions that allowed time to breathe - and one story near the end I skipped altogether because it just wasn't interesting me. The last tale is as good as the first, and will definitely leave a lasting impression!
  
  Chuck Palahniuk's introduction was very interesting, in particular the quote "Young people want mirrors. Older people want art." The more I think about his comments on reading and re-reading, and growing to love the impression of a book that you didn't enjoy when you actually read it; the more I believe his comments to be true.
  
  If you like the bizarre fiction that Palahniuk throws at us, then you're going to like the short works that he's pulled together for us here too.
• 
  Michelle

  4.5 Stars. A previous reviewer took the words right out of my mouth: "This is simply a bad ass book." The stories are written very well and there were none that fell completely short. Sure, there were a few that didn't grip me as much, but they fit in with the flow of this anthology. It was put together very well by Chuck and his team. I love that Chuck helped these new authors find a place in the literary world through this anthology.
  These stories shock you and slap the crap out of you. They are raw, no holds barred, in your face disturbing and thought provoking. What goes unsaid is often more powerful than what is said and that marks a well done story. F for Fake was my favorite and Ingredients a close second. This is not a book for everyone. Proceed with caution.
• 
  Jessi

  Like most short story collections, Burnt Tongues has a couple of misses, but overall, it was a great read. Zombie Whorehouse, Bike, and Heavier Petting are probably my three favorites, because they push expectations and still make relevant social comments. Some of the other stories were shocking/gruesome but didn't seem to make a larger point. Even those stories were fun because the writing was good and the subject matter was pretty far out. Personally, I think transgressive fiction works best as satire or social commentary so those stories which seemed to be working on that level were much more enjoyable to me. Other horror fans may enjoy several of the other stories just for the content.
• 
  Andy Pronti

  A great collection of stories. Some hilarious, many disturbing but all entertaining none the less. Highlights include Bike by Bryan Howie, Dietary by Brandon Tietz and Zombie Whorehouse by Daniel W. Broallt. I can definitely see myself returning to these stories from time to time. Highly recommended if disturbingly hilarious is something you're okay with.
• 
  Adam Skorupskas

  This is a superb collection of short stories.
• 
  SFReader

  Burnt Tongues is a collection of transgressive short fiction. It is also a term for the transgressive genre itself. Chuck Palahniuk defines "burnt tongue as "a way of saying something, but saying it wrong, twisting it to slow down the reader. Forcing the reader to read close, maybe read twice, not just skim along the surface of abstract images, short-cut adverbs, and clichés." It also focuses on the things most people don't want to talk about, the darker sides of ourselves that we don't admit to having, the darker sides of society we would all like to think don't exist. It is a different kind of horror -- a truthful, real-life, undeniable sort of horror that is scary because it's true. Like a burnt tongue these writings will take things you thought you were familiar with and make them taste different, and although the experience may be painful at times, it may come to change your perspective on pain in general. If you're into that sort of thing.
  
  Burnt Tongues is a must read for all fans of transgressive fiction, Chuck Palahniuk and all his similarly disturbed contemporaries. Here is a quick look at what you can expect from the unexpected.
  
  Read more at SFReader:
  Burnt Tongues, edited by Chuck Palahniuk
• 
  Ross Jeffery

  Second time reading this collection as I’d previously read this when it first came out a good few years ago, but I’m so glad that this got a facelift and that I’ve gone back to re-read.
  
  Chuck Palahniuk in the introduction mentions that this collection is special and on various times reading it, different stories float to the surface and make you fall in love with them more, it’s a collection that grows with the reader as time moves on...
  
  And I have to say he’s right, some of these stories when I initially read them I didn’t have a connection with, either they were too out there or written in a way that disconnected me from their enjoyment - but re-reading now pretty much all of these stories hit home and I found myself enjoying pretty much the whole collection - with many of them being masterful. There were a couple that I still didn’t appreciate and these were ones I didn’t really enjoy on the first offering too.
  
  But there are some fabulous stories in here and after a quick look online for the writers of my favourite stories didn’t really turn up any additional works (no books etc.) which is criminal really as they were stunning, I wanted more from them and was willing to buy more of their work, but alas nothing yet - so I’ll keep my eyes open for more work from these specific writers in the future. Full review coming to STORGY and my YouTube channel shortly...
  
• 
  Silver Spence

  This is the type of book that you can't put down, much in the way that when you're offered a taste of something vile and horrifying you just have to see what the disgust is all about. In typical Palahniuk fashion, the stories in this book are downright repulsive, endearing and unforgettable. The imagery is bizarre and the language is direct, though you will wish it weren't. Bunt Tongues offers a taster of what Haunted (also by Palahniuk) gives-- except in a sick, demented, bunch-of-curse-wordsy-compilation-of-short-and-shorter stories (way). This is not the type of book you'd be proud to have read, and it's definitely one that you do not want to recite out in the open. That said, you probably don't want to read this alone. The best thing to do, in fact, is to keep this part of your life as secret as possible and as far away from a computer as you can. Every story is different, just as perturbed, but different. This book will make you question your sanity, but just remember: This is just damned good fiction.
• 
  TheBookmistress

  I got this book because I will NEVER recover from reading Palahniuk's "Guts," and I was hoping for more of that type of writing. the kind that leaves you disoriented, but just clear enough to hand the work to someone else & say "oh my god, you have to read this!" Then giggle softly while watching them gag. This anthology did not disappoint. "Live this Down and " Heavier Petting " were the real stand-outs for me, but I'm kinda jaded!
• 
  Cankerz

  Some of these stories were incredible. A few that stand out particularly: "Heavier Petting", "Live This Down", "Dietary" and "Zombie Whorehouse", really impressed me with their uniqueness and definitely their subversiveness (which I was promised on the front cover). Others were a let down ("Bike" and "Mating Calls" in particular really did nothing for me). All in all though, an awesome anthology. Very well put together and lots of unique voices and I hope to read more from the featured authors.
• 
  Aditya Patil

  Without a doubt, this anthology book contains the most disturbing, dark and gory stories I've ever read. They may mess you up! Don't read if you're weak hearted. Seriously! Probably, that's the reason I loved this book so much. It exposes the side of humans which is rarely discussed and almost never confronted. I'm going to reread this one.
• 
  Ashley Farley

  This collection of stories is incredible. Each one expertly well written and completely enthralling. Some of these stories are not for the faint of heart. I especially loved the stories that required a deeper read. This short story anthology reminded me that I need to read more short stories.
• 
  Sarah

  most of these short stories were quite good. a few were great. one or two were unforgettable in the same way that guts was unforgettable so many years ago. this isn't an easy anthology to read--this alone makes reading it worthwhile.
• 
  Michelle

  A weird, cringe-worthy collection of short stories that will make you think about a lot of things you've probably never thought about. Just like Palahniuk's writing, you'll wonder why you're still reading these without being able to put it down.
• 
  Brien Piechos

  Well, I am featured in this, so basically it's the greatest of all time.
• 
  Robb

  Hear my review on my podcast:
  http://www.bookedpodcast.com/2014/07/...
• 
  Booked podcast

  Listen to the complete review on our website:
  http://www.bookedpodcast.com/2014/07/...
• 
  Amcii Cullum

  An absolutely incredible set of short stories in transgressive fiction. Thank you for all involved participants to make this book! I enjoyed every second of it.
• 
  Armand

  It's an anthology of extreme, unsavory, nasty stories, collated under the auspices of the master himself. Thankfully, it's not a gaggle of Palahniuk-lite tales, tho some veer close to it. Better than most story collections I've read - it had more winners than clunkers.
  
  Some feel like forays to the strange and seedy side of the internet, which is not a bad thing. A few did jolt me, and since I've consumed more than my share of depraved and questionable material, this is saying a lot. While it has stories about zombie whores, passionate bestiality, suicide circles, etc it's not empty fare that only aims to shock. Many have heart and a few had me thinking long after I closed the book.
  
  Out of the 20 stories, I hold 7 in high praise: Live This Down; Charlie; F For Fake; Ingredients; Gasoline; Dietary; and Engines, O-rings, and Astronauts.
  
  I recommended this for fans of transgressive entertainment. I'm rating it 7/10 or 4 shocking, outré stars out of 5.
  
• 
  Dominic Dayta

  I love Palahniuk (as Martin Amis says in one of his book reviews for The New Yorker, this is to say I love at least one of Palahniuk’s works and snub the others), and I’ve heard of both Dennis Widmyer and Richard Thomas from their web sites, The Cult and LitReactor, especially the latter, as I visit it frequently for their brilliant columns regarding the craft and the publishing industry. Add to the consideration the fact that I’m a voracious reader of fucked-up fiction, Burnt Tongues was the perfect book for me even before I opened it. Even before I had laid my eyes on the title page, I knew it: I would fucking love this book.
  
  And I did. Not too much, though, but I did. (Palahniuk mentioned in the introduction that readers would at first come to hate this book, so I may be doing it wrong.) The stories in Burnt Tongues, written by new writers who have signed up for the workshops on Palahniuk’s official web site, The Cult, edited and handpicked by Palahniuk himself, run the gamut of transgressive fiction, from stories of paranoia to sex, murder, and violence. Of course, this being written mostly by Palahniuk fans, under the guidance of the great mind behind the short story Guts and the novels Fight Club and Invisible Monsters, almost all the stories read a little too Palahniuk-Lite. Thus its tendency to disappoint – why read knockoffs when you can have the original?
  
  In fact, more than a handful of these stories read like their authors are simply trying to challenge themselves on how fucked up, gory, violent, and disgusting they can be, the way Palahniuk does sometimes. Some (dis)honorable mentions are Chris Lewis Carter’s Charlie, Brian Piechos’s Heavier Petting, and Daniel W. Broallt’s Zombie Whorehouse.
  
  But the best stories in the anthology (F For Fake by Tyler Jones, Melody by Michael De Vito Jr., Paper by Gayle Towell, to name a few personal favorites) are those that actually try to deviate from the Palahniukian (Palahniuk-esque?). These are stories meant to shock, disgust, and repulse the reader, but they are more than practice pieces for your gag reflex: they challenge you to read closer, they invite you to inspect each little detail without averting your eyes, and in some brilliant moments, they offer insights on life and society at large without having to appeal to your personal tastes (quite the contrary, in fact). This is an anthology worth reading (and re-reading, and re-reading…)
• 
  Michelle Pawlak

  I'm giving this four stars as an average rating. After each story I wrote in a notebook about if the story brought any feelings, if it was well written, and similar critiques. With those questions of the story being good to me or not, I rated each on a scale of 1-5 stars. Out of the 20 stories my average was 3.8 stars.
  The book overall probably deserves 5 stars; not every story is for everyone, but most of the writers wrote a great story. Even if the subject wasn't the best to me, I could tell all the selected obviously have great talent in story writing.
  I definitely recommend this book, it is a great read overall!