Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk

Pygmy took a while longer to finish because of its atrocious English. Yet this was entirely stylistic, as the story unfolds through the voice of a Russian spy, "agent 67" - the eponymous protagonist who documents for us his accounts during his stay with an American host family in America.

Expected nothing less twisted from Palahniuk. Heads yanking off shoulders and what not. Just amazed that his signature violence-trotting, gross reimagination of the body and its fluids are always new and the characters are still distinct from each other. I wonder what Chuck is like irl.

And despite it being rather humourous due to the sheer bluntness and totally-lacking-EQ language of Pygmy's, I like that his obssession with causing havoc on America terrorist-style was not without equally demented reasons. Pygmy's violent and tragic past are also interspersed in his accounts, shedding light on how and why Pygmy and his fellow elite espionage peers have been indoctrinated as they are today.

Here, I give you an extract as to why this was hard to read:

"Magic quiet door go sideways, disappear inside wall to open path from outside. Not total all glass, extruded aluminium metal frame silver edge, doors slide gone until reveal old woman, slave woman appareled with red tunic, spring apparatus gripping tunic front to hang swinging sign, printed, "Doris." Ancient sentinel rest grey cloud eye upon operative me, roll eye from hair and down this agent, say, voice like old parrot, say, "Welcome to Wal-Mart." Say, "May I help you find something?"

Mouths of this agent make smile, face design into pleasing eye contact. This agent say, "Much venerate ancient mother... Where sold here location China-made 81-S-type gas-operated, rotating-bolt, fire six hundred fifty rounds per minute machine gun?"

Face of ancient mummify bound in dying skin, clouded eye only look, no blink.

Smile of operative me say, "Revered soon dying mother, distribute say you ammunitions correct croatia-made forty-five calliber, long piston-stroke APS assult rifle."

Smile of operative me, breathing, await."

Funnny righht?