Victor Mancini; sex addict, medical school drop-out, historical theme park actor. Palahniuk's protagonist has all the symptoms of world's worst son but with his mother under constant hospital care, Victor has created a channel of income from one of fictions greatest scams; choke on a piece of food in a restaurant, the person who saves you will feel a parental attachment to you from then on. From these life-savers, Victor receives his income. However, his mother's Alzheimer's begins to close the book on his childhood and Victor has to race the clock to find out who his father is before all is lost to a dying mind.
The images a raw and sticky, Palahniuk's sharp hitting sentences and no nonsense bar room dialogue spit right off the page. Choke is a twisted take on modern society, as horrific as it is satirical. The character's would be despicable if they weren't so human; flawed, funny and ferocious. Choke on this one!