Jun 15, 2007

'Rant' takes readers on nail-biting ride

By Terri Schlichenmeyer / Book Reviewer

"Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey" by Chuck Palahniuk
Doubleday
$24.95, 288 pages

Doesn't it seem that when a notorious figure dies, his or her myth grows?

Think Anna Nicole Smith. Think Marilyn Monroe. Think Elvis. Think Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon or Bob Marley.

Think Rant Casey.

All the Party Crashers, urban demolition derby participants, are talking about the night Rant died. Everybody knows about the crash and how Rant's body was never found. In the new novel "Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey" by Chuck Palahniuk, you might find out what happened to Buster "Rant" Casey.

And then again - like the Party Crashers - you might not.

Almost all the Nighttimers are into Party Crashing. Nobody knows who started it, but it happens almost every night of the week: teams of three or four or five drive around, looking for flagged cars, waiting to chase or be chased. Points are racked up for catching and crashing. "Sharks" are what they call the crashers. Just a little nibble-dent on the vehicle's side or rear panels. T-boning not allowed, innocents and Daytimers are off-limits.

On the night that Rant Casey disappeared, rumors swirled around Middleton. People said that Rant was asking to die. Some called him a god. Others said he was a serial killer. They said that he was at the root of an out-of-control rabies epidemic.

Echo Lawrence remembers when she met him. He was standing on the sidewalk, looking for a team. It wasn't long before Echo fell in love with Rant, maybe because he didn't notice her handicaps. Her withered arm and droopy mouth didn't seem to bother Rant Casey.

But Bodie Carlyle knew more than Echo did. He knew the kind of guy Rant was because Bodie grew up following Rant through the woods outside their Middleton neighborhood. He watched as Rant put his hands down burrows in the ground, until the wild animals there chewed his arms. Bodie saw how Rant invited the bites of poisonous spiders and snakes.

Shot Dunyan heard the rumors, too, and he's trying to protect Echo. He laces her food with birth control pills and he warns her not to kiss Rant Casey. Shot heard the rumors. He knows exactly why no one can find Rant Casey's body.

Do you love a story that leads you down six different plot paths in 16 different directions, and then pulls you back to a slam-dunk, make-you-think ending? That's the kind of treat in store for you when you read anything by author Chuck Palahniuk, "Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey" included.

I love the masterful way that Palahniuk gives you clues about his characters that you can't quite grasp and the what's-to-come hints that your brain refuses to comprehend until the end of this brilliantly written book. "Rant" is hallmark Palahniuk, and fans of his works, like "Fight Club," won't be disappointed with this book.

Be aware that parts of "Rant" are not for the sensitive-stomached; there are scenes that could make your Granny swoon. But if you're in the mood for a wild chase of a book, I can't possibly "Rant" enough about this one.



WOMAN REVISITS ROOTS, FINDS SHELTER IN 'PENNY TREE'
"The Penny Tree" by Holly Kennedy
New American Library
$14, 330 pages

You know how it is. The alarm clock doesn't go off, which makes you late. You missed your ride, got a run in your pantyhose, spilled coffee down your front, the boss is peeved and you're having one of Those Days.

Have you ever wondered what a lifetime of Those Days would be like?

For Annie Hillman, it seems that most of her life has been one big thing-that's-gone-wrong. But in the new novel "The Penny Tree" by Holly Kennedy, Annie is about to have something go very right.

When Annie was 12 years old and her nosy sister did some snooping, Annie learned that she and her sister Marina were adopted. While that bothered her for awhile, Annie eventually realized that her parents deeply loved her, as proved by the precious gift her father gave her: her very own penny tree.

As he nailed a one-cent coin to the Douglas fir, Annie's dad told her that the tree would be hers forever. Whenever she needed comfort, wanted someplace to think, craved alone-time, she could come to the tree.

The old tree served her well. When Annie's father died, she sat beneath it and grieved. When her son was gravely ill, she paced under its branches. As her marriage fell apart, she cried below its needles.

Now, Annie is back in her hometown, depressed, her life in a shambles, dealing with toppling finances, her younger son's shaky health and her older son's cold-shouldered adolescence. She spends time beneath her penny tree, wondering what went so terribly wrong.

And then the ad appears in the newspaper, right on the front page.

"Do You Recognize This Woman?" it said, bearing an image of Annie. "She was the first woman I ever loved and I can't forget her."

As the entire nation is caught up, wondering who the mystery man is, Annie tries to remember the men she loved. Her mind wanders from her childhood friend, Chris, to an old boyfriend who supported her, to her almost-ex-husband Jack, from whom Annie drifted away when neither of them was looking.

The mystery man is surely someone from her past. Could he also be someone for her future?

I usually read four or five books a week; some are okay, some are not-okay. But the ones I'm most delighted with are the ones I look forward to picking up again and again.
"The Penny Tree" fits nicely into that last category.

I loved all of the people in this book - even the "bad" ones, aren't so bad - and I truly enjoyed the peccadilloes that author Holly Kennedy gave them, particularly the little quirk that Annie's mother, Erna, has.

And no, I'm not going to tell you what it is. Read the book.

Another thing to notice is that Kennedy has a knack for mentioning tiny details - once - and making those little items vitally important later on in the story. I liked that, being surprised over and over.

Overall, if you want a good novel to tuck in your purse or suitcase this spring, grab this one. Reading "The Penny Tree" just makes cents.