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1-Page Summary of Choke
Overall Summary
Palahniuk’s Choke (2001) is a contemporary novel that tells the story of a man who pretends to choke in restaurants so he can have sex with women. The book was praised for its larger-than-life story, which references problems and ironies of neoliberalism and alienation.
The book begins with Victor going to a meeting for his sex addiction problem, which takes place in a church. While there, he has sex with another attendee named Nico, and then goes to visit his mother at the hospital. She’s convinced that he is someone else and gives him bad news about her health. He returns to work where he works with Denny who was just promoted over him.
Victor wants to know what his mother is thinking. He tries a few ideas and then gets an idea from Denny, who pretends to choke so that he can be rescued by Victor. This works out very well for him, and he repeats it with other people in similar situations. However, when he goes to visit his mother again, she doesn’t recognize him as her son anymore because of Alzheimer’s disease. She has a plan for how they could reverse this condition: if Victor impregnates her with a baby that will end up in his mother’s brain, the baby will replace all the old memory cells and restore them instead of causing new ones.
Denny returns from talking to Victor’s mother. She chose to write her journal in Italian, which Dr. Marshall translates for Denny and tells him that it is delusional. It claims that Victor is the son of God and that his mother became pregnant after stealing a holy foreskin from beneath a priest’s bed.
Victor goes home, finding out that during his unemployment, Denny decided to build a useless wall using rocks he collected over time as a hobby. The doctor calls Victor again and says she believes the diary now because of some reasons she didn’t mention before telling him about what happened at his house with Denny building an ugly looking wall around his house in the backyard using rocks he’s collected over time as something like a hobby or collection of sorts..
Victor internalizes the biblical “revelation,” deciding to become a good person now that he is supposed to be Jesus. He expresses doubts about being able to perform such a holy role. As they talk, he receives news that his mother is dying. Victor meets her and she recognizes him as her son for the first time in years. She tries explaining how she kidnapped him from his real mother so she could get American residency but chokes on some pudding before finishing her story; Dr. Marshall rushes in and attempts CPR but fails, and then reveals herself as an insane patient who fell in love with Victor after hearing of his life story at the hospital where she was committed voluntarily.
At the end of the book, Victor goes to Denny’s house and sees that he is still building his wall. A huge crowd has gathered but they’re split in their opinion whether Denny really believes in what he’s doing. Just before the wall falls down, everyone leaves except for Victor who helps Denny rebuild it with Beth (Victor’s girlfriend).
In this book, the author describes absurd situations that arise when rationality and religion collide. It is also about how our relationships are becoming more and more fleeting in today’s society. However, it ends on a positive note by suggesting that we can still find warmth and connection with people even though there may be some strange things going on.
