Fugitives and Refugees
by Chuck Palahniuk
Vintage $105
Portland, Oregon, is the weirdest place in the US. In a book that's part autobiography and part alternative travel guide, Chuck Palahniuk introduces the streets, sewers, and haunts of his home town. There's the psycho Safeway, the 24-hour church of Elvis, the Piss-U (Portland State University), the place where Palahniuk was beaten up, and the place where he threw his tonsils (after they'd been surgically removed). He also brings to our attention strange local customs such as the I-Tit-a-Rod Race and the Santa Rampage. The text is pieced together in a mish-mash of lists, vocabulary lessons, postcards and recipes. Some of it's funny; some of it isn't; all of it's weird. The book gives some insight into the author of Fight Club, but there's nothing here of lasting interest to anyone other than a Portland resident or diehard Palahniuk fan.