Chuck Palahniuk’s Bait Messes with Your Easy Pastime to Deliver Unconventional Storytelling

Fight Club author (and my fiction hero) Chuck Palahniuk has always been the about the unconventional. We all saw it in his (technically) first novel, which gained a cult following in the years to come.

We've also recently seen it in the sequel Fight Club 2, done in comic book version. And now, to up the ante one more round this year, we have Bait: Off Stories for You to Color.

Remember those adult coloring books with all of those repetitive floral, sometimes tribal, most times trippy designs? Yes, that's the inspiration. But instead of giving you some peace of mind with mindless coloring, you're given eight short stories of Fight Club quality, drawn by nine renowned artists.

Think of his Haunted novel, which was essentially a compilation of short stories cleverly encompassed within a bigger arc story. But in coloring book form. I wonder if one of the stories will be like Guts. Say "Hell no" if you imagined how that would be like—in full coloring pleasure.

In an interview with Comicbook.com, Palahniuk shared that all of the stories are original ones not previously published. He also explained where he took his inspiration from:

"It could be that I'm attracted to conflict and tension; for instance, upsetting stories told in the form of a coloring book, a pastime normally designed to help people relax."

So why a coloring book this time? Palahniuk also answers that:

"Fiction is the Rorschach Test in which you want readers to find their own meaning, based on their own experience. Coloring becomes an extension of that participation with the story… To me, every story is an experiment. And that format of the story should be unique, designed to complement that particular story."

I think we can all agree that most of his works, particularly the earlier ones that I've read and reread a couple of times, showcase this. Bait may just give fiction, comic book fans, and Palahniuk worshippers the next fix they need.

Sadly, for fans who are holding out for a paperback cover, you're in for a downer, because Palahniuk confirmed that it will only be released as a hardcover edition. But apart from the lavish add-ons and nice packaging, it's also a good decision, since Bait is over 150 pages thick. It's going to be your shared artwork with him, so you might as well have it as a hardcover masterpiece.

Bait is already out in stores.

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