Shelf Notes Review


Dear Reader,

First off, this short story is FREE! Click HERE!

One of things I love the most about Palahniuk is his short stories, mostly because he almost always posts them online for free. You have to love the guy for giving us a piece of him pro bono. It also satisfies my craving for something unusually disturbing every now and then (Palahniuk fans will know what I'm talking about).

This story was about a girl working retail during the Holidays. Chuck really goes all out and describes every little horrid detail perfectly, right down to the workplace cubby holes. It took me back in time to those days when I used to slave weekends for corporate retail. I hated working during the Holidays, it was always a terrible mess of mass consumers running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. Terrible, just terrible. I'd imagine things haven't changed much since those days and more than likely have gotten ten times worse.

The ironic thing about this story is that is shows us commercialism and consumerism at large WITHIN the retail store employee secret Santa exchange. To top this all off we have a little investigative mystery going on with one of the secret Santa gifts. Without giving too much away, there is a part of the story where a "food" related secret Santa gift is scrutinized. I can relate to this because working in the healthcare industry, every now and then a patient will bring us a yummy treat. The rule of thumb in the workplace is usually, "If cooked by the patient, throw or give to someone else. If bought, eat away!" I didn't understand this secret rule of thumb until someone pointed out that you could never truly know what the kitchen it was cooked in looks like. My imagination started going wild and from there on out... I just can't eat gifted food from strangers without thinking of bug infested kitchens.

Moving on... the surprise at the end really throws that pie in your face, saying "See! You didn't see that one coming?!" How silly people are with Christmas and gifts, I just wish everyone could see what a problem it has become. Frankly, I applaud this story for Palahniuk slapping us in the face with it. Just read it! It's short, sweet with a surprise ending.


Happy Reading,
AmberBug ( )