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Invisible Monsters

 Invisible Monsters
type
TVTItem
 Invisible Monsters
label
Invisible Monsters
 Invisible Monsters
page
InvisibleMonsters
 Invisible Monsters
comment
Invisible Monsters is a 1999 novel by Chuck Palahniuk about a beautiful fashion model. Despite her awful past and family difficulties, "Daisy St. Patience" continues to be widely successful, and even holds down a relationship with a handsome detective. That is, until everything goes to hell and her entire lower jaw is blown off in a drive-by shooting.Save for her mangled jaw and inability to talk, she is left perfectly intact and carefully drives herself to hospital, only to soon suffer a massive breakdown when she learns birds flew into her car and ate the remains of her face. Soon switching to baby food and starting ventriloquism lessons to learn how to talk again, Daisy quickly adopts a few veils when she meets Brandy Alexander, the large-handed drag queen supreme who is one surgery away from being a "real" woman. Taking Daisy under her wing, Brandy gives her a new identity and starts teaching her how to let go of her past and live again.Interestingly, the book was originally denied by publishers for being too dark, and Invisible Monsters was supposed to be Palahniuk's first novel; after responding by making an even more offensive novel (which turned out to be his most famous book — Fight Club), the eventual success of Fight Club meant Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters was given another chance and published.Not to be confused with the other Invisible Monsters.
 Invisible Monsters
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2023-10-25T14:31:01Z
 Invisible Monsters
parsed
2023-10-25T14:31:01Z
 Invisible Monsters
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DBTropes
 Invisible Monsters
sameAs
Invisible_Monsters
 Invisible Monsters / int_1869b4b1
type
Unreliable Narrator
 Invisible Monsters / int_1869b4b1
comment
Unreliable Narrator: The narrator confesses she just hates everyone and that in fact nobody behaves worse than she does.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_1c1d243c
type
Brother–Sister Team
 Invisible Monsters / int_1c1d243c
comment
Brother–Sister Team: Brandy is really the narrator's brother, Shane, and they steal pills and other drugs from homes being sold on the real estate market as a team.
 Invisible Monsters / int_1c1d243c
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 Invisible Monsters / int_222dc873
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Black Comedy
 Invisible Monsters / int_222dc873
comment
Black Comedy: Most of the situations the narrator finds herself in, including the wedding reception at the end of the book.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_2dc0d2bf
type
Hidden Depths
 Invisible Monsters / int_2dc0d2bf
comment
Hidden Depths: It is eventually revealed that the narrator/Shannon shot herself to escape from her beauty, while her brother Shane/Brandy knew about his sister's identity all along and is still confused about what he wants out of life.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_369a1bf6
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Death Faked for You
 Invisible Monsters / int_369a1bf6
comment
Death Faked for You: The Rhea sisters fake Shane's death so Brandy Alexander can start her transition.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_48da1453
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Gender Reveal
 Invisible Monsters / int_48da1453
comment
Gender Reveal: The narrator, Brandy and Seth learn from a realtor that Evie was assigned male at birth, which motivates their decision to sabotage a wedding ceremony. Brandy Alexander is really Shane, the narrator/Shannon's brother who ran away from home and is undergoing surgeries in order to transition.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_4c59921a
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Face Stealer
 Invisible Monsters / int_4c59921a
comment
Face Stealer: Brandy looks exactly like the narrator before she was disfigured.
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Body Horror
 Invisible Monsters / int_504a1991
comment
Body Horror: The narrator's injuries and the descriptions of them.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_634a2ff9
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Sue Donym
 Invisible Monsters / int_634a2ff9
comment
Sue Donym: The "Brandy Alexander Relocation Program" means the protagonists have to constantly change ridiculous identities (such as "Hewlett Packard", among others.)
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 Invisible Monsters / int_6b2b3b59
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The Reveal
 Invisible Monsters / int_6b2b3b59
comment
The Reveal: Brandy Alexander is Shane, the narrator's brother, who never died from AIDS. Brandy isn't actually transgender because she isn't trying to transition. She just wants to destroy herself. Manus is Seth, who is actually gay and only likes the narrator because she looks exactly like Shane. Seth was also the one who molested him and gave him an STD. Evie is actually transgender, and knew Brandy through a transgender support group. And Brandy has known all of this from the beginning. The narrator, Shannon MacFarland? She shot herself in the face. It's all her fault.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_6bd689ca
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Meaningful Echo
 Invisible Monsters / int_6bd689ca
comment
Meaningful Echo: At the end of the book, Shannon helps her brother out by giving him the last remnants of her identity (her identification) so he can figure out what he wants from life, just like how he helped her in the speech therapy room near the beginning.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_7464705c
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Arc Words
 Invisible Monsters / int_7464705c
comment
Arc Words: Birds ate my face. Sorry, Mom. Sorry, God. Give me X. Flash. Jump to…
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 Invisible Monsters / int_7c9dcc1
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THeUnfavorite
 Invisible Monsters / int_7c9dcc1
comment
The Unfavorite: Played with. The narrator notes that, in death, her brother receives more attention than her because their parents have become gay rights supporters out of guilt and talk him up every chance they get.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_80251be3
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How We Got Here
 Invisible Monsters / int_80251be3
comment
How We Got Here: The book starts with Evie dressed in the remains of a burned dress, having just shot Brandy while the two of them and the narrator are in a burning mansion. And it goes downhill from there.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_8b6e8d7
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Anachronic Order
 Invisible Monsters / int_8b6e8d7
comment
Anachronic Order: The first book jumps around frequently, but the Remix version jumps around even more through a "choose your own adventure" type guidance you can optionally follow.note At the end of each chapter, the book notes "Now, please turn to chapter X" for if you want an alternative reading experience closer to what Palahniuk originally wanted (but was talked out of to prevent over-complicating the plot).
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 Invisible Monsters / int_91cab736
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Major Injury Underreaction
 Invisible Monsters / int_91cab736
comment
Major Injury Underreaction: Having shot herself with a revolver and blown her own lower jaw off, the narrator/Shannon is quite nonchalant when she walks into the hospital, taking the time to drop the weapon down a drain pipe before she enters.
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And I Must Scream
 Invisible Monsters / int_a8a04f6f
comment
And I Must Scream: An interesting variant, as the narrator instead copes with her suicidal temptations and lack of mouth by laughing manically (as it's all people can understand from her).
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 Invisible Monsters / int_ae3d6438
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Deadpan Snarker
 Invisible Monsters / int_ae3d6438
comment
Deadpan Snarker: Most of the narrator's scribbles on her notepad are sly jokes or sardonic snark, but no one understands it most of the time.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_af8cc2e9
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Masking the Deformity
 Invisible Monsters / int_af8cc2e9
comment
Masking the Deformity: The narrator wears veils to hide that she's missing her jaw because of being shot in the face during a drive-by shooting then having the remains eaten by birds. It's later revealed she actually shot herself.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_ca87e3ec
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No Name Given
 Invisible Monsters / int_ca87e3ec
comment
No Name Given: The narrator, until the very end. It's Shannon MacFarland, if you're curious.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_cf48c17
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Nightmare Face
 Invisible Monsters / int_cf48c17
comment
Nightmare Face: This is so bad that the narrator can steal a turkey without being caught. Yup.◊ (this might be considered NSFW)
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 Invisible Monsters / int_d45c0b86
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Refuge in Audacity
 Invisible Monsters / int_d45c0b86
comment
Refuge in Audacity: Many of the situations in the book are motivated by what the narrator is able to get away with, including stealing a turkey from a supermarket (while everyone stares in horror at her face) and asking for information from a hotel clerk while brandishing a rifle and writing down her request for a specific room number as he attempts to shove handfuls of cash into her pockets.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_df1793de
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Updated Re-release
 Invisible Monsters / int_df1793de
comment
Updated Re-release: In 2012, the book was republished as Invisible Monsters Remix, with the Anachronic Order even more mixed up and structured like a Gamebook.
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 Invisible Monsters / int_f01a54f1
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Evil Feels Good
 Invisible Monsters / int_f01a54f1
comment
Evil Feels Good: The narrator decides to burn down Evie's home (twice, in fact) because she knows she can get away with it, and because it feels cathartic.
 Invisible Monsters / int_f01a54f1
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Earn Your Happy Ending
 Invisible Monsters / int_f64a9cf7
comment
Earn Your Happy Ending: The book ends with the narrator/Shannon giving up the last remnants of her identification to her brother so she can figure out what she wants from life, then walking out and finding a new start for herself. In the Remix version, she sets up a support group for disfigured women and even gets married!
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 Invisible Monsters / int_fd94c4ac
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Theme Naming
 Invisible Monsters / int_fd94c4ac
comment
Theme Naming: Shane and Shannon.
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Invisible Monsters

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 ChuckPalahniuk
seeAlso
Invisible Monsters
 Invisible Monsters
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Masking the Deformity / int_eefe4039
 Invisible Monsters
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Nightmare Face / int_eefe4039
 Invisible Monsters
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Spoiled by the Format / int_eefe4039
 Invisible Monsters
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Writer Revolt / int_eefe4039