Not Forever, But For Now by Chuck Palahniuk

I’ve been a fan of Chuck Palahniuk since…. well… probably over twenty years now; since I was in high school really. I remember reading Fight Club, Rant, Choke, and Invisible Monsters in high school or soon after high school / college. But over time, the wording “fan” has probably changed a bit when regarding my interest in Palahniuk. Firstly, I think most of his newer novels have been very low quality, secondly, even re-reading some of the older works I’ve found myself enjoying them less.

Chuck Palahniuk

Palahniuk at BookCon in June 2018 (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Chuck Palahniuk might be best known for Fight Club; his first published (but not first written) novel – published in 1996. Hes credited with over 20 novels, films, short story compilations, short fictions, essays, and non-fiction works.

The following quick summary of Chuck Palahniuk comes from Wikipedia:

Charles Michael “Chuck” Palahniuk (/ˈpɔːlənɪk/;^[1][2] born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist who describes his work as transgressional fiction.^[3][4] He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories. His first published novel was Fight Club, which was adapted into a film of the same title.

Palahniuk was born in Pasco, Washington, the son of Carol Adele (née Tallent) and Fred Palahniuk.^[5][6] He has French and Ukrainian ancestry.^[7] His paternal grandfather migrated from Ukraine to Canada and then to New York in 1907.^[8]

Palahniuk grew up living in a mobile home in Burbank, Washington. His parents separated when he was 14 years old, and they subsequently divorced, often leaving him and his three siblings to live with their maternal grandparents at their cattle ranch in eastern Washington.^[9] Palahniuk acknowledged in a 2007 interview that he is a distant nephew of actor Jack Palance, and that his family had talked of distant relations with Palance.^[10]

Palahniuk attended the University of Oregon, graduating with a degree in journalism in 1986. He interned at the local public radio station, KLCC, as part of his coursework.^[11]

– Chuck Palahniuk (Wikipedia Article)

Quick Book Review

Chuck Palahniuk is a name long associated with provocative, boundary-pushing literature. Known for his signature shock value and dark commentary on the absurdities of society, Palahniuk has captivated readers with books like Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, and Survivor. But, with his latest novel, Not Forever, But For Now, fans are feeling conflicted. Does it live up to Palahniuk’s legacy, or is it simply another installment of chaos for chaos’s sake? Let’s dive in.

For many, it’s been a while since a Palahniuk book really hit the mark. Some fans still find moments of brilliance in his work, but others feel his recent novels lack the depth that once balanced out the shock factor. In Not Forever, But For Now, that shock factor is turned up to eleven, but the substance behind it feels tenuous at best. Palahniuk’s approach here raises the question: how much is too much?

The story centers on Otto and Cecil, two brothers raised in a twisted lineage of assassins. Their privileged, grotesquely eccentric lifestyle is filled with hedonism and depravity, from murder to an assortment of disturbing obsessions. The narrative moves in erratic fragments, blending scenes of violence and debauchery with sporadic jumps to famous celebrity deaths and chilling family traditions. The overall tone feels forced, as if Palahniuk is determined to outdo his past works, even at the expense of storytelling.

One recurring complaint from readers is the novel’s mind-numbing repetitiveness. The phrases “having a go” and “having it off” are repeated endlessly—appearing over 180 times in a 256-page book. By the end, it’s hard not to feel exhausted by the lack of linguistic variety and to wonder if Palahniuk is simply running out of ideas. Gone are the insightful, twisted trivia and clever asides that once peppered his novels. Here, we’re left with repetitive dialogue that dilutes the impact of the narrative and any chance of connection with the characters.

The characters themselves—typically a saving grace in Palahniuk’s worlds—are flat. Otto and Cecil are self-indulgent, shallow, and virtually unchanging throughout the story. Their psychopathy lacks the nuanced edge of Palahniuk’s earlier protagonists, and instead, the brothers come across as hollow caricatures. Their antics seem designed solely to elicit shock rather than offer any real commentary. It’s hard to sympathize or even find intrigue in characters so lacking in complexity. Palahniuk’s knack for dissecting and humanizing dark, twisted psyches seems absent, leaving us with a cast that feels more grotesque than compelling.

Adding to the frustration is the lack of a coherent plot. What storyline exists feels derivative, a watered-down version of Fight Club without the depth. The book reads like a series of darkly comic skits with Otto and Cecil at the center, but there’s no overarching conflict or development. This structure—episodic and staccato—prevents the reader from becoming fully immersed or invested, and by the time Palahniuk hints at the novel’s purported theme of addiction in the afterword, it feels like an afterthought, tacked on to lend some semblance of meaning.

For long-time fans, this book is a tough pill to swallow. Many remember Palahniuk’s glory days, when his “edgy” style came with wit and a message, no matter how darkly delivered. But Not Forever, But For Now feels like it’s all edge and no center. Those shocking elements that once served as vehicles for exploring society’s flaws now feel like shock for shock’s sake. Readers who have followed his work for years—some since the early 2000s—are feeling more disappointed than disturbed, lamenting the loss of the writer who once brought so much raw, meaningful provocation to the page.

Ultimately, Not Forever, But For Now may appeal to those who can stomach its graphic content and relentless absurdity. It’s not a book for the faint-hearted or anyone expecting to find a redeeming arc within its twisted storyline. If you’re a die-hard Palahniuk fan, you may want to approach this one with caution; if you’re new to his work, there are better starting points.

As one reviewer aptly put it, reading this book feels “like a fever dream of nonsense trying to be something.” Palahniuk is undoubtedly talented, but in Not Forever, But For Now, that talent seems buried beneath layers of gratuitous grotesquerie, leaving readers wondering if he’s lost touch with the insightful, acerbic commentary that once made him a literary icon.

For those who remain undeterred, this book is available at your local library—and perhaps that’s the best place for it. No need to add this one to the shelf. It’s unlikely you’ll want to revisit it.

Book Summary and Back of Cover Blurb

This is the back of cover blurb (according to GoodReads):

From the bestselling author of Fight Club comes a hilarious horror satire about a family of professional killers responsible for the most atrocious events in history and the young brothers that are destined to take over.Meet Otto and Cecil. Two brothers growing up privileged in the Welsh countryside. They enjoy watching nature shows, playing with their pet pony, impersonating their Grandfather…and killing the help. Murder is the family business after all. Downton Abbey, this is not. However, it’s not so easy to continue the family legacy with the constant stream of threats and distractions seemingly leaping from the hedgerow. First there is the matter of the veritable cavalcade of escaped convicts that keep showing up at their door. Not to mention the debaucherous new tutor who has a penchant for speaking in Greek and dismembering sex dolls. Then there’s Mummy’s burgeoning opioid addiction. And who knows where Daddy is. He just vanished one day after he and Mummy took a walk in the so called “Ghost Forest.” With Grandfather putting pressure on Otto to step up, it becomes clear that this will all end in only two a nuclear apocalypse or just another day among the creeping thistle and tree peonies. And in a novel written by Chuck Palahniuk, either are equally possible.

– Not Forever, But For Now (GoodReads)

Currently it has 717 reviews, and 4,059 ratings on GoodReads with an average global rating of 3.10 (as of 11.8.24). It was first published on September 5th, 2023.

Book Review: “Not Forever, But For Now” by Chuck Palahniuk – A Disheartening Foray into the Grotesque

(The following is my full book review. It is quite long and lengthy.)

It’s been a long time since I truly enjoyed a Chuck Palahniuk book—my last favorite being Pygmy in 2009. Perhaps it’s because he’s changed, or maybe I have. Palahniuk, who made his mark with sharp, transgressive fiction, seems to have lost his edge in a way that’s less about maturity and more about shock tactics growing stale. His latest book, Not Forever, But For Now, was a chore, one that feels more like a caricature of his earlier work than an actual evolution of it.

A Lackluster Attempt at Shock Value

If Palahniuk is trying to provoke, he’s doing it in the most uninspired way. Not Forever, But For Now features two depraved brothers, Otto and Cecil, who come from a family of hitmen and pass their time committing heinous acts with nihilistic indifference. Rather than being cleverly subversive or thought-provoking, the book relies heavily on crass depictions of taboo topics—incest, necrophilia, and casual violence—served up without much nuance or narrative purpose.

The book is awash in repetitive language. Every mention of “having a go” or “having it off”—phrases meant to stand in for sexual acts—is jarringly overused, coming across more like a gimmick than anything artistically meaningful. In fact, it happens so often that it begins to feel like padding in an already thin story. The sheer redundancy detracts from the impact of the story and draws attention away from any attempt at deeper commentary. There’s an unsettling sense that Palahniuk is merely trying to be offensive for offense’s sake, without bothering to ground it in anything substantial.

Characters that Fall Flat

Characters are central to any story, but the two brothers in Not Forever, But For Now come across as shallow and undeveloped. They seem more like grotesque caricatures than people, with no redeeming qualities or growth throughout the novel. This would be less of an issue if there were at least something intriguing about them or if the plot gave them a purpose beyond nihilistic thrill-seeking. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case here. Palahniuk has managed to make Otto and Cecil dull, despite their appalling behavior.

For longtime Palahniuk fans, this lack of compelling characters is especially disappointing. His early works, like Fight Club, succeeded not only because of their shock value but because the characters were multifaceted and served as vehicles for larger, often biting social commentary. In Not Forever, But For Now, that balance is lost. What remains are over-the-top personalities without any depth or context, making it difficult to care about anything they do.

A Plot that Never Quite Takes Off

One of the most frustrating aspects of this book is its lack of a cohesive plot. While Not Forever, But For Now flirts with themes of addiction and social alienation, it doesn’t explore them in any meaningful way. The brothers engage in disturbing acts, but these actions don’t lead anywhere. There’s no real conflict, no resolution—just a sequence of sordid scenes that feels less like a story and more like a loosely strung-together collection of vignettes.

The absence of a structured narrative is compounded by abrupt time shifts between past and present, which often make the plot hard to follow. Readers are thrown into seemingly random moments without much explanation, resulting in confusion rather than intrigue. Palahniuk’s choice to emphasize style over substance here does a disservice to his story, making the reading experience feel choppy and disjointed.

Failed Social Commentary

Palahniuk is known for his dark humor and his often scathing critique of society. However, in Not Forever, But For Now, the social commentary feels forced and hollow. The book attempts to satirize toxic masculinity and societal taboos, but the execution is lacking. Instead of examining or challenging these themes, the novel simply throws them at the reader without providing any real insight. The gratuitous violence and sexual references come across more as shock-jock material than as an effort to convey anything substantive.

There’s a moment near the end where Palahniuk hints that the book is really about addiction—a last-minute attempt to inject meaning. This revelation feels like an afterthought rather than an organic part of the story, and it does little to redeem the narrative. In his early works, Palahniuk was able to blend shocking content with insightful commentary on the darker sides of human nature. Here, though, he falls short, relying too heavily on lurid details without the layered critique that once made his work compelling.

A Disappointing Shift in Tone and Quality

As a longtime fan of Palahniuk’s work, I found this novel to be especially disappointing. At one time, he was so influential to me that I jokingly referred to him as “Uncle Chuck.” I’ve reread Invisible Monsters numerous times, finding new layers and nuances with each read. But Not Forever, But For Now lacks the charm and depth that made those earlier works so memorable.

Palahniuk’s writing here feels stale and formulaic, as if he’s struggling to find new ways to provoke. Rather than shocking readers with innovative ideas or unique perspectives, he’s resorting to a checklist of obscene acts, none of which carry much emotional or intellectual weight. The book’s tone is weary, almost desperate—like Palahniuk is trying to prove he can still be edgy, but without any of the conviction or purpose that marked his earlier work.

Final Thoughts

Not Forever, But For Now is, ultimately, a disappointing entry in Palahniuk’s bibliography. While it contains some of the hallmarks of his style—dark humor, transgressive themes, and a bleak worldview—it fails to bring these elements together in a satisfying way. The characters are unlikable and one-dimensional, the plot is fragmented, and the social commentary feels shallow.

For those who are new to Palahniuk’s work, I wouldn’t recommend starting here. His earlier books, like Fight Club or Invisible Monsters, showcase his ability to blend shock value with genuine insight into the human condition. Longtime fans might still be curious, but they should approach this one with tempered expectations. Not Forever, But For Now is, unfortunately, a reminder that even the most daring authors can fall into the trap of trying too hard to be provocative, ultimately sacrificing substance for style.

This one-star experience feels like a requiem for what Palahniuk’s writing once was—a visceral, uncompromising voice that’s since devolved into empty, tiresome provocation. For now, I’ll stick to revisiting his older work, holding on to the memory of the author he used to be.

My ratings:
GoodReads Rating: * out of *****
Global Average Rating: 3.10 (as of 11.8.24)
LibraryThing Rating: 1.5 out of 5

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• MAPS OF BREWERIES

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The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of August 2024.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

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(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

Beer, a timeless companion to humanity, has left an indelible mark on the pages of history and literature. From ancient civilizations to the modern craft beer movement, the influence of beer on literary works is as rich and diverse as the beverages themselves.

Ancient Ale: Beer’s Literary Roots

In ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, beer was more than a mere drink; it was a cultural cornerstone. The Hymn to Ninkasi, a Sumerian ode dating back to 1800 BCE, not only praised the goddess of brewing but also served as a recipe for making beer. Similarly, in ancient Egyptian texts, beer was a vital part of daily life and religious ceremonies, laying the foundation for beer’s enduring relationship with literature and culture.

Medieval Manuscripts: Ale and Artistry

During the Middle Ages, European monasteries became hubs of brewing excellence. Monks, dedicated to perfecting the craft, not only brewed exceptional beers but also documented their knowledge in some of the earliest brewing manuals. These texts not only imparted technical know-how but also exuded a deep reverence for the art of brewing, showcasing the fusion of devotion, science, and artistry.

Literary Libations: Beer in Classic Literature

Beer found its way into the works of literary giants. Shakespeare, a known beer enthusiast, wove references to ale and beer throughout his plays, offering insights into the social dynamics of his era. In Victorian literature, beer served as a symbol of social interaction and the vibrant life of public houses, vividly depicted by authors like Charles Dickens.

Craft Beer and Contemporary Literature

The modern craft beer movement has not only transformed the beer landscape but has also inspired contemporary authors. Books like “The Brewmaster’s Table” and “Man Walks into a Pub” not only delve into the flavors and making of craft beer but also explore its cultural impact, reflecting societal changes and human experiences.

Beer and Poetry: A Frothy Fusion

Surprisingly, beer and poetry have harmonized seamlessly in modern verses, with poets using beer as a metaphor to explore themes of joy, nostalgia, and human connection. Beer emerges as a symbol of life’s simple pleasures and the warmth of human camaraderie, adding a frothy layer to poetic expressions.

Hops and Humor: The Lighter Side of Beer Literature

Humor and beer have long been intertwined, from playful beer advertisements to lighthearted beer reviews. This whimsical approach not only makes beer more relatable but also mirrors its role in fostering a sense of community and joy, creating a literary world as effervescent as the beverages themselves.

Coda

In conclusion, the bond between beer and literature runs deep, weaving through the annals of history and the vibrant tapestry of contemporary culture. As long as people continue to write, brew, and savor, the enduring connection between beer and literature will continue to inspire and delight for years to come. So, the next time you raise a glass of your favorite beer, savor not just the brew but also the history and literature it embodies.

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

If you would like to help keep the blog running soundly and smoothly, you may donate to us to help us keep the costs of the blog to a minimum. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you. (Clicking this link will take you to the page to make a donation. Thank you very much for helping us stay afloat!)

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

Quick note from Ben (B. Kline) of The Beer Thrillers. Paul R. Kan reached out to me a few weeks ago asking to write this book review for the blog. He is a co – owner of Burd’s Nest Brewing Company in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. We were thrilled to have him reach out to us and chose the blog to write his article. We are looking forward to having him write more articles in the future here at The Beer Thrillers. I will give a quick shout out to Burd’s Nest Brewing, and post their links, and then will follow his book review, followed by a small bio he has written about himself, and then the normal wrap – up we do here on the blog.

Burd’s Nest Brewing Company

Burd’s Nest Brewing Company is a micro brewery based out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. On Untappd they are listed as having 91 beers with a global average rating of 3.46 (as of 9.23.22). Their Untappd description is currently blank. Their social media links are:

• Burd’s Nest Brewing Company on Facebook
• Burd’s Nest Brewing Company on Twitter
• Burd’s Nest Brewing Company on Instagram
• Burd’s Nest Brewing Company on Untappd
• Burd’s Nest Brewing Company’s Official Website

I would like to thank Paul R. Kan for reaching out to us, and writing the following book review.

Book Review: Beer and Society: How We Make Beer and Beer Makes Us – By – Eli Revelle Yano Wilson and Asa B. Stone

Think for a moment. Where did you drink your last beer? What kind of beer was it and were you with anyone else? The answers to these simple questions lie at the heart of the new book, Beer and Society: How We Make Beer and Beer Makes Us. Whether you were drinking the newest IPA release at a craft brewery with some friends; having a Bud Light alone at home while watching a game or doing something totally different says a lot about you and the way you look at beer.

Exploring how beer gives people more than a buzz but a sense of identity as well are the book’s authors- two sociology professors at University of New Mexico who are also certified Cicerones. Their credentials as both academics and beer experts make the authors well-positioned to write this book. And like tasting a new beer, this book has many nuances and subtleties that some people will appreciate while others may not.

The authors explain how beer is more than a drink; it’s also a social identity. “Whether we intend it or not, our choice of beer signals to others about what kind of person we are and what else we stand for.” (p.5). If your last beer was a hazy IPA at your favorite craft brewery with a group of friends, then you may be communicating to others that you support local businesses, value quality beer and can afford to go out for beer. However, the person who prefers to drink Bud Light alone while watching the game may view you as a bougie elitist.

Social identity is more than just an academic way to say that we use beer to judge ourselves and others. Social identity has concrete meaning for those of us who are in the craft beer business. As an owner of Burd’s Nest Brewing Company in Carlisle, PA, I want to appeal to the social identity of as many people as possible. Yes, we’ll always have one of our IPAs on tap, but we’ll also have cans of Yuengling Lager in our beer fridge. In our area, not everyone likes beer with a bolder taste, nor can they afford the price. It’s more than economics. Because of our taproom’s large, open and light space, many people use our brewery to express their social identity through live music, art shows, yoga classes, history talks, and college seminars. Many people in our community are introduced to our beers through these events. Our social identity has become “serving beer to serve the community.”

When the authors begin to define “community” as part of social identity in chapter 3, “The Social Organization of Beer” the book becomes more controversial. The authors’ discussion of the larger economic and social forces surrounding beer production and consumption may strike the reader as a product of today’s political debates. The chapter raises questions like, “Why do we see disparities of race and gender and, more implicitly, class among those employed in the U.S. beer industry? Put simply, why is the craft beer dominated by ‘bearded White dudes?’” (p.60) It is true; 92% of breweries are owned by men; only 2% are solely owned by women; and only 1% of breweries are owned by African Americans. The authors spend a lot of time on the gap in BIPOC and LGTBQ+ representation in the brewing industry, but the authors acknowledge that it is shrinking.

As a brewery owner who’s a clean-shaven-only-half-Caucasian-dude, I wrestled with this chapter. I know that I don’t look like most craft brewery owners. But that’s never been a personal or professional issue for me. Perhaps it’s because I grew up in the multi-ethnic state of Hawai’i. However, another part of the authors’ research does reflect what I see—“no brewer or brewery owner we know or have talked to for this book thinks that denying someone a job based on their race and gender identity or appearance is okay.” (p.63). I have not felt the sting of discrimination in the industry and the ownership of my brewery is dedicated to providing a welcoming workplace (and taproom) for all.

Where craft breweries have felt a sting is from the business practices of multinational corporate breweries. Part of the social identity of any craft brewery is its independence. In chapter 4, “The Business of Beer,” the authors cover how “Big Beer” (like AB-ImBev and SABMiller) responded to the market threats from the exploding number of craft breweries by buying out some of them, purchasing ingredient suppliers and securing exclusive long-term contracts with malting facilities. This has challenged the ability of smaller craft breweries to maintain their independence, or just stay in business. Big Beer used these tactics before COVID, rising inflation and supply chain constraints; today the pressures on craft brewers are even more acute. Small breweries like mine can pass along only so much of the costs to our customers before the price of each pint is out of reach.

Departing from the heavy topics in previous parts of the book, chapter 6 “Beer Cultures” was the most fun. The authors examine how people in various countries enjoy beer differently, especially in the ways people toast. In Japan, it is considered rude to make eye contact when toasting. Meanwhile, many French, Spanish and Germans believe that not making eye contact while toasting is a bad omen and results in seven years of bad sex. (No offense against the Japanese, but I’m not going to take any chances when I make my next toast).

All in all, the book is a well-written journey through the terrain of what beer means to people and how people give meaning to beer. Ironically, the book’s prominent discussion of diversity, equity and inclusion topics makes it a product of beer and society. Ten years ago, a book like this would have had trouble finding a publisher, but interest in these topics has become prominent and craft beer is now much more a part of consumer demand. Beer and society will continue to shape each other. Let’s toast (while making eye contact, please) to the positive evolution of both.

Paul R. Kan Bio

Again, thank you Paul for reaching out to us to have your book review posted here. Here is the small bio he sent with his book review:

Paul R. Kan is co-owner of Burd’s Nest Brewing Company in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  He is also the author of Hawai’i Beer:  A History of Brewing in Paradise which was a 2021 North American Guild of Beer Writers’ award winner and the #1 new release on Amazon’s Books on Beer.

Some Other Book Reviews

If you are looking for other book reviews here on The Beer Thrillers, here are some more we’ve covered:

• Book Review: For The Love of Beer (Dr. Alison E. Feeney)
• Book Review: Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
• Book Review: An Atlas of Tolkien (David Day)
• Book Review: The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (J.R.R. Tolkien)
• Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister (George R.R. Martin)
• Book Review: 9-11 (Noam Chomsky)
• Book Review: The World According to Mister Rogers (Fred Rogers)
• Book Review: Fail Fail Again Fail Better (Pema Chödrön)
• Book Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy (Edited by Mark Ralkowski)
• Book Review: Buddhism 101 (Arnie Kozak)
• Book Review: Plotted – A Literary Atlas (Andrew DeGraff)
• Book Review: The Philosophy of Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz)
• Book Review: Guardians of the Whills (Greg Rucka)
• Book Review: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk (David Sedaris)
• Book Review: On Bullshit (Harry G. Frankfurt)
• Book Review: Free Will (Sam Harris)
• Book Review: Free Will Explained (Dan Barker)
• Book Review: Heart and Brain – An Awkward Yeti Collection (Nick Seluk)
• Book Review: The Art of Stillness – Adventures in Going Nowhere (Pico Iyer)
• Book Review: What More Philosophers Think (Edited by Julian Baggini and Jeremy Stangroom)
• Book Review: The Physics of Baseball (Robert K. Adair)
• Book Review: Machiavelli – The Art of Teaching People What to Fear (Patrick Boucheron)
• Book Review: Wit’s End (James Geary)
• And you can find even more book reviews here: Book Reviews Archive.

Thanks For Reading

Thank you everyone for reading, and thank you Paul R. Kan for the great book review. Hope you all enjoyed it and enjoyed your time here at the blog. Be sure to check out Burd’s Nest Brewing Company in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and be sure to like and follow The Beer Thrillers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc; and do the same for Burd’s Nest Brewing Company. Be sure to follow and subscribe here to the blog to get alerts as soon as our posts are uploaded.

Cheers!

-Paul R. Kan

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

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You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

School Time

Who remembers high school? (I’m going to go ahead and assume everyone coming to a beer blog, even for literature reviews, is most likely out of high school and hopefully over the age of 21…. otherwise this is a little awkward.) Maybe even middle school, depending on your age and your school district. Either way, Of Mice and Men is a typically required book for most English classes in high school or middle school in America.

Most people don’t enjoy school, or didn’t enjoy school, and I will admit I am no exception to that. I was never a big fan of middle school, or high school, or even the little college I did have – I wasn’t sold on. As Mark Twain said: “Don’t let your schooling get in the way of your education.” This is pretty much one of the biggest things I can fully agree on, and one of the biggest reasons why I read roughly a hundred books a year. I did actually enjoy the assigned reading books we got in the school I went to. Some of these were ‘To Kill a Mockingbird‘, ‘Of Mice and Men’, ‘Flowers for Algernon’, ‘Catcher in the Rye’, and several others.

Of Mice and Men actually started my love for John Steinbeck in general, and I’ve read most of his works since. The Pearl, Cannery Row, Tortilla Flat, The Red Pony, Travels with Charley, The Moon is Down, The Long Valley, The Cup of Gold, The Short Reign of Pippin IV, etc.

I have not yet tackled his big (huge) tomes of books – Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. They are on my shelf, waiting to be read, and I do want to tackle them, its more like trying to find the time to do so than feeling obligated or not wanting to read it. I think with Grapes of Wrath, there is also the sense that through cultural osmosis I already know the book to some degree, so that tends to push it down lower on my TRP (to read pile). But don’t worry, once I get around to them and reading them, I’ll be sure to be throwing up a review here on the blog.

What books did you guys have to read in school? Did you like them or not? I find it fascinating how there’s kind of a ‘core curriculum’ but still lots of other books that get taught and read in School X but not in School Y, etc.

John Steinbeck

Wikipedia’s opening paragraph and brief biography of John Steinbeck reads:

“John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (/ˈstaɪnbɛk/; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner “for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception.”^[2] He has been called “a giant of American letters.”^[3][4]

During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward Ricketts, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas The Red Pony (1933) and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Pulitzer Prize–winning The Grapes of Wrath (1939)^[5] is considered Steinbeck’s masterpiece and part of the American literary canon.^[6] In the first 75 years after it was published, it sold 14 million copies.^[7]

Most of Steinbeck’s work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.”

John Steinbeck (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia has him listed for 33 pieces of work of at least novella size. Two of these are books of short stories. Thats an impressive list, all of them published between the years of 1929 and 2012. (The one is a film and was released shortly after his passing. There is four books that are credited as being published posthumously.

Of Mice and Men

The Wikipedia description for Of Mice and Men on John Steinbeck’s above page reads:

“Of Mice and Men is a tragedy that was written as a play in 1937. The story is about two traveling ranch workers, George and Lennie, trying to earn enough money to buy their own farm/ranch. As it is set in 1930s America, it provides an insight into The Great Depression, encompassing themes of racism, loneliness, prejudice against the mentally ill, and the struggle for personal independence. Along with The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, and The Pearl, Of Mice and Men is one of Steinbeck’s best known works. It was made into a movie three times, in 1939 starring Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr., and Betty Field, in 1982 starring Randy Quaid, Robert Blake and Ted Neeley, and in 1992 starring Gary Sinise and John Malkovich.”

Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck page) (Wikipedia)

The full Wikipedia page devoted to Of Mice and Men gives the following brief summary / description:

“Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck.^[1][2] Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States.

Steinbeck based the novella on his own experiences working alongside migrant farm workers as a teenager in the 1910s (before the arrival of the Okies that he would describe in The Grapes of Wrath). The title is taken from Robert Burns‘ poem “To a Mouse“, which reads: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley”. (The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.)

While it is a book taught in many schools,^[3] Of Mice and Men has been a frequent target of censors for vulgarity, and what some consider offensive and racist language; consequently, it appears on the American Library Association‘s list of the Most Challenged Books of the 21st Century.^[4]“

Of Mice and Men (Wikipedia)

GoodReads blurb on ‘Of Mice and Men’:

“I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s
why.”

They are an unlikely pair: George is “small and quick and dark of face”; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a “family,” clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California’s dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. But George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own.

While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck’s work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing ‘Of Mice and Men’ (1937), creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual’s existence meaningful.

A unique perspective on life’s hardships, this story has achieved the status of timeless classic due to its remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films.

Of Mice and Men (GoodReads)

Book Review

I think most people reading this blog post will already at the very least know the broad strokes of the book. Its part of that general “cultural osmosis” that I believe we all have. Where certain themes, books, films / movies, plays, music, etc is just ingrained in us through culture. For example, knowing Vader is Luke’s father (SPOILER!!!!!!), or Homer’s Odyssey, or the Iliad, or Hamlet, Macbeth, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Godfather, etc. These are just themes and ideas and story beats that we all just ‘know’. Even if you’ve never read, or seen, or viewed the source material itself.

This is a novella and very short, with few set pieces and locations. I can see how it originated as a play (the entire time I was re-reading this, I thought this would make an excellent play, and while researching it a bit for this post I came to realize it was originally planned as a play). Its 103 pages (in this edition) and each chapter starts off with a page of flowery prose, and then goes into sparse and tight prose, with much more emphasis on dialogue.

The main characters are George (Milton) and Lennie (Small). The two ‘team together’ working farm after farm as ranch hands. George is the ‘brains’ and Lennie is the ‘muscle’. George is smart in the worldly sense; whereas Lennie is a big, most likely mentally retarded in some fashion, muscular “oaf”. He routinely gets them in trouble due to his inability to control his actions and his strength.

The main thrust of the plot starts when they get to the ranch and they begin working there. The owner’s son Curley is a hot head with a Napoleon complex. His wife is collectively called a “tart”, “a tramp”, and other such 1930s era words for a seemingly promiscuous and ‘looking’ married woman.

The entire story has a sense of impending doom. A foreboding gloom that we just know the dreams and hopes of George, Lennie, and then eventually Candy, will never come to fruition. The sense of impending doom, the foreboding nature, and the sense that it will all fall apart looms over the pages prose. Especially every time Curley or (even more so) Curley’s wife walks onto the page. The interaction with Carlson and Candy about his dog is foreshadowing at its absolute best.

I won’t get into the tragic ending, for spoiler reasons, and since most people know it anyway. But needless to say – the ending is tragic, foreseeable, and sadly enough – probably not preventable. Especially given all the combustible elements (namely people) at that point in the story. What happens between Lennie and Curley’s wife, and then how George has to take care of it. And doing so in the way that Candy was not willing to do with his dog – although he laments it and says afterwards that he should have done it himself – is all chilling, sad, and very tragic.

Themes

The best laid plans of mice and men as William Shakespeare would say. The bindle boys, the moving ranchers that go from ranch to ranch, and work for their stakes always just end up blowing it in cat houses, in gamble dens, or in bars. Never actually holding onto it and getting their land, but yet they all dream of it. Their all dreaming of that land. Especially George and Lennie, and then Candy getting involved in their plans.

The biggest theme is ‘taking care of your own business’. The way Candy realizes after Carlson puts down his dog that he should have done it. And the way George knows at the end that he has to be the one who puts Lennie down for his tragedy and for his own good. The idea of doing whats right, and not letting others have to do the hard tasks, as Ned Stark says in the first book of the Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones) – the one who passes the judgement should be the one who has to use the sword. Confronting the harsh, hard, and unforgiving parts of the nature of things.

For such a short novella, and with it mostly dialogue, it does pack in the setting well, the bleak sense of desperation and loneliness that the ranchers have, their lives of just going from farm and ranch to farm and ranch and working the land for others. Modern day serfs. Working the land for others, blowing their money, living in run down cabin bunk houses, worried about being canned, worried about others stealing their stuff, etc.

Overall Thoughts

I’m going to come off as heavily biased here and just outright say it – this is one of my all time favorite books. So this will most likely come off as biased or maybe ‘tipping the scales’. But…..

My GoodReads Rating: *****
My LibraryThing Rating: ****.5
Average GoodReads Rating: 3.88 (as of 6.23.22)

Here’s a funny line from a GoodReads review:

The title of this novel is only 50% accurate, a very poor effort. Yes, it’s about men, but there’s little or nothing about mice in these pages. Mice enthusiasts will come away disappointed.

Paul Bryant Review

Links

For more Of Mice and Men links, check out these:

• John Steinbeck (Wikipedia)
• Of Mice and Men (Wikipedia)
• Of Mice and Men (GoodReads)

Interested in more book reviews by us here at The Beer Thrillers?

Then check out these book reviews (and note – this is only a sampling):

• Book Review: Machiavelli – The Art of Teaching People What to Fear (Patrick Boucheron)
• Book Review: For The Love of Beer (Dr. Alison E. Feeney)
• Book Event: For the Love of Beer Event
• Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister (George R.R. Martin)
• Book Review: The Atlas of Tolkien (David Day)
• Book Review: 9-11 (Noam Chomsky)
• Book Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy
• Book Review: Buddhism 101 (Arnie Kozak)
• Book Review: Plotted (Andrew DeGraff)
• Book Review: The Philosophy of Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz)
• Book Review: Star Wars: The Guardians of the Whils (Greg Rucka)
• Book Review: On Bullshit (Harry G. Frankfurt)
• Book Reviews: Star Wars: The Jedi Path and The Book of the Sith (Daniel Wallace)

Some new recent beer news and blog posts we have done:

• Macklin Brewing Company in Development
• Arboretum Trail Brewing Company Opens Their Doors
• Torture Brewing Company Kickstarter Campaign

Thanks For Reading

Thanks for reading everyone. I got lots of articles and posts in the upcoming weeks. We are also going to be starting another tournament series for July. This time a battle of the beers rather than a battle of the breweries. So be on the look out for more details about that. I have a pile of books I’ve recently finished reading, and the reviews will be coming in shortly. So if you enjoy our book reviews, stick around for that! If you are here for the beer posts, don’t worry, we have plenty in that department as well!

So stay tuned!

Stay cool in these hot end of June and early July days. Keep a cold beer in your hand to help out!

Cheers All!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

The Start of Book Reviews

While this isn’t the first book review on The Beer Thrillers – that honor goes to “For the Love of Beer” by Dr. Alison Feeney – this is the first non – beer related book review on The Beer Thrillers. But as I said in my last post “The Beer Thrillers Moving Forward” I’ve been wanting to do this and branching out the blog a bit more in different directions. Is the blog still going to be primarily about beer and breweries? Most certainly. This is actually something I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time, and am finally now just pushing ahead and doing it. If people don’t like it, too bad, they can ignore the posts and stay at our blog for the beer reviews, brewery reviews, etc. I read roughly 100 – 110 books a year, and I’ve been wanting to write and combine my various interests on the blog (beer, books, hiking, gardening, sports, video games, etc.) and this seems one of many natural ways to do it.

I’ve already done this similarly with many of my travelogue articles. Most of them are hiking adventures or visits and tours with Ming or other people that include stops at breweries along the way. The travelogues seem to be some of the more popular posts (and outside of the March Madness tournament we just did, my travelogue about the 1000 Steps Trail and Levity Brewing is a top ten visited article here on The Beer Thrillers).

So why am I starting off with “Wit’s End” by James Geary? Well, frankly its because its the latest book I’ve read and finished. So, I figured I’d start with the most recent book read, and work back on some of the others, as well as the ones I am still reading and finishing. So there will certainly be no lack of book reviews, that’s for sure.

Wit’s End

Let’s tackle this book and give it a proper review. Not sure if I’m going to follow a specific way of reviewing every book similar to how I do my beer reviews (Example: Chocolate Covered Pretzel by Braxton Brewing Company) or if each book review will be something different onto itself.

Maybe its apropos that I start my first non book review here on the blog (well, first non – beer related book review) with one titled “Wit’s End”. This might just be the end to the wit here on The Beer Thrillers; or will it? Who knows, maybe this will grow the blog even further, who knows again. Shrug.

Wit’s End by James Geary is a series of essays on the various forms of wits and witticisms and how it’s used. Each is written in different styles, from poems, to a screen play, to a faux academic (scientific) journal article, etc. Different essays to discuss the different ways wit is used, created, performed, and displayed.

There is a decent bit here, and the book both reads fast and slow at times. Which might also be a bit of just my reading style, where I’ll get into the book, and read a fair bit, then lose myself and be bored of it, and start picking up the numerous other books I’m reading (usually four or five books at a time), and jump about. Damn you ADHD.

The writing style is obviously all over the place as each essay is done in different styles. And for the most part I think this works; but I also think Geary is a bit lackluster in some aspects to it. Not fully delving into the styles, or relying too much on the styles to get his point across rather than the work and words themselves. I enjoyed some of the essays, whilst others fell completely flat or were uninteresting, and this wasn’t primarily due to just the styling or the writing, but the actual work behind it. I haven’t read anything from James Geary before, but his writing prose seems both deft and also incomplete at times. There is quality writing, but there is also a lack of putting two and two together and making connections.

I love reading about creativity and intelligence, because I am often curious how it spawns, why I have the thoughts or ideas in my head and where things pop in at. As someone who is often told “Where the hell do you get your ideas from” or “why do you think the way you do”, I love trying to read about how this all works out; and sadly, this doesn’t do a real good job of explaining any of that.

I’m also not a big ‘punster’ and there is quite a fair amount of that in this, with a few essays / chapters fully devoted to it. Despite being a dad, I’m far from prone to dad jokes – which the pun is a staple of – and for that, actually puns usually bore me. I’m not angered by them, just bored of them. I don’t believe of them as the “lowest form of wit” but I also just tire of them easily.

I wish there was more substance to this, and more on ‘how wit is derived’ rather than describing various forms of wit. Because I think we can all point to something witty when we hear / see / read it; and so I rather see the inner workings, the behind the scenes, rather than the obvious and what I can clearly see in front of me.

I think this is an entertaining read, but I think it just lacks a lot of substance and could use a lot more to it. Frankly wish the general idea behind it was a bit more expansive than what we got, or maybe the scope was a bit different than what the book alluded to it being.

Similar to my beer reviews, where I gave my Untappd score, followed the global average Untappd rating, I will do the similar here but with GoodReads. GoodReads and LibraryThing are my primary forms of Book Cataloguing and recording using apps; they are basically the Untappd for the book world. I started with LibraryThing many years ago (honestly can’t even remember, but I want to say 2013 or maybe 2012. Sadly, GoodReads has surpassed it and I use that much more now (despite my not caring – and actually loathing – of Amazon). GoodReads only lets you review in full stars, where LibraryThing let you review down to the 1/4th star. So I will most likely be giving my review scores to the 1/4th star (similar to Untappd letting you review to the 1/4th bottle cap), but showing my rounded score via GoodReads, and then showing the global average GoodReads score.

My GoodReads score: **3/4 (rounded – ***)
Global GoodReads Score: 3.32 (as of 4.5.20).

Thank you everyone for reading my first non – beer related article on the blog and site. Curious how reaction will be to me using my beer blog to post non – beer related things and more personal things. Who knows, maybe the blog gets expanded into all kinds of new categories in the future, and it’ll look just like one gigantic spider with tons of spider webs linking to millions of things. Or maybe in the future I’ll branch out and just have a different site for these things and move them over to there.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the branching out. What you think of me doing book reviews, etc. Don’t worry though, there will still be beer related content here on the blog, especially from the other writers, as I take a bit of a hiatus from the beer side of things personally for a bit. Thank you for joining us here at The Beer Thrillers. Be sure to stay tuned for many of the various things in the future that I have planned.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!