Choke

Choke (2001), a contemporary novel by American author Chuck Palahniuk, chronicles the absurd tale of a nymphomaniac Victor Mancini who funds his mother’s hospital fees by repeatedly going to restaurants and pretending to choke on the food. Punctuated by hospital visits to his mother, Victor recalls memories of childhood and the life events that contributed to his unhealthy obsession with sex. The novel was acclaimed for its larger-than-life story, referencing the contemporary problems and ironies of neoliberalism and alienation.

Choke begins as Victor attends his first meeting at a clinic for sex addiction problems, which takes place in a church in his town. Before the class even starts, he has sex with another class attendee, Nico, in an adjacent bathroom. The following morning, he visits his mother, who suffering from Alzheimer’s, lives at St. Anthony’s hospital. She is convinced that Victor is Fred, a lawyer she retained many years back. After receiving a pessimistic prognosis from Dr. Marshall, Victor returns to work at a tourist trap, where he works with Denny.

Victor goes out to eat with Denny and immediately feigns choking, having hypothesized that his savior will be inclined to believe he is destined to help him further. His theory works, and he applies it numerous times, accruing a number of benefactors. He uses the proceeds from his acts to fund his mother’s Alzheimer’s treatment. After one successful scheme, he visits his mother, who insists she has an important announcement for him, but immediately forgets. Desperate to know what she is thinking, Victor requests that Denny visit his mother and pose as Victor, hoping that she might recognize her son in him rather than a lawyer. The plan seems to work until Victor’s mother insists that she will not tell Denny anything until the real Victor exits the room. Meanwhile, Dr. Marshall tells Victor that there might be a cure for his mother. He asks her to elaborate, and she suddenly undresses, saying that if Victor impregnates her, she can insert the fetus into his mother’s brain to reverse her brain degeneration.



Denny returns from Victor’s mother’s room and tells him that her secret is apparently contained in her diary, which she chose to write entirely in Italian. Dr. Marshall helps translate it, telling him that the content is delusional: it claims that Victor is the son of God and that she became pregnant after stealing a holy foreskin from beneath a priest’s bed. Victor goes to Denny’s house, finding that in his unemployment, he has decided to build a useless wall out of his rock collection. Dr. Marshall phones Victor and tells him that she now believes his mother’s diary to be true.

Victor internalizes the biblical “revelation,” deciding to become a good person now that he is supposed to be Jesus. He expresses doubts to Denny about the pressures of performing the role of such a holy figure. As they talk, he receives a call informing him that his mother is about to die. Victor meets her, and she finally recognizes that he is her son. He tries to comfort her by explaining that he knows the secret and is willing to take on the challenge of being Jesus. Clearly confused, she explains that the secret is that she is not his biological mother; rather, she abducted him while his real mother was looking away in order to secure American residency. Victor tells her that she is having a delusion, but before she can retort, she chokes on some pudding. Dr. Marshall rushes in and attempts to revive her, but she dies anyway. Victor then learns that Dr. Marshall is a psychiatric patient at the hospital, allowed to wear doctor’s garb to calm her down. She reveals that she fell in love with Victor after hearing his life story, and then checks herself out of her voluntary commitment.

At the novel’s end, Victor returns to Denny’s house and sees that he is still building his wall. A huge crowd has amassed to view his endeavor but is polarized in their attitudes about whether he is truly committed to the obscure ideology behind it. Victor closes his eyes just as the wall tumbles down, causing a mass exodus as the crowd loses interest. Denny restarts building the wall along with Victor and his girlfriend, Beth.



A novel about the absurdity that emerges when the religious and the rational collide, Choke’s unique plot provides a sample of the bizarre phenomena that can emerge, and abstractions we construct, in our alienated contemporary world. Nevertheless, its final scene suggests that warmth and connection remain possible, even as human relationships are becoming ever more fleeting and strange.