Invisible Monsters

“Where you’re supposed to be is some big West Hills wedding reception in a big manor house with flower arrangements and stuffed mushrooms all over the house. This is called scene setting: where everybody is, who’s alive, who’s dead.”

This line opens the novel in media res, establishing that the story will eventually concern a wedding. It also sets the tone with a slightly sarcastic twist, indicating Palahniuk’s irreverent, confrontational diction. Although this opening introduces a descriptive, first-person narrator, the reader does not actually meet Shannon until the second paragraph.

“Most of my adult life so far has been me standing on seamless paper for a raft of bucks per hour, wearing clothes and shoes, my hair done and some famous fashion photographer telling me how to feel.”

The narrator continues her introductions by describing her life before the moment described in the opening lines. She was a model, and she was paid to be beautiful while someone told her what emotions she should be feeling. The narrator’s words imply that she is no longer content with this life—if she ever was.

“‘Don’t let me die here on this floor,’ Brandy says, and her big hands clutch at me. ‘My hair,’ she says, ‘My hair will be flat in the back.’”

There is conceit in this line that sets both a humorous and tragic tone: It is clear that this is not the time to worry about appearance, yet Brandy is doing just that. Though she appears to believe she is dying of a gunshot wound, her concern is how her hair will look after she dies. This exemplifies the themes of beauty and self-acceptance as Brandy is more concerned about her appearance than anything else, possibly based on societal expectations and certainly centered in her feelings toward her identity.