Tender Barnson’s life changes drastically. His caseworker dies, when she mixes two different types of cleaning solutions together, and they produce chlorine gas as a byproduct which causes her to suffocate. When the FBI investigates, they do not consider Barnson a subject of interest, because he is creedish. Later, a talent agent scouts Tender Barnson. In the blink of an eye Tender becomes a celebrity. He lands on the cover of Time Magazine and has his own book, ghost written by another. But his fame is short lived, and as it wanes, he makes appearances at two different Super Bowls. At his first appearance, he predicts a future disaster, as foretold to him by Fertility. His revelation effectively averts the casualties that would have been caused by this calamity. Between the two bowl games, Barnson has his own T.V. talk show, where he gives advice to callers. Also, the land that used to belong to the creedish church is turned into a landfill for old porn by Barnson’s agent. At the second Super Bowl, his agent commits suicide, and Tender is charged with the murder. His brother Adam with help from Fertility saves Tender from the police, and they hitch hike back to the creedish property. For some reason I cannot understand, they drive head long into a concrete wall. Then Adam tricks Tender into delivering him to heaven. Finally Tender meets Fertility, and they get on an airplane to Sydney, Australia. This is the same plane that Tender hijacks at the beginning of the book.
I find that this book has the most obscene and perverse content, that I have ever read. At the same time I think that this book is a good representation of the United States’ darker side. The description of bizarre sexual practices such as “glory holes” and the fascination with disaster that occurs when Barnson foretells of the impending calamity; these both show the sadistic nature of our society. Chuck Palahniuk is an interesting author, and I enjoy his work, even if it is extremely racy.
