Not Forever, But for Now, by Chuck Palahniuk is a very uncomfortable read by the author of Fight Club. Palahnuik is known for saying he likes making people uncomfortable, and this book is just that. The plot is about incestuous twins who are raised in a family of hitmen. The twins enjoy having a prepubescent look, the novel makes it creepier by never revealing their age. I usually hide my dislike for a novel towards the end, but I did not like this novel. Palahnuik is a gifted writer and writes an incredible opening about nature with no nurture, which is how the twins are raised, but this is almost the only bright spot in the novel. The characters barely develop or attempt to develop both literally and physically. There’s so much repetition in the novel with one scene that gets repeated at least 10 times, the first time I was intrigued, but I grew to hate it. The scene rarely changes and doesn’t change the impact of the scene. This book is short at 256 pages, but man is this a slow read. I’m a person who can push through, and rarely do not finish books but this one was close. I’m a fan of Chuck Palahniuk and liked his last novel The Invention of Sound more than most, but this novel is just not good. I was given a copy on the date of publication from Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for free in exchange for a review. Not Forever, But for Now was published on September 5, 2023.

Plot Summary: Otto and Cecil are two brothers who grew up in Wales. The boys are privileged and spend their time murdering the help and watching animal documentaries. The brothers come from a line of hitmen whose specialty is killing without anyone knowing they have been murdered. Their mother is now an addict and their father died in the ghost forest, so they raise themselves and spend the day sending letters to prisoners pretending to be their mom. Their grandpa is still working and wants to nurture the boys to become hitmen like him. Otto wants the world to die but Cecil is still figuring things out how ruthless he wants to be.

What I Liked: The opening scene where the nature documentary mirrors the boy’s upbringing comparing it to how a kangaroo is born and has to survive. I do like the scene where Otto confronts the wildlife documentarian asking why he never saved the prey or got it to eat plant-based food. I did like some of the celebrity interactions before death like Marilyn Monroe and the first time with Judy Garland.

What I Disliked: The pacing was awful for this book. The repetitive scenes of Judy Garland’s conversation before her death. Ten or so times is way too much, I would cringe every time someone stuck a cashew in their ear and pretended to be Grandpa. Otto and Cecil barely have any character development. The ending was set up to be exciting the author chose to not have a big showdown and end the book with a small moment. I don’t know if the final moment was earned, I’m kind of on the fence about it.

Recommendations: Chuck Palahniuk’s books are not for everybody I have been a fan of most of them but, but I would have to say this is the worst book he’s ever written. His writing makes me uncomfortable at times, but I’ve always come away with a new perspective on the character that I had just read. Not Forever, But For Now, is a novel that I can not recommend any of my followers to read.

Rating: I rated Not Forever, But for Now by Chuck Palahniuk 2 out of 5 stars.