Damned

by Chuck Palahniuk

First published 2011

Madison Spencer opens her eyes in Hell after dying from a marijuana overdose during Christmas break. The thirteen year old daughter of a narcissistic movie star and billionaire finds herself sharing a cell with four other young sinners. A cheerleader, jock, nerd, and punk rocker become her unlikely companions in this twisted afterlife. Together they journey across landscapes made of human detritus like the Dandruff Desert and Mountain of Toenail Clippings. Their goal is reaching Satan's fortress to confront the dark lord himself. Hell operates on a currency of candy and discarded treats while demons tear apart the damned only to have them regenerate. The English Patient loops eternally as background torture. Telemarketers call from sweltering phone banks to sell damnation to the living. Madison navigates this bizarre underworld with sharp wit and teenage defiance, discovering that even eternal punishment cannot crush the human spirit's capacity for friendship and rebellion.

Genres: satire, fantasy, horror, dark-fantasy

Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking

Tropes: found-family, unlikely-companions

Setting: Hell

Period: Christmas

248 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday

Content warnings: death, drug-use

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