Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk. (Doubleday, 244pgs.) $24.95

Chuck Palahniuk's latest novel is described on the book's jacket as "The Manchurian Candidate meets South Park." Being a fan of both, I can attest to the fact that this description essentially sums up the plot of Pygmy. In it, agent Operative 67 — otherwise known as "Pygmy" of the book's title arrives as an exchange student to the United States from an unnamed totalitarian Third World nation. He arrives along with other "operatives", all thirteen year-olds, obstensibly to stay with American host families to learn about life in the US of A, but actually to take part in a terrorist plot known as "Operation Havoc." The plot involves various assassinations, moral corruption, deceptions and impregnations culminating in a mass killing with an experimental neurotoxin.

Of course, as with most Palahniuk novels, nothing is quite what it seems and nothing goes exactly as planned. Although Pygmy intially pursues the goals of Operation Havoc, getting closer to his host family in an effort to acquire the deadly neurotoxin from the lab where "host cow father" works, the boy comes to realize that his own nation is just as corrupt as the one he's been sent to destroy. A pivotal moment in the story occurs late in the novel after Pygmy sabotages his host sister's science fair project. Pygmy responds to her anger and disappointment by quoting Eugene Debs (Pygmy habitually quotes various revolunaries and political figures throughout) to which his host sister replies: "Real smarts begins when you stop quoting other people." This realization coupled with her hurt and disappointment, causes him to rethink his role in the terrorist plot.

I would place this novel third among Palahniuk's nine novels. It's not quite as good as his first, but I liked it better than Rant one of his more recent novels. It's a fairly astute, wry satire of American society. Like many of Palahniuk's other books, parts of this one made me laugh or at least smirk knowingly. Certainly, Pygmy, in addition to being a memorable character, may well be Palahniuk's most likeable creation. I found myself cheering for the little guy.If you can get past the style in which this novel is written, it's definitely worth the time-investment to read.