Line #36 Literature/Damned2011


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/81gk7vte0ll.jpg]]
2	%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
3
4	-> ''Are you there, Satan? It's me, Madison.''
5
6	''Damned'' is a 2011 book by Creator/ChuckPalahniuk.
7
8	From Creator/ChuckPalahniuk, the bestselling author of ''Literature/FightClub'', comes a dark and brilliant satire about adolescence, Hell, and the Devil.
9
10	Madison is the thirteen-year-old daughter of [[HorribleHollywood a narcissistic film star and a billionaire]]. Abandoned at her Swiss boarding school over Christmas, she dies over the holiday, presumably of a marijuana overdose. The last thing she remembers is getting into a town car and falling asleep. Then she's waking up in Hell. Literally. Madison soon finds that she shares a cell with a motley crew of young sinners: a cheerleader, a jock, a nerd, and a punk rocker, united by their doomed fate, like an afterschool detention for the damned. Together they form an odd coalition and march across the unspeakable landscape of Hell--full of used diapers, dandruff, [=WiFi=] blackout spots, evil historical figures, and one horrific call center--to confront the Devil himself.
11
12	A sequel would later be published in 2013 named ''Literature/{{Doomed}}''.
13
14	----
15	!!Tropes found in this work:
16
17	* AbusiveParents:
18	** Not actively abusive, but some of Camille and Antonio Spencer's parenting is questionable at best. They have negligent tendencies toward Madison, encourage her to experiment with drugs, and [[OlderThanTheyLook Camille]] cultivates [[NotAllowedToGrowUp Madison's]] image to keep her looking childlike and lies about Madison's age in public to make herself seem younger, even putting the wrong birth year on her headstone.
19	** Beyond this, the Spencers use adoption as a PR stunt each time one of them has a project coming out that puts them in the spotlight. The children they adopt are always either NonSpecificallyForeign or InspirationallyDisadvantaged, such as the child Madison mentions who has a cleft lip. Once they have served their purpose, they are PutOnABus to one foreign BoardingSchool or another and promptly forgotten.
20	* ACupAngst: Madison, who died before puberty, expresses jealousy of [[MsFanservice Babette's]] more developed body.
21	%%* AlphaBitch: The three "Skanky von Skankenberg" girls from Madison's BoardingSchool
22	* ArcWords:
23	** "At best, a sentry. At worst, a voyeur."
24	** "It's power, but a kind of pointless, impotent power."
25	** "The only thing that makes earth feel like Hell, or Hell feel like Hell, is our expectation that it ought to feel like heaven. Earth is earth. Dead is dead."
26	* BoltOfDivineRetribution: [[spoiler:Archer's death, combined with RedemptionInTheRain.]]
27	* BoringButPractical: Madison's thick-soled Bass Weejun loafers are much more comfortable and durable than Babette's counterfeit Mahnolo Blahnik heels. Knowing this, she advises her recruits to wear comfortable and dark-colored shoes and clothes that won't show dirt.
28	** AwesomeButImpractical: However, she does concede that the shoes Babette finds for her to wear are very pretty.
29	--> '''Madison:''' And yes, I'm well aware of all the reasons why I should politely but firmly refuse these shoes...but instead, I LOVE THEM. And they fit.
30	* BattleTrophy: Madison acquires King Ethelred II's belt, and adorns it with such others as Caligula's testicles, Hitler's mustache, and Thug Behram's handkerchief.
31	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Babette is introduced as somewhat of a BrainlessBeauty, [[HiddenDepths but she boasts an impressive body of knowledge]] [[RulesLawyer about the rules of Hell]].
32	* ByronicHero: When facing down Baal, Madison proclaims that she appears quite Byronic.
33	* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: The criteria for admittance into hell are so strict, anyone who has ever used the word "ain't" will face eternal damnation.
34	%%* CuteButTroubled: Goran
35	%%** Archibald Merlin Archer, or Archie Archer
36	* DeadToBeginWith: The novel starts off with Madison "Maddy" Spencer finding herself in Hell after her death. The novel focus her on trying figure out why she's in Hell and make the best of it.
37	%%* FireAndBrimstoneHell
38	%%* GranolaGirl: Camille
39	* HellSeeker: Madison had her reservations at first, but grew accustomed to Hell and convinced anyone she could that they should do everything they could to join her there.
40	%%* HorribleHollywood: The Spencers
41	%%* IDidntMeanToKillHim: [[spoiler:Goran]]
42	* ImportantHaircut: In Hell, Babette gives Madison the bangs she always wanted, but her mother insisted she was not ready for.
43	* ImpossiblyTackyClothes: Babette's accessories include knock-off Mahnolo Blahnik stilettos, a fake Coach handbag, and cubic zirconia earrings. These fashion sins are probably not noticeable to most people, but Madison has an eye for detail and was raised rich enough to have discriminating taste.
44	%%* MsFanservice: Babette
45	* NonSpecificallyForeign: Goran. Madison describes him as having thick, dark hair and a Transylvanian accent, but admits that she does not know where he's from.
46	* PolishTheTurd: Madison's attempts to spruce up Hell including painting bats red and blue to look like birds and adding reflecting pools.
47	* SceneryGorn: Hell boasts such attractions as the Dandruff Desert, the Swamp of Partial Birth Abortions, and the Great Ocean of Wasted Sperm.
48	* SeeYouInHell: Played for laughs. Teenagers who've gone to hell (it's not as bad as it sounds) get to return to Earth for a few hours on Hallowe'en to go trick-or-treating. When they split up to go their separate rounds, they casually go "OK. See you in hell!"
49	* SharedUniverse: One of Palahnuik's later works, [[spoiler: ''[[Literature/FightClub Fight Club 3]]]]'', confirms Madison is actually the biological daughter of [[spoiler: Tyler Durden and Marla Singer.]]
50	* ShoutOut: Each chapter begins with Madison writing in a journal, always starting with "[[Literature/AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret Are you there, Satan? It's me, Madison]]."
51	** Madison mentions ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'' rather frequently in the beginning of the book, at one point even writing a note to Satan in the style of the iconic letter the group writes to the principal at the end of the film. Her FiveManBand also mirrors their personalities pretty well, and she refers to them as "The Dead Breakfast Club"
52	** ''Literature/JaneEyre'' gets several nods as well.
53	** Madison is interested in Creator/RiverPhoenix, and Emily wants to know if Creator/CoreyHaim is single.
54	* TakeThat:
55	** ''Film/TheEnglishPatient'' is the only movie available in hell and it plays on an eternal loop.
56	** Hearing "You're the One that I Want" from ''Film/{{Grease}}'' three times in a day is a sure sign you'll die before sunset.
57	* VerbedTitle
58	%%* WhatBeautifulEyes: Leonard
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Context Literature / Damned2011