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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Palahniuk writes -- no, thinks -- like nobody else. His narratives can be disturbing to say the least, but they capture the true, twisted nature of man, particularly in Fight Club. I've seen the movie a half-dozen times but only read the book once, so I plan to reread it soon (hopefully we can as...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Four hours of explosive reading. WOW. DAMN. SHEESH. I've watched the movie and only now got the chance into explore deeper to the fascinating character(s) in this novel. Truly diabolical, vivid and gutsy. I applaud you, Mr. Palahniuk. Awesome debut. Will certainly read Choke etc one day.”
Choccy wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“the book that started it all..”
martin m wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Intense. I was extremely confused, but the book blew my mind.”
Gina K wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“just started”
devin b wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“i didnt read it, but the movie was awesome!!!!”
Jimmybuz wrote this review 10 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No![[mandi.lea]](http://shelfari-userimages.s3.amazonaws.com/usr1972599633885123699680201.jpg)
“Read it after seeing the movie, and was quite glad that I did it in that order. Felt like I would have been entirely lost without knowing what was happening beforehand- though I wonder if that had more to do with being distracted while reading, or my age at the time. Curious to read it again someday to see if I appreciate it more. Did enjoy Palahniuk's writing style though- made me interested in reading more of his work. ”
[mandi.lea] wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I think it was two years ago. A friend gave me a DVD, calling it “A Brad Pitt”, go watch it. Well, I didn’t. The cover label felt as if the movie was some boxing gross hit by Mr. Pitt, and I didn’t watch it. A year later a very good friend with great artistic appreciation said, Amir, have you watched Fight Club? And I said I had the DVD and I didn’t. And he just yelled how could you NOT?! ... man, “I was Joe’s grinding teeth.”
Amir wrote this review 12 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I found the DVD again and watched it. I believe Fight Club could dominate the 2000 Oscars. Anyway I’m not to talk about the movie. Worthy it truly was, but the genius lies elsewhere. It was the movie first that introduced to me Chuck Palahniuk, the author of the Fight Club. Palahniuk is one of the many writers of our time who has stormed the literary world with his debut novel. Fight Club is evoking, multi-layered, inspiring, and revolutionary. Chuck has well proved his genius in his seven later novels, but the influence of Fight Club is evident in his later fiction. Well, I’m Joe’s complete lack of surprise.
Fight Club is the account of the final few months of the life of one nameless antihero, later called Jack by the author, who lives in late 20th century America. This antihero, who happens to be the narrator as well, is the prototype of ‘the consumer’ in the capitalist America. He works “a job he hates” to earn enough “to buy things he doesn’t need.” But well, like most of us, consumers as we are, Jack is not fulfilled and satisfied. He is not happy at all and he has no idea why. Jack, the most jaded antihero you could ever see.
The core of Jack’s jadedness is his lack of one true identity, and what he does through the novel is to find, or let’s say, to redefine one. What bothers Jack is the origin of his current identity which is determined by the culture in which “no one is truly white or black or rich, anymore. We all want the same. Individually we are nothing.”
The culture that determines Jack’s identity is based on ‘consumerism’ and Jack is a victim of it. Things he used to own, now they own him. The condo he used to own, now it owns him and, as he says, “... I wasn’t the only slave to my nesting instinct. The people I know who used to sit in the bathroom with pornography, now they sit in the bathroom with their IKEA furniture catalogue.”
Being tired of such a life style, and wanting to get away from it, the narrator sets off the journey of self-discovery. Well, Palahniuk is not going to lead his hero to salvation. Palahniuk is too realistic to do that. In the chaotic world of the hero, there is no way to salvation and deliverance. The narrator’s journey is not about “self-improvement”. It is about “self-destruction”.
Insomnia marks the beginning of the narrator’s journey as well as the end of it. When you have insomnia everything seems “a copy of a copy of a copy”. The narrator is not able to sleep, so with no where yet to rest his head, Jack waits, like these, on earth forlorn.
Insomnia marks the narrator’s restlessness, the beginning of his awareness, and last but not least, the birth of Tyler Durden. Tyler Durden: a copy of a copy of the narrator. Tyler Durden: the chaotic side of the narrator’s personality; the angry voice of his unconscious; the shrill cry of his split psyche, his hallucination, his friend and his role model. The beauty of Fight Club is that the unconscious of the protagonist is personified. It becomes a character who acts and his presence is felt. And what is Tyler really doing out there? Well, he needs Jack to do him a favour. “I want you to hit me as hard as you can.” He is out there to start the fight club.
“Who I am in fight club is not someone my boss knows”, says the narrator. The fight club is the narrator’s first real effort to re-define his disintegrated personality, one which is not defined by the ‘consumer’ society’. Well, it is not just him and Tyler. Little by Little fight club becomes full of city dwellers who want to become “enlightened”, and “feel alive”.
In fight club the narrator is restlessly fighting to re-define manhood and masculinity. There he is learning the fact that he is “the middle child of history,” “raised by television, to believe that he will someday be a “millionaire, a movie star, a rock star.” But he won’t. What the narrator needs is the new ‘manhood’. One which is defined by savages, like in the mountains of Bolivia, where male villagers “beat the crap out of one another, drunk and bloody, chanting ‘We are Men...We are Men.’
Fight club is individual development. Well, at one point the narrator realizes that it is not enough. First one ‘builds up a tolerance to fight club’. Second, ‘something bigger’ is needed which could be expanded in social scales. Revolution is the answer. What is revolution to Palahniuk? Anarchy, destruction, or Project Mayhem.
Project Mayhem seeks to destroy history, destruct the whole civilization and to “force humanity to go dormant long enough for the earth to recover.” The goal is to teach each man he has “the power to control history”. The goal is to cause disaster which is “a natural part of evolution, toward tragedy and dissolution.” Long story short, “justified anarchy”.
After reading Fight Club one becomes aware of the role he is playing in the society. Is it not that we are all jaded and pathetic consumers who get away from depression and oblivion by roaming around in shopping malls and making sure that we use the latest iPhone and sit on the newest furniture? And once we get them we seek the next product or else start to feel depressed. Waking up our Tyler Durdens is not easy and not safe. ”“I fucking love this book. The pacing, the non-linear narrative, the poetic rhythm, the sheer nuttiness. The fact that it could have been about a gardening club and it would have been the same book, but no. Palahniuk chose men beating the tar out of each other. Just because it's a damn good book.”
Cat B wrote this review 12 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Chuck Palahniuk is a genius. His book fight club was unbelievable. Its character was just so three dimensional and touching. The way he described what certain things were unbelievably disturbing. He created the story of the centaury. The book was so demented and horribly entertaining. The book followed a confused man and his struggle with life. His friends and followers are ruthless and crazy. Marla and the unnamed main characters deranged happiness coming from seeing other peoples pain is a terrifying idea.
Max W wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
All I have to say is rule 1. You don't talk about fight club.
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