Fight Club

Feb 17, 2013 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adapted-to-screen

1st rule about Fight Club is read the novel first! Well thats my rule, i watched the movie, when it came out years ago (most the population) and only now discovered the real Fight club.
The narrator is a traveling automobile company employee who suffers from insomnia. On advice from his doctor attends support groups and pretends to be a victim. He gains some emotional release here and feels part of a people and becomes addicted to attending these support groups as an imposter. He's not the only...more

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May 10, 2007 ruzmarì rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wouldnt-read-again

Mary Ann Evans, in the 1850s, spoke out against the notion that "lady novelists" were capable of producing only "silly novels" - precious, sentimental, illogical and improbable claptrap - while men produced high literature. She changed her name to George Eliot and wrote as a "gender neutral" narrator, highly educated and worldly, and mostly transparent (i.e., not silly).

The 1990s finds us again at a crossroads where literature is concerned, with the rise of Oprah's book club and the whole genre...more Mary Ann Evans, in the 1850s, spoke out against the notion that "lady novelists" were capable of producing only "silly novels" - precious, sentimental, illogical and improbable claptrap - while men produced high literature. She changed her name to George Eliot and wrote as a "gender neutral" narrator, highly educated and worldly, and mostly transparent (i.e., not silly).

The 1990s finds us again at a crossroads where literature is concerned, with the rise of Oprah's book club and the whole genre of "chick lit" on the one hand (in many cases just "silly novels by lady novelists" revivified), and a sort of phallic-anxiety heavy-on-the-masculine literature on the other. This second group, I like to call "guy crap." It's not a bad label ; there's some good stuff in guy crap, just like there is on Oprah's book list. Guy crap includes genre fiction (Dennis Lehane, Jonathan Lethem), as well as insistent intellectualism (David Foster Wallace, Martin Amis, Paul Auster) ... and, of course, the violent, psych-you-out, latter-day-Robbe-Grillet disturbances of Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk. Some of these are done well, and some of them are just as silly as the lady novelists' claptrap.

Fight Club is one of those novels where the unrelenting GUY-ness of narrator and storyline begins as an intriguing challenge and ends up fatiguing and gimmicky. In case there's anyone out here who hasn't either read the book or seen the movie, I won't spoil anything, I promise. It's a book about a bunch of young men, frustrated in their low-on-the-ladder white-collar day jobs and the emptiness of modern society, who meet routinely to pound each other close to death and plot destruction on a less personal scale. The novel is Palahniuk's testament to the counter-culture of yuppiedom, a world in which squalor and presentability, upward mobility and civil disobedience, live side by side and take each other's measure daily. Palahniuk asks pointed questions about the world we live in, and his prose is the strength of this novel - he keeps you interested, even when you realize how much you hate what he's saying.

And you should hate what Palahniuk is saying. Because at the heart of the novel sits a troubled foundation. It's not the acts of (juvenile, for the most part) sociopathy, or even the ultimate real pathology the characters fall into. What you should hate as (or after) you read is the book's central three-part idea, that (a) the disaffected youth of the video-game generation really do hold the truth about society ; (b) society in turn is nothing but a reflection of the video-game generation's disaffected world-view ; and (c) once a disaffected youth of the video-game generation, always a disaffected youth of the video-game generation - there is no improvement, there is no connection, there is no healing, there is no "out," because boys never grow up. Even the support-group conceit that could represent the narrator's redemptive attempt at relation turns out to be just a device, as egotistical for the character as it is ultimately for the storyline. Relation between people doesn't exist, not really : you don't talk about fight club. We're all just wandering bruised through the wasted LCD landscape, staking out our independence like rebel teenagers, promising to blow up whatever we disagree with.

Palahniuk has said he wrote this book as a kind of provocation, to get back at a publisher for turning down his earlier manuscript. I wonder if he peed in the publisher's soup, too : it wouldn't altogether surprise me.(less)

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Jan 26, 2010 Paquita Maria Sanchez rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

I finally did it. I stayed up late last night and I read the f****ing Fight Club. Normally, Chuck Palahniuk really pisses me off with his initially engaging and fantastically original stories which all too quickly turn into misguided ramblings about a bunch of asshole caricatures with preposterous lines like "we need to get you laid, brother" to signal the beginning of a plot twist (and the end of you thinking that particular novel is going to be any good). However, I must say that Fight Club wa...more I finally did it. I stayed up late last night and I read the f****ing Fight Club. Normally, Chuck Palahniuk really pisses me off with his initially engaging and fantastically original stories which all too quickly turn into misguided ramblings about a bunch of asshole caricatures with preposterous lines like "we need to get you laid, brother" to signal the beginning of a plot twist (and the end of you thinking that particular novel is going to be any good). However, I must say that Fight Club was pretty solid. I enjoyed it from start to finish, thought the timing and character development to be quite good, and found myself actually relating to the narrator on a certain level.

I will, however, state the obvious and say that David Fincher took something good and made it stupendous. In short, the movie is actually better, but not by as much as I thought it would be. I don't want to spoil the party so I won't elaborate, but I did find the book's ending to be a bit disappointing in comparison to Fincher's version.

However, there was one element that the film essentially stripped from the story which I was pleased to find fully intact in the novel: Marla Singer actually has a personality. Marla Singer is smart. Marla Singer has hobbies and passions, vices and idiosyncrasies, Marla Singer has a FAMILY, Marla Singer has street smarts and people smarts and general smart smarts. Basically, Marla Singer is more than just an impoverished, codependent, bipolar nymphomaniac who is only around to make weird goth-girl quotes, grab mens' nuts, smoke cigarettes, shop at thrift stores, screw all night, and then whine and cry when her fuck-buddy acts like a fuck-buddy and shows her no love. Thankfully, though the figure in the film is still an interesting character in her own depressed, nihilistic way, the portrait which Palahniuk paints is much more richly detailed, and offers a greater explanation for Marla's behavior than the film ever even ATTEMPTS to offer. In doing so, the novel actually makes sense in explaining why this quirky girl is something worth causing a whole lot of trouble for, such as blowing half of your face off or ratting out a worldwide, powerful, underground militia of men who all know your face and feel obliged to chop your nuts off for doing so. And I mean chopping you nuts off AT BEST. Come ON...even Robin Hood wouldn't do that for just anyone.

Also, Palahniuk writes the dynamic between Marla and the narrator as much more amiable and balanced (though certainly still laced with sarcasm) than the male-slanted power dynamic presented in the film (dominant, powerful sex-machine male vs submissive female sex toy.) Despite the fact that Tyler does not know that they are lovers, he still treats her AS A FRIEND, further explaining why she sticks around for all the madness rather than telling him to get bent. So she's not a complete sucker, and he's not a completely chauvinist pig.

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Aug 09, 2007 Kira rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, americana

I read this book as a self-absorbed 18-year old and never looked back. Brilliant modern critique of western consumerism and masculinity, told through the story of an underground club of men who beat the hell out of each other as a way of working through their disillusionments.

Each sentence of each chapter is quotable, things like :
'You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile.'
and
'We don't ha...more

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Jun 28, 2010 K.D. Oliveros rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to K.D. by: Ace (have you read this?); 100 Must Read Books for Men

Shelves: guy-lit

Thank you, Ace for lending me this book. I really liked it (4 stars)!

Remember the articles in old Reader's Digest entitled "I am Joe's Liver", "I am Joe's Kidney" or "I am Jane's Vagina"? The unnamed narrator of this 1996 first-published novel of Chuck Palahniuk (born 1962) reads those articles so cult followers who obviously liked this book call him "Joe".

Joe is a Car Recall Specialist and he has to travel in various places in the US. Because of this his biological time clock gets messy and he...more

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Feb 25, 2009 Idle Hippo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sophie Kinsella fans >:)

Recommended to Idle Hippo by: Edward Norton & Brad Pitt

Shelves: fiksi, book-to-movies

Gentlemen, welcome to Fight Club

*The first rule about fight club is.. You do not talk about fight club.
*The second rule about fight club is.. You DO NOT talk about fight club.
*The third rule of fight club.. Someone yells "Stop!" goes limp, taps out, the fight is over
*Fourth rule.. Only two guys to a fight.
*Fifth rule.. One fight at a time, fellas.
*Sixth rule.. No shirts, no shoes.
*Seventh rule.. Fights will go on as long as they have to.
*And the eight and final rule.. If this is your first night...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Buggy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: media-tie-in, fiction, scars-r-sexy, shelf-11

Opening line: “Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after Tyler’s pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die”

There’s not much I can say about FIGHT CLUB that hasn’t been said already (besides I’m not supposed to talk about it -first rule of FC and all) It’s one of those books on everyone’s “to read” list and ultimately it's everything you'd expect it to be; disjointed, astonishing, dark, gritty and fantastic. Although I did wonder how you’d manage to unde...more Opening line: “Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after Tyler’s pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die”

There’s not much I can say about FIGHT CLUB that hasn’t been said already (besides I’m not supposed to talk about it -first rule of FC and all) It’s one of those books on everyone’s “to read” list and ultimately it's everything you'd expect it to be; disjointed, astonishing, dark, gritty and fantastic. Although I did wonder how you’d manage to understand what’s going on in the beginning chapters without having seen the movie first because they don’t make a whole lot of sense.

Of course you can’t help but compare the book to the movie. And in saying that I was surprised to learn that Fight Club the movie followed the book faithfully (including dialogue). It is so similar in fact that the book now reads much like a screenplay adaptation, even though it came first. Movies rarely follow the book word for word and subsequently I didn’t enjoy this as much as I’d been expecting to. There wasn’t anything extra here, no added insight into Tyler Durden’s character, no dirty scenes that didn‘t make it into the movie. I just kept picturing Brad Pitt and Edward Norton (not a bad thing) but then I also pictured Meatloaf Big Bob and his huge man boobs.

The ending however is completely different and it blew my mind. We see the unnamed narrator’s split personality develop much earlier “I know this because Tyler knows this” It’s not the zenith moment, just a symptom, and he (and we) become aware of it much earlier. We then get to watch “him” try to keep it together, to reign in his space monkeys, to get rid of Tyler by staying awake, to disband project mayhem "Tyler told us you’d say that" and his descent into madness is just brilliant.

The afterwards by the author is also very interesting. Detailing how this all started as a 7 page story he wrote when he was bored at work one day (its included as chapter 6 in the book) and then of course he expanded, added some friends stories (the naughty waiters and film splicing) and wrote what has transformed into the cult classic it is today.

Still, I think everyone should read this book.(less)

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Feb 20, 2011 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Some people find Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club too ridiculous and far-fetched. What kind of man opts out? Who would give up his pension to bring down society during the week?

(It's a good point, and one that explains why the revolution has not yet been not televised.)

As for who, well, we need to approach this question carefully.

As we grow older, we become more invested -- trapped, some would say -- in the systems that our society has constructed for us. However, even as one part of us becomes more...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Cory rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apparently, I'm not a fan of post-modern literature. I don't get Bret Easton Ellis or Jack Kerouac. I like my stories structured and when stream of consciousness is used, I don't like to feel like I'm reading from behind a veil.

Fight Club has a brilliant premise and the first 100 pages are pretty good. Unfortunately, towards the end, it feels like Palahniuk ran out of steam and decided to ramble as long as he could until his quota was filled.

In books, I don't like to know how the story ends. In...more Apparently, I'm not a fan of post-modern literature. I don't get Bret Easton Ellis or Jack Kerouac. I like my stories structured and when stream of consciousness is used, I don't like to feel like I'm reading from behind a veil.

Fight Club has a brilliant premise and the first 100 pages are pretty good. Unfortunately, towards the end, it feels like Palahniuk ran out of steam and decided to ramble as long as he could until his quota was filled.

In books, I don't like to know how the story ends. In the first chapter we're given the ending. This is a device used to pull the reader in. For me, it distracted from the story. I didn't care that Tyler was going to shoot the narrator. There was no suspense present. I, however, didn't start enjoying the story until much later. I wasn't pulled in, but I decided to push through.

The characterization here is barely sufficient. Tyler was the only three dimensional character. Marla was interesting, but in the end, I wouldn't care to read more about her. The narrator was bland. The rest of the characters aren't even worth mentioning.

I'm not a member of Generation X, in fact I'm barely a member of Generation Y. Perhaps this is why I don't appreciation the execution of this novel. With exception to the fight scenes, everything else was very cloudy. We are given many questions, but no answers.

A book is supposed to ask questions, not answer them, but this is absurd. Anarchy is the answer to what? Why is violence the answer to their empty lives? I have the feeling that I'm supposed to answer these questions myself. But this isn't a classic -- it isn't even literary fiction. Transgressive fiction should provide answers for the faults it finds with society.

The biggest problem I have with Fight Club is the style in which it is written. I'm not a fan of choppy writing. We are given unordered thoughts that often add little to the story, of which there is none. Often times, the writing is somewhat confusing. It's like reading a book in a dream.

The plot seems to wrap itself up in the last fifty pages. Usually this is a good thing, but here it seemed forced. I was unsure when the novel would pick up. It almost seemed to have evolved from itself as it was being written.

The premise was interesting, but the writing wasn't very good. I probably wouldn't read another book by Palahniuk.
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Jun 10, 2008 Patrick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2008

When there is a book that I'm interested in reading that I hear is going to be made into a movie, I try to do my best to read the book before that happens. The reason for this is I don't want my impression of the book to be sullied by the movie. While watching a movie and thinking to yourself, "Hey, I remember that from the book!" Or, "Huh, that wasn't in the book. Interesting," or even, "That was in the book, but they did it differently. I applaud/deplore this decision," is interesting and fun,...more When there is a book that I'm interested in reading that I hear is going to be made into a movie, I try to do my best to read the book before that happens. The reason for this is I don't want my impression of the book to be sullied by the movie. While watching a movie and thinking to yourself, "Hey, I remember that from the book!" Or, "Huh, that wasn't in the book. Interesting," or even, "That was in the book, but they did it differently. I applaud/deplore this decision," is interesting and fun, reading a book and seeing how it plays out against a fondly remembered movie is not as enthralling for some reason.

With that in mind, I hadn't seen David Fincher's 'Fight Club' in many, many years. I saw it once on DVD when it came out, and not since. That's not to say I didn't like it, however, and although I didn't remember every little detail, I did, unfortunately, remember the film's (and, before it, the book's) big twist. To put it into perspective, imagine having someone ruin the surprise of 'The Sixth Sense' and then still sitting through the whole thing. Suddenly it becomes a little tedious. So coming into this book with that knowledge, in order to really 'wow' me, Palahniuk would have to do so with the actual words and not gimmicks.

It's a tall order, and the book was mostly up to it. It's a good read. I enjoyed it, even having known the twist. I didn't really remember the ending of the movie, though, strangely enough, and I had to say, the book's ending left me a little cold. So I went back and watched the film last night as a refresher, which is sort of a funny experience (I saw the movie, read the book and remembered stuff from the movie, then watched the movie and remembered stuff from the book). Whereas the film reveals the twist and then ramps up to a fascinating and fulfilling climax, the book seems to just run out of steam and end haphazardly; a happy little ending with a winking nod to the type of ending the book deserved.

It's a bit disappointing, because it's the sort of plot that seems to fit better on paper than film, but quite frankly, I think the film is a bit better. At worst, they're even. Palahniuk himself was quoted as saying about the finished product of the film that it actually made him a little embarrassed of the book (in the special edition DVD liner notes), and I think he's right. While no doubt a fascinating read the first time through, and a good, innovative story on its own merits, the fact of the matter is that 'Fight Club' has taken on a life of its own since publication, and that life has been embodied by the image of Brad Pitt as 'Tyler Durden'. The book itself just can't hold up the same way in the aftermath.

This edition of the book also has an interesting afterword where Palahniuk describes the 'Fight Club' phenomenon as it were, and it seems clear that he feels the whole thing has become much more than he bargained for, due in large part to the film.

All that said, it was a good book, and I will definitely be reading more Palahniuk down the road.(less)

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Jan 25, 2013 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: about-fucking-time

At one point in my life, I would have embraced this ‘I-am-an-anti-Christ-I-am-an-anarchist-Don't- know-what-I-want-But-I-know-how-to-get-it-I-wanna-destroy-the-passer-by-'Cos-I-wanna-be-anarchy’ anthem.

Now I’m just tired.

In 1996, when this novel was written, I might have been on the fringe of still believing… maybe…naps looked awful nice back then. The idea is inspiring, in a mind-set not body moving sort of way.

Yay. Old.

I will admit that I loved this movie adaptation and it’s taken me 17 yea...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Marvin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Welcome to Goodreads Book Review Club.

The first rule is you don't talk about Review Club.
The second rule is you don't talk about Review Club.
The third rule is the review is over when Carpal Tunnel Syndrome sets in or the reader goes into a coma from terminally excessive verbiage.
The fourth rule is only two persons reviewing a book at a time. (think the Point-Counter Point parody on the original Saturday Night Live... "Jane, You ignorant slut!!")
The fifth rule is one review at a time. (I tried re...more

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Jun 05, 2008 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Trendwhores

Dear Chuck,

I have tried to like you. Really, I honestly have. I tried to read Rant, I tried to read Choke and then I attempted this book. Rare is the moment where I realize I enjoyed the movie much MUCH more then then the novel it is based on. I simply do not like your style of writing, and I have been ridiculed by fanboys who will defend your honor to the grave. Your style comes off as unique, but I can feel the pretentiousness like a piece of meat stuck in between my teeth. You know full well...more

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Dec 28, 2007 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I adore the way Palahniuk writes, it's like having someone back you into a corner and not knowing if they want to hit you or fuck you...the tension is immeasurable. His language speaks to the gut, the primal drives that undulate in all of us just beneath the surface of our civility. THIS is the authors magic, the ability to make us feel so much with stripped down and raw language. The words roll around in the head and make us THINK about our role in the modern consumer society: Who am I? What do...more

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Jan 15, 2012 29alabs rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Es difícil describir Fight Club, es difícil hacerlo después de ver la película.

Creo si este libro lo hubiera encontrado antes de la película (Si mi dios, mi papá según el libro, no me hubiera bendecido con Cinemax mientras era adolescente), seguramente 14-años-yo lo encontraría en verdad entrañable, pero ahora me doy cuenta que es sólo un conjunto de citas citables (todas en la película, todas y cada una de ellas) añadidas a escenas con situaciones extrañas (o bueno, capítulos en el libro) que t...more

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Apr 02, 2013 nik rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read, real-horrowshow

You do not talk about Fight Club.

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Mar 14, 2013 Dina Nabil rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pdf

بعد تأجيل مشاهدة الفيلم لسنوات بحجة رغبتى فى قراءة النص اولا قررت اخيرا التهامها نصيا بترجمة احمد خالد توفيق....ما زال عندى احساس ان الفيلم-اللى لسه ما شفتوش- اقوى من الكتاب
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الرواية طبعا غير تقليدية و الفاظها قاسية...بتحسسك بتفاهه حياتك و ان الانتحار فكرة مش وحشه فى مواجهه الحياه المنيله دى...من السهل ان تبكى عندما تعرف ان كل من حوالك سيموتون يوما

اضبط ساعتك على توقيت المحيط الهادئ او الجبلى او المركزى ...افقد ساعة ثم ساعة..تلك حياتك و انت تفقدها دقيقة فى كل مرة

جمل تجلب الاكتئاب لكن...more بعد تأجيل مشاهدة الفيلم لسنوات بحجة رغبتى فى قراءة النص اولا قررت اخيرا التهامها نصيا بترجمة احمد خالد توفيق....ما زال عندى احساس ان الفيلم-اللى لسه ما شفتوش- اقوى من الكتاب
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الرواية طبعا غير تقليدية و الفاظها قاسية...بتحسسك بتفاهه حياتك و ان الانتحار فكرة مش وحشه فى مواجهه الحياه المنيله دى...من السهل ان تبكى عندما تعرف ان كل من حوالك سيموتون يوما

اضبط ساعتك على توقيت المحيط الهادئ او الجبلى او المركزى ...افقد ساعة ثم ساعة..تلك حياتك و انت تفقدها دقيقة فى كل مرة

جمل تجلب الاكتئاب لكنها لا تخلو من الحقيقة
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ملحوظتين لفتوا انتباهى: الاول تكرار بعض الجمل اثار انتباهى خاصة الفاصل الزمنى فى اول العمل و اخره مما اطفى طعم مختلف لنفس الجملة باختلاف تطور القصه....و الثانية: ان الكتاب بيدى وصفات واضحة للتخريب و التفجير و ده فى رأيى ممكن يسبب مشاكل ان لم يكن سبب بالفعل
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ربما السبب فى تقليل امتاعى هو قراءتى المسبقه لكتاب "ان تكون عباس العبد" للعايدى...اللى بعد انتهاء الرواية تبدو كعمل "مسروق" كليا مش مجرد مقتبس
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نقطة مهمة اخرى و مفصيله للغاية الا و هى الترجمة

مشكلة خطيرة هى الترجمة....تتضح بصمات احمد خالد توفيق للغاية باسلوبه و ملاحظاته مما ضيق خلقى....القاعدة الذهبية للترجمة هى الا اشعر بوجود المترجم اصلا و استمتع بالعمل و كأنى اقرأ الكتاب بلغتة الاصليه و هو ما لم يحدث

شعرت كأنى اقرأ كتاب لخالد توفيق و ليس تشاك بولانيك خاصة قرب النهاية التى اعترف خالد توفيق انه لخص جزء من النهاية معللا ذلك "بتخفيف بعض المقاطع , لانها لا تخلو من تجديف لا شك فيه" ...ربمايكون افسد عليا القراءة قليلا

رأيى ان خالد توفيق ارتكب جريمة ادبيه فى حذفة بعض الاجزاء
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الى مشاهدة قريبة للفيلم
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تحديث بتاريخ 8 فبراير 2013

شاهدت الفيلم بالامس و فاجئنى تشابه بل و تطابق احداث الفيلم مع الرواية و عدم تأثير الفن السابع كعادته فى تغيير العمل و تلوينه

و لم يختلف كثيرا سوى فى مشهد او اثنين ....لكنى عموما استمتعت
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Feb 26, 2008 Joshua rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To start with, the film is so far superior to this book it becomes a valuable example in the argument of "instances when film adaptations are better than the original books".
There. Ive said it.
Moving on.
No, his writing is not "good" nor is it "brilliant" or "Gritty" (one of my favorites, usually translates to bad). It is indeed bad writing. Bad from the perspective of literature. Bad when viewed through scope of history and the pantheon of wonderful, eloquent geniuses of the written word. Men w...more To start with, the film is so far superior to this book it becomes a valuable example in the argument of "instances when film adaptations are better than the original books".
There. Ive said it.
Moving on.
No, his writing is not "good" nor is it "brilliant" or "Gritty" (one of my favorites, usually translates to bad). It is indeed bad writing. Bad from the perspective of literature. Bad when viewed through scope of history and the pantheon of wonderful, eloquent geniuses of the written word. Men who have put a piece of thier soul down on paper and made it dance and contort in order to say something profound about humanity and what it means to be human.
Perhaps Palahniuk's ideas are there and that is a separate issue from the writing itself. The writing (and I have to agree with some others who have reviewed this book)reeks of the same gangrenous rot that much modern "literature" reeks of. A debasement of the language down to the point where the 7 percent of American males who read a book in the last year can feel comfortable reading it and not have thier attention spans exhausted within two pages.
Oh I compliment Mr. Palahniuks accomplishment. Quite impressive really. He has created a work so debased and and simple, that a whole generation of disaffected, junior-high and high-school boys now can now channel thier collective aggression and penchant for physical harm upon each other into an organized ethos.
The truth is sad, because I really do feel the Chuck is really saying something profound about society, but like all bad art, we must question whether the message is communicated accurately and effectively. At its pithy middle, Fight Club is about the search for meaning within a society of artifice. A search that peters out for most as our fear of failing to accomplish our ideals flings us into a life of rote, mechanical (excuse the word)pussy-ship. Fight Club attempts to turn these fears on thier head by begging the question: are our ideals really our own? Are they bull-sh*t?
Unfortunately I feel this question is lost amidst the musical screams and thuds of a festival of meat-pounding violence.
John Gardner once said:

~To write with taste in the highest sense, is to write with the assumption that one out of a hundred people who read one's work may be dying, or having some loved one dying. To write so that no one commits suicide, no one despairs; to write as Shakespeare wrote, so that people understand, sympathize, and see the universality of pain and feel strengthened, if not directly encouraged to live on.(less)

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May 02, 2013 Lorena Melo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm Joe's impressed expression.

I’m Joe’s disgusted feeling.

I'm Joe's smiling eyes and knowing smile.

I'm Joe's raised eyebrow and amazed stare.

Before deciding to read the book, especially because I had already watched the movie (and loved it, by the way) and knew what went down in the end, I thought I was beyond being impressed. Well, I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

To me, the most impressive thing about the book is the author, Chuck Palahniuk. I know, drrrr, of course the author is always imp...more I'm Joe's impressed expression.

I’m Joe’s disgusted feeling.

I'm Joe's smiling eyes and knowing smile.

I'm Joe's raised eyebrow and amazed stare.

Before deciding to read the book, especially because I had already watched the movie (and loved it, by the way) and knew what went down in the end, I thought I was beyond being impressed. Well, I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

To me, the most impressive thing about the book is the author, Chuck Palahniuk. I know, drrrr, of course the author is always important, but when reading this specific novel I just couldn’t stop thinking about how much research this man must have done to write down that much information so accurately. I mean, in usual stories, the writers would just say that the character used napalm or a homemade bomb to blow something up. But not Palahniuk. No, Chuck Palahniuk writes that his character used napalm or a homemade bomb to blow something up, but he also gives you the recipe for these stuff. And one could be a movie projectionist only by reading his detailed description of film projection.

Not to mention the behavior of his “split personality” character, which is like one of those psychological thrillers where he really has no idea that they’re the same person. Palahniuk also plays with the reader, giving hints like “I know this because Tyler knows it” or how Tyler only shows up when they’re alone, that you only notice when you already know the end. I knew the end, so every time this clues showed up I’d think “gotcha!”.

I have to say, however, that characters like those in this book freak me out. Seriously, they’re relationships are so fucked up. The main character (the one we never get to know the real name, so I call him Edward Norton) is mentally disturbed, so he is forgiven, but Marla Singer has not a hint of self respect, and those space monkeys from Project Mayhem were so blinkered to think they could destroy civilization just by burning down some buildings and monuments. Civilization is not only pieces of concrete or pieces of art, but an idea deeply engraved into people’s mind and conscience, and we just won’t let go of it.

There are also some ugly truths and dark elements in there that are spoken of so plainly, such as the Valley of Dogs, that at first I thought, God, this is cruel, but then I realized this is the way society works: We take disaster as a natural thing and don’t think about it too much, unless it affects us directly. And the way the story is told even makes you forget how twisted it really is, and being twisted is what actually makes it so interesting. I believe Palahniuk’s work in general to be very refreshing, and the only other writer I can think of that impressed and entertained me as much as he did was Bukowski. I’d been looking for something different and exciting for some time now, and I don’t know what took me so long to buy and read Fight Club.

I’m Joe’s fully satisfied want for a good book (for now).
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Aug 03, 2010 Pandasurya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiksi-luar-terjemahan, punya, favorit

yep, setelah dibaca2 lagi dan dipikir2 lagi novel ini sebenarnya layak dapat 5 bintang..:-)

***
Dan malaikat pun..*
a.k.a. Fight Club

Dan setelah semuanya
segalanya sedang menuju kehancuran

9..
8..
7..

Lalu kau membaca Fight Club
dan seperti tersadarkan bahwa
dunia tak pernah seperti yang kaubayangkan
ada dunia lain di luar sana
dan di dalam sini
: gelap yang luput dari kata
gelap yang terlalu menyilaukan

kau bertarung hanya untuk bertarung
berduel dengan orang yang tak pernah kaukenal sebelumnya
: dirimu sendir...more

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Jun 10, 2008 Zachariah White rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who has ever hated the status quo

Recommended to Zachariah by: Lee Ann Price

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think a wise man (or person for those in vogue with the latest issue of Political Correctness Magazine of the late 2oth century and the sexual politics issue of Men Groveling: Degradative Pronouns and Why They Hurt All Women of the 21st century) once said "forgiveness is divine, but for the love of Christ, don't watch the movie first if you plan on reading the goddamn book later!!!" I'd seen the movie Fight Club circa 2000, after the movie had its theatrical release and was now lining the wall...more I think a wise man (or person for those in vogue with the latest issue of Political Correctness Magazine of the late 2oth century and the sexual politics issue of Men Groveling: Degradative Pronouns and Why They Hurt All Women of the 21st century) once said "forgiveness is divine, but for the love of Christ, don't watch the movie first if you plan on reading the goddamn book later!!!" I'd seen the movie Fight Club circa 2000, after the movie had its theatrical release and was now lining the walls of my local video store. Being just 15 at the time and eager to watch a movie about a bunch of men kicking the ever living crap out of each other, I picked it up and was stunned not only by it's content (which I found exhilarating and somewhat inspiring) but also how they seemingly took a general idea of a quirky, misunderstood, dull, boring, working guy and transformed him into his own version of being God, all through the simple medium of some other guy he met, seemingly through coincidence. I liked the befallen aspect of the movie; it's grittiness and playful cynicism describe it's theme perfectly, where anarchy is simply the path to ultimate freedom. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were flawless, and Helena Bonham Carter gave a riveting performance, that, in my mind, sort of skyrocketed her career into the spotlight, though she'd been in the movie business a long time before Fight Club ever came out.

Now, of course, this review isn't about the movie, but after reading the book, I find only subtle differences between the two, and thus, every good thing I had to say about the movie I have to say about the book. However, the fact that I saw the movie first did let go some of the excitement of the book, which is why I've decided to handicap this review because the book deserves the freshness it originated. Now, that being said, the book, in addition to being 90% similiar to the movie, which was brilliant in just about every scope imaginable, it is also filled and peppered with tons of juicy descriptions that are absent in the movie but make for a scintillating read that gives the book a little extra flare. Every description from the narrator's (or Tyler before he became Tyler) housewares and knick-knacks to the different cities and places that he wakes up in throughout the book, and onward to the various descriptions of "I am Joe's Desperate Agony. . ." or the like makes the book that much more enjoyable because it sucks you to an exact frame of mind, where your forced to see things exactly how they are, not with just some general idea, and I'm glad the book used the mechanism of exactness ironically, because as much time Chuck Palahntuk spends describing the little things in the narrator's life that seem to fully describe who the narrator is as a person, he spends that much time later in the book telling the reader why they are meaningless, and by taking a time to paint a vivid picture and then call that picture absolute shit, I thought, was pretty ingenious.

Now, these descriptive differences enhance the quality of the material that is seen in the movie, but only because the movie was limited in terms of time. Everything in the book couldn't fit into the movie, and thus there exist subtle differences including: the scenes on the nude beach with Tyler aren't in the movie nor are most of what happens in chapter 10, the boiling of Marla's mother in Chapter 11, and Chapter 15 is different in how Tyler beat himself up (in the movie Ed Norton's boss does it). There are other differences, but again, if you read the book, and then watched the movie, you would have to agree that Chuck Palahniuk should be given some sort of co-screenwriter credit as more than half if not closer to 75, 80% of the dialogue in the movie comes from the book itself. Jim Uls did an elegant job of weaving the choice lines together, but ultimately all he did was cut and paste and change a few things to make the book more cinematic, which it already was to begin with. This leads me to believe that the reason everyone loves the movie is because it is a true adaptation of the book, and thus, following this logic, the book, being the originator of the two, is absolutely one of the most original and provocative pieces of literature to be written in the last 25 or 50 years. Because I love the movie so much, and because the book is basically the movie, it would be illogical for me and for anyone else to say they loved the movie but hated the book. You can nuance the two, like I said above, and find little things to dislike in the book, but ultimately, they are the same in message and theme.
Because I'm sure I would have been blown away by the book had I read it first, I'm giving it five stars, and not my actual first take on the book, which would have put it somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 1/2 stars. To end, I must reiterate that solemn saying, that reading the book after one watched the movie is giving the book the unfair advantage. When critiquing said book, be sure to take that piece of advice to heart. (less)

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Aug 08, 2009 Nicholas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, lifestyle

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is the book. There is so much to learn here. I don't know how to do it justice. Just read the quotes.

By the way, it's not about anarchy or rebellion or consumerism. It's about finding what in life gives you meaning and pursuing it to perfection. It's about building an inner self that can weather the chaos inherent in the world.

http://messageboard.tuckermax.com/sho...

Quotes:

"It's so quiet this high up, the feeling you get is that you're one of those space monkeys. You do a little job you're...more

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May 26, 2009 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Well, now I reckon y'all have seen the movie, so there's probably not a whole lot that you need to know about this book.

You know Tyler Durden.

He's the Id, the unchained spirit that wants what he wants and he wants it now. He's the voice in your head that tells you that everything is worthless, that chaos, death and the end of civilization would be better than anything our so-called "society" could ever create. He's the one standing over your left shoulder, whispering "Burn it all down. It'll be...more

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Sep 03, 2008 M.C. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007-2008

I remember that roughly seven or eight years ago, I watched "Fightclub" for the first time. My memory of the movie was vague: a psychopath-laugh, men beating the hell out of each other, and a bar of soap.

It was not until recently that I read the novel and re-watched the movie. Now it's different.

The language of the book is quite unique from most other books I have read because it is as though you are inside the mind of two people at the same time. It was fun to think about how it would be like t...more

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Jan 17, 2008 Robin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While this book is a personal favorite, it thoroughly divided my book club. A few others loved it as much as I did, and a few hated it (one member even advocated trashing every copy, an act that made my little librarian heart clench in shock and fear...) This book polarizes readers, and I think that can be good for a discussion. Fight Club became a touchstone book for disgruntled young men when it was published, and perhaps most importantly, got a whole generation of guys who didn't read at all...more

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Sep 27, 2007 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: disaffected young men and their alter egos.

I have found that few people are ambivalent about this book. Either they hate it or they love it. Either way, it's an original. It is almost impossible to compare Fight Club to any other book that I've read.

I once read a review of the movie (which does a pretty good job of capturing the tone and themes of the book) that said that the people who hated the movie saw it as a drama rather than the comedy that it was intended to be. I think that there is something to that idea.

Fight Club is what Al F...more

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Jul 14, 2007 brook rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"We don't have a great war in our generation, or a great depression, but we do, we have a great war of the spirit. We have a great revolution against the culture. The great depression is our lives. We have a spiritual depression."

yes, you can be a girl and still get fight club. it took me a long time to explain this to some of my male friends, but i think they finally understood.

one of few books that was turned into a film and ended up equal if not superior to the text. the novel does stand on...more

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Feb 01, 2011 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: L.S.

Shelves: 2011, favorites

I found it really mesmerizing, dynamic and powerful. A must read.

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 06, 2013 Rola rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

أولا تحية للمقدمة الممتعة ل د. أحمد خالد توفيق و التي حوت معلومات هامة عن الكاتب و الكتاب و أجابت علي بضع اسئلة محيرة راودتني أثناء القراءة ،،،
مثلا : حوت الرواية تفاصيل و مقادير دقيقة عن كيفية صنع المتفجرات و تعجبت كون هذه المعلومات قد استخدامها بهدف التخريب ،، و لكن جاء بالمقدمة بالفعل أن الكاتب تعمد إغفال إضافات هامة لكل تركيبة حتي لا يتم استخدام الوصفات فيما يسئ ،، أي أن الوصفات المذكورة ناقصة بالفعل :)

أما عن الرواية ذاتها فهي تركيبة من الجنون و صورة بعدسة قريبة لموجات العنف العشوائي الموجود...more
أولا تحية للمقدمة الممتعة ل د. أحمد خالد توفيق و التي حوت معلومات هامة عن الكاتب و الكتاب و أجابت علي بضع اسئلة محيرة راودتني أثناء القراءة ،،،
مثلا : حوت الرواية تفاصيل و مقادير دقيقة عن كيفية صنع المتفجرات و تعجبت كون هذه المعلومات قد استخدامها بهدف التخريب ،، و لكن جاء بالمقدمة بالفعل أن الكاتب تعمد إغفال إضافات هامة لكل تركيبة حتي لا يتم استخدام الوصفات فيما يسئ ،، أي أن الوصفات المذكورة ناقصة بالفعل :)

أما عن الرواية ذاتها فهي تركيبة من الجنون و صورة بعدسة قريبة لموجات العنف العشوائي الموجودة بالغرب نتيجة للحياة الاستهلاكية التي تفرض علي الفرد العمل لا لتحقيق ذاته أو لرفعة المجتمع و انما لامتلاك رفاهيات المعيشة ليوازي الصورة التي يروجها الغرب للثري (اثاث فخم ،، ملابس راقية ،، أجهزة كهربائية حديثة من كل صنف و نوع)
آثار بولانك في الكتاب نظرية القوة ،، أنت قوي،، إذن أنت مؤثر في الحياة ،، خلقت لتعترض. الأمر الذي صار هدفا حياتيا لأبطال الرواية المطحونين في دوامات العمل و المرض بلا غاية و لا نقطة ضوء في آخر النفق.
ملاحظة و تعليق أخير؛
الملاحظة: بخصوص الفيلم المأخوذ عن الرواية فقد تلقيت أكثر من تعليق بأنه أفضل من الرواية بمراحل ،، الأمر الذي تم التنويه عنه المقدمة أيضا حيث جاءت تنويهات عن غيرة المؤلف من سيناريو الفيلم الذي خلق أبعاد و تعقيدات ود لو خطرت علي باله أثناء إصدار الرواية :))

التعليق: راودتني (أن تكون عباس العبد) أثناء القراءة و كأنها النسخة المصرية من نادي القتال،، أينعم لم يحتكر بولانيك الحديث عن مرض الانفصام و لكن بكل هذه التشابهات ؟؟؟ مش غريبة ؟؟ :)

(less)

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Feb 20, 2013 Darsana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, saw-the-film-or-tv-show

So I am going to break the cardinal rule of Fight Club. I am going to talk about it.

That was probably the most cliche way to start this review and the cliche-ness will probably continue throughout. Now, if you have friends who are movie buffs or friends (esp guys) who love reading, this book is going to be suggested quite a lot. Sometime back, I caved in and watched the movie and found it intriguing but never gave it due importance out of a childish want to dislike popular stuff.

But after having...more

5 likes · like · see review

topics	posts	views	last activity
Fight Club	4	103	May 11, 2013 06:09am
Bookworm Buddies: Fight Club - Buddy Read	33	31	Mar 28, 2013 02:45pm
what were the guys in the back-seat thinking?	9	159	Mar 21, 2013 12:38pm

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