Fight Club
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Amazing! Anyone know anything similar to it?
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Rachel
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rated it 5 stars
May 12, 2011 09:25AM
This is an amazing book, the description and well everything about it is so cool. Anyone got any idea about a book like this?
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You can read more of Chuck's stuff. Rant, Invisible Monsters, Survivor, Choke and Lullaby are my favorites. You can also check out Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, Chemical Pink by Katie Arnoldi, and The Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger.
Interested to hear what others will suggest too.
I loved this book but I've never read anything even a little bit like it. I'm also interested to see anyone else's suggestions.
You can also check out the recommendations on Chuck's website. That's where I found a bunch:http://www.awriterscult.com/recommended
I second Chuck's other novels. I'd add Diary to the list Kaila gave. It's a bloody scary book. Also, if you want to be really grossed out, try Haunted. It contains a short story that has made people throw up or faint at public readings. Enjoy.
Survivor might be the best book ever written. If you liked Fight Club, you'll love Survivor
im going to restate kaila's claim you should read craig clevenger, but i will add his newest book DERMAPHORIA. you should also check out these authors:-monica drake
-willy vlautin (his latest book lean on pete just won the oregon book award, i think) but his other two books are great too.
-stephen graham jones - i personally loved THE LONG TRIAL OF NOLAN DUGATTI and LEDFEATHER
-will christopher baer
-peter rock (MY ABANDONMENT is good)
-richard thomas (he's a guy that came out of palahniuks online workshop, and he has a book out right now called TRANSUBSTANTIATE)
-nik korpon's STAY GOD is supposed to be really good as well.
WOW dude thanks! sounds awesome. :D
Check out Bret Easton Ellis, Brandon Tietz, Monica Drake, Michael Sonbert.
Fight Club, Diary and Invisible Monsters are my favorite Chuck novels! Lullaby and Choke were also good, but I wasn't a big fan of Survivor or Snuff. Not many authors get as graphic as Chuck without going over the line of being gross. But if you're looking for someone with an offbeat take on society and its underlying forces, I highly recommend Kurt Vonnegut! One of the best satirists in American history!
I would say anything by Bret Easton Ellis or Vonnegut.Also for specific books try
-House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
-John Dies At The End by David Wong
-American Gods by Neil Gaiman
-Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
And not books, but any art by Gottfried Helnwein is definitely in the same vein as Palahniuk
The Color of Night by Madison Smartt Bell
bret easton ellis is good and so is douglas coupland.
Kurt Vonnegut as you can definitely see his influence in Mr. Palahniuk's work.
The Dice Man, by Luke Rhinehart is similar in terms of its subversive themes and story about breaking the tiresome, monotonous grind of your life. it's often compared to fight club, although it's still pretty different. great book.
If you liked Fight Club you probably would like Chuck's other books: Survivor, Invisible Monsters, Diary, and Lullaby were all really great books. I have read almost all of his books and I can't think of one I did not like. Survivor and Invisible Monsters are probably two of my favorites.There is nothing like Fight Club, but Chuck's style is apparent in most of his work, I would have to say with his use of descriptions that Survivor is the closest thing. (Although it has been awhile since I've read the others. I reread Survivor a few times and just recently listened to the audio book while I was messing around on the computer.)
If you like Chuck you might also enjoy Craig Clevenger and Will Christopher Baer. I fell in love with Baer's writing he's not very popular and only has 3 books. The books are part of a trilogy that follows the same main character Phineas Poe.
I would say try picking up:
Survivor from Chuck
Kiss Me, Judas by Will Christopher Baer
The Contortionist Handbook by Craig Clevenger
If you don't mind used books you can find the last two really cheap. A few years ago I got two of Baer's books first editions signed for under fifty bucks so the regular editions would be pretty cheap if you don't want to spend too much money.
I don’t know why I keep ranting in all of my posts, sorry.
Dan wrote: "Survivor might be the best book ever written. If you liked Fight Club, you'll love Survivor"
I'd have to disagree. Fight Club engendered a very Anarchic mentality in which the characters completely controlled their lives. Survivor just seemed like a man-boy trapped by his history.
I'd have to disagree. Fight Club engendered a very Anarchic mentality in which the characters completely controlled their lives. Survivor just seemed like a man-boy trapped by his history.
Not to do too much shameless self-promotion, but I've been told my writing style is similar to Chuck's (which I take as a compliment). My two books are A Constant Suicide and Freeze Tag on the Highway.
I read Invisible Monsters a little bit after Fight Club, and it is my favorite. It still keeps Chuck's signature style and if you liked the twist near the end of Fight Club, Invisible Monsters is perfect.
If you can find a copy then i'd highly recommend Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me by Richard Farina. I've often wondered if Palahniuk ever read this novel; it has the feel of one of Chuck's stories.
White Noise by Don Delillo. Chuck is heavily influenced by him.
Try anything by Irvine Welsh. A subversive, creative and original author.
If your going with Irvine Welsh, stick to the early work, Trainspotting, Marabou Stork Nightmares, Acid House. Anything by Brett Easton Ellis except Lunar Park.Certainly Haunted by Palahniuk. Taxi by Shaun Othen. Kill your Friends by John Niven. Anything by Cormac McCarthy.
Chuck's books are hit or miss for me. I love them or hate them. If you're looking for something similar without being the same though, I recommend Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff
I'd definitely recommend Rant, also by Chuck. Still my favorite book by him.
Not sure if it was previously mentioned, but if you like dark novels like this then i recommend A Clockwork Orange for you.
some say i write like chucky.
check kurt vonnegut.
I love Fight Club, but Survivor is better. If you haven't read it yet, you are doing a huge disservice to yourself.
As far as authors like Palahniuk? I would go to one of his influences, Brett Easton Ellis.
As far as authors like Palahniuk? I would go to one of his influences, Brett Easton Ellis.
Love all of his work. Like Nicolo above, some have made comparisons of my book 'Malice in Blunderland' CEP said I'm Englands future Chuck. Nice but intimidating for me. I'd be happy to live in the shadow of Chuck's work.Choke, Fightclub and Haunted for me. (and diary... lullaby... all of em.)
I would suggest "A Clockwork Orange". Similar in tone, a great read and very well-written.
"The Girl Next Door" by Ketchum"Johnny Got His Gun" by Trumbo
"The Collector" by Fowles
"American Psycho" By Ellis
Philip K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly" has a similar vibe. I've wondered if this book influenced Palahniuk prior to writing "Fight Club". Here is the summary from the publisher:"Bob Arctor is a dealer of the lethally addictive drug Substance D. Fred is the police agent assigned to tail and eventually bust him. To do so, Fred takes on the identity of a drug dealer named Bob Arctor. And since Substance D--which Arctor takes in massive doses--gradually splits the user's brain into two distinct, combative entities, Fred doesn't realize he is narcing on himself.
Caustically funny, eerily accurate in its depiction of junkies, scam artists, and the walking brain-dead, Philip K. Dick's industrial-grade stress test of identity is as unnerving as it is enthralling."
Fight Club is influenced by Notes from the underground by fyodor dostoyevsky
I just started reading Aaron Goldfarb's "How to Fail" and the main character reminds me some of a Palahniuk character. I don't think it'll end up having a twist element to it like Palahniuk's books tend to, and it feels a bit more grounded in a world that's real to me -- if describing it like that makes sense to you. Feels like Palahniuk, but hits closer to the realities of my life. How to Fail: The Self-Hurt Guide
I do have to say there is a controversy about Fight Club because it is said it was somewhat ripped from Douglas Coupland's Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. Not as bad as Suzanne Collins supposedly ripping from Battle Royale but it still debated.
There isn't an author out there that doesn't steal from other authors. It's the nature of art.
Will wrote: "There isn't an author out there that doesn't steal from other authors. It's the nature of art."Kind of like how "copyright infringement" is known as a "remix" and "insider trading" is known as a "hook-up". I just used the controversy statement to bring in Douglas Coupland's book. That is all.
Agree with Jasmine (message 44) Apathy and Other Small Victories is right up there, very funny book.Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly is right up there, Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting and Jonny Gibbings's Malice in Blunderland is similar but extraordinarily funny while shocking.
