Fight Club
Ratings762
Average rating4.1
Just what it says on the tin. Just like the movie. Consumerism is bad. Join a fight club to get in touch with your primal self. Short, punchy (pun intended), kinetic writing. As it should be.
A fantastic book. Had me enthralled from the beginning. I found both the book and movie enjoyable. I recommend reading the book before watching the movie.
A timeless classic. Not just thrills or twists, but many bitter truths about capitalist society are expressed in a satirical form in this book, which makes people think a lot. A fascination with violence, or an addiction to destruction due to a lack of purpose in existence. Many people in our society have such mentality. ‘Fight Club' is the story of that, the writer is completely successful in satirically highlighting our social and psychological weaknesses. That's why it's a masterpiece
I don't know what I could say about this book that hasn't been said before by MANY others. It's truly a deeply immersive story of the struggles of masculine men in this increasingly feminized world. The surprise ending was ruined for me long before I read the book OR watched the movie; and yet the journey there, and the repercussions thereof, were every bit as fascinating. Truly a page turner that alters your perception of what reality is; and where your place is in it.
Disruptive, unexpected and acid, there are many ways to describe this book but I think these 3 words encapsulate it well, this book speaks to generations of men who yearned for a place to belong and for independence but couldn't find it in day-to-day life.
"If you're male, and you're Christian and living in America, your father is your model for God. And sometimes you find your father in your career."
The narrator and the men around him saw in Tyler Durden a father figure who could give them meaning in life. By eliminating their identities and throwing out their names they acquired an identity that is way beyond social conventions, a purpose that they could look toward, ironically in the search for autonomy and detachment from the current system, they fall into another authoritarian structure where freedom consists of blindly following rules, the dehumanizing effect that they experienced daily at work is now forgotten because of a sense of community and the feeling that they were working for something bigger than themselves overrode any alienation they could possibly perceive, in a society where identity is affirmed by consumerism and materialism, a purpose is all a man needs.
"Napoleon bragged that he could train men to sacrifice their lives for a scrap of ribbon."
Fight Club was nothing more than a reaction, like a swelling after being punched in the face or a fever reacting to a virus in the body, you call it, and Tyler was more than capable of taking advantage of that reaction.
The main trio has good chemistry, especially the relationship between Marla and the Narrator being one of the things that I wish I could've seen a little more, the side stories are also well built and remarkable despite their short length and they add a little more depth to the characters.
Overall it's a great satirical book that knows how to handle itself, with good characters, an intriguing story and events that make you want to finish the entire book in one sit, I'll probably check into other books from Chuck in the future (besides the continuation of Fight Club, it seems quite the bs for me).
When watching some movies, hearing the narrators dialogue and the way they speak and the world that is created, you can just tell the book it originated from would be equally as good. Fight Club is an example of this.
After quickly becoming infatuated by David Finchers film I sought out the novel as was immediately astounded by the unique, gritty, amazing writing style of Palahniuk. This book has irreversibly altered my taste in literature and has introduced me to the similar writing styles of other amazing cult authors like Bret Easton Ellis, Irvine Welsh, John Birmingham and Co, and has changed the way I view and create all forms of art.
This book just has something about it that is full of grime and shock and amazingly curated paragraphs that is apparent in Palahniuk's other works but Fight Club does it best. He really delves into the world of consumerist masculine dominated 1990s through his Narrator and how he sees the world and his relationships. The satire and nuance and undertones that this book conveys are rich and so interesting to look into, even though many have missed such elements, especially in the film adaptation.
Even more impressive to think this was his first published novel. This book is my favourite ever and is a perfect example of pushing the limits of literature and reinventing the written world in a dark, humorous novel of violence, lust and defiance against the contemporary capitalist world.
Also, it's super gay.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Sometimes a story becomes so ingrained within the culture that it feels impossible to truly read it for the first time. That is absolutely how I feel about Fight Club. This book and its movie adaptation are so ubiquitous that I felt like I already knew everything about it before I started listening to the audiobook. I knew the memes. I knew the ending. I knew the big twist. For a book that is largely centered around that twist, you’d think that would be a bad thing. And yet I can honestly say that reading Fight Club for the first time in 2024 is still a damn good time. Palahniuk is a really cool writer who is oftentimes very heavy handed but leaves enough room for interpretation that the book is still fun to read. I can see why David Fincher read this and figured it would make for a good movie adaptation and I also see why said movie adaptation became a big hit. Tyler Durden is a truly wonderful character who is able to elicit all manners of jealousy and distaste from any reader and it makes sense that he is an icon. There’s just so much to like about this book and I consider it to be a genuine classic.
One of those rare occasions where the film is actually better than the book. Still a good book though.
Having avoided reading this, since I rate the film as one of my favourites, I was reassured by a few reviews, and found myself a copy. This edition has an afterword by the author where he explains a bit about the origins of the story (a short story published in an anthology of short stories called The Pursuit of Happiness), and a bit of a rant about how popular it is to knock off the title or the first rule for other applications.
Despite a few obvious plot changes, the film is pretty true to the novel, streamlining a few aspects which would have proven (more) confusing on film. There is a rawness, obviously a violence, but more than anything a sense of uncertainty about where things are going that certainly make the film unique at that time, and perhaps the book as well. It didn't even bother me that I knew what was going to happen all along.
I loved the hidden-in-plain-sight clues throughout the narrative - P12 -
“I know this because Tyler knows this.”
“Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after that Tyler is pushing a gun into my mouth...”
“It's airline policy not to imply ownership in the event of a dildo. Use the indefinite article. A dildo. Never your dildo.Never, ever say the dildo accidentally turned itself on.A dildo activated itself and created an emergency situation that required evacuating your baggage.”
I need to give this a reread (not really the best time to read, just wanted to finish it and put it on the side), but the narration is so interesting and bizarre. Want to see the movie to make comparisons too!
There are a lot of things we don't want to know about the people we love.
Saw the movie years ago. Finally got around to reading the book (audiobook). The movie was very faithful to the book. Good listen, even if it can be a bit rough around the edges at time.
I personally really liked this book, I thought it was fascinating. A lot of people who didn't like this book were upset at the repetitives of the story, or have said that the movie was better. I like to think that they like the movie better because they have no sense of imagination. this book really drew me in and had my attention the entire time. Overall one of my favs.
Palahniuk are nevoie de un psiholog... si noi dupa ce citim cartile lui, dar asta e partea a doua.
Before there was a movie... was a book. Dark, violent. About rules. Not about fighting. Cut in 30 stories. A book you cannot put down, that inspires you to think you wanna do that you'll never do. To make you think. Read it.
I'm going to break the first rule of fight club, and I'm going to talk about it - because as in the book, Fight Club is just too brilliant an idea not to talk about.
I knew the ending of the book/movie since 2012, from a throwaway Reddit comment. I saw the movie for the first time a few months back, so I already knew the entire plot. I was still blown to smithereens.
The narrator hates his hollow existence. He meets Tyler Durden, a projectionist and waiter who has visions of society being destroyed through destructive anarchy. They both begin to form fight clubs through which they begin to set their plan, Project Mayhem, into motion. If it sounds mind-bending, it's because it most certainly is.
This will remain on my mind for a long time to come. The book holding its own till date, even after the film became a cult classic, is only testimony to Palahniuk's grand vision.
Where can I start with this book? I'll admit I saw the movie about 10 times before I even knew the book existed (shame on me!) but the depth of the characters goes far beyond what the movie shows. It really made me contemplate capitalism, religion and society in general from a completely different point of view. Fortunately, I'm an only child and not a middle child, otherwise I would've ended a bit traumatized!
Regardless the plot, I can't say that there's much difference with the movie, but you can enjoy both very much, even if you know how the story ends.