Fight Club: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Fight Club: A Novel
Book Review: A rare occurence!
Summary: 3 Stars
Don't get me wrong the book is great, but I was disappointed with it for one reason.Whoever did the screenplay for the movie did one hell of a job because the Movie is better than the book! I don't know why, but I like the movie a lot better than the book. Maybe it is because I have seen the movie several times before I read the book.
It is a good book and worth reading to see if you agree with me or not!
Book Review: A raw exercise in original thinking
Summary: 5 Stars
Books that take no prisoners are the kind that are likely to upset people in search of a happy ending. Shakespeare specialized in the tragedy and killed hundreds with the stroke of a pen. Rarely in Shakespeare to you find a happy ending, or even any type of real catharsis. Welcome to the mindset of Chuck Palahniuk, and his first novel, a book that was made for the manic imagination of director David Fincher, "Fight Club". First and foremost, this is thought-provoking stuff that doesn't even come out of left field--we aren't even in the same sport. Palahniuk's emphasis on raw violence and healing qualities contained within the wounds inflicted on our persons, as well as brilliance in dialogue, character study, and wonderfully sneaky foreshadowing ("How much can you really know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?" Took me a long time to understand the real slyness in these words.) make "Fight Club" one of the most original books I've ever read.The entire novel, written in first person, focuses around an insomniac, unhappy in his life, his job; material comfort means absolutely nothing, despite how much time he's meticulously devoted to furnishing his apartment. The narrator finds comfort in the most unlikely of places: Support groups for various diseases he doesn't even have. This lasts for years until someone else develops the same kind of addiction: The chain-smoking Marla Singer. His support group comfort ruined, he finds solace in the presence of a stranger named Tyler Durden, and together, using the healing properties of violence, form Fight Club. They establish the rules, organize the place and time, and let the blood flow. The problem comes, of course, when Fight Club comes out of the basement and becomes an underground pseudo-political movement called Project Mayhem. Run solely under the direction of Tyler, who is now banging Marla on a regular basis, Project Mayhem's plans continue to spiral out of control, inflicting damage on a near global scale.
There's not much more to say about "Fight Club" without giving away a great deal, other than to say it's extraordinarily original thinking put down on paper in almost poetically-crafted sentences. Palahniuk's vision not only translates well in print, it was converted even more wildly on the big screen, in David Fincher's outstanding adaptation of a terrific first novel from one of the more interesting authors I've ever read. This is one for your own collection.
Book Review: A superb alienation satire
Summary: 5 Stars
No one truly cares whether you live or die, but to truly live, one must first die. That is the philosophy of the disenfranchised younger generation. Violence and alienation is acceptable social behavior by the Gen Xers. Into this mix steps forward Tyler Durden. He harnesses the growing frustration of his generation towards the materialism of the boomers. He creates the FIGHT CLUB where young males can batter each other in basements across the country. Every morning, the warriors return to their daily drudge of minimal employment. However, the world has yet to learn what Tyler's true agenda is, an announcement that will be announced to the world from one of its "highest peaks".
FIGHT CLUB is a taut thriller that centers on a humanized form of chaos theory. Each generation wrecks havoc on the thoughts and ambitions of their parent generation, leaving their elders to wonder if that is all there is? The narrator is an interesting character whose conclusions of life are frightening but thought provoking. In some ways, the novel is a darker version of Hair as people remain heartless and ignore their friends and loved ones except when they are dying. Chuck Palahniuk writes the first superb alienation satire that places the sixties radicals in the positions once held for their parents.
Book Review: A twisted gem
Summary: 5 Stars
I read the book after watching the movie and was impressed by how closely it followed the book. All of the changes they made were for the better (how many times does that happen!).I keep trying to tell me friends to see this movie, and almost always they say something like, "my wife/girlfriend doesn't want to see it". I understand that based on the previews in the theatres, but I think this is sort of like not seeing "When Harry Met Sally" because it is a "chick movie". This is a really good movie despite what you might think it is about.
Okay, so what is it about. Uh, well, male angst-- but not the way you might think. It isn't about beating each other up as much as showing what's beneath the kahki and polo-shirt costumes and the Ikea cocoons of urban life. Women always complain about not understanding men, see this and you get a glimpse. We're not all Tyler Durdens, but we all understand him.
Book Review: A very rare occurance
Summary: 4 Stars
In a world where every movie based off a book is far inferior to it's namesake, Fight Club breaks the mold. Whether it's because the movie is so awesome, or the book is so-so, I really couldn't tell you. But spend your money on the DVD Edition of Fight Club and just get the book from the libraray. Or shoplift it. You'll be glad you did.