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timmajoe's review against another edition
5.0
Another movie tie-in read, only this was much, much later after seeing the movie. It really helped strengthen the movie themes, but also is great as a stand-alone read. The alternate ending is great, and it's understandable that it would not have been Hollywood friendly.
agathe_athena's review against another edition
3.0
Good. Lost a little of its spark as I already knew the twist, but a solid little book.
I feel the Afterward might have been the best part though.
I feel the Afterward might have been the best part though.
nightxade's review against another edition
5.0
I am Wendy's five star review.
To be clear, my review is firmly biased by the fact that this vision was in my head the whole time I listened to the audiobook:
Unfortunately, Jim Colby couldn't narrate Tyler Durden well enough to properly channel Brad Pitt, but luckily for Colby, Tyler Durden doesn't have as much dialogue in the book as he does in the movie, and Colby did well enough as Edward Norton, and even as Helena Bonham Carter.
Because I have seen the movie and know the significant plot twist, it made for a very interesting listen as I examined all the areas where the twist becomes glaringly obvious once one is in the know. It makes me curious to chat with people who read the book first, to see how their perspectives changed. While I loved the book, this is one of those situations where the movie goes leaps and bounds beyond it, and even the author agrees. Still, there were a lot of gems within the book, all of which made their way into the movie, such as the single serving life, and many of the great quotes.
To be clear, my review is firmly biased by the fact that this vision was in my head the whole time I listened to the audiobook:
Unfortunately, Jim Colby couldn't narrate Tyler Durden well enough to properly channel Brad Pitt, but luckily for Colby, Tyler Durden doesn't have as much dialogue in the book as he does in the movie, and Colby did well enough as Edward Norton, and even as Helena Bonham Carter.
Because I have seen the movie and know the significant plot twist, it made for a very interesting listen as I examined all the areas where the twist becomes glaringly obvious once one is in the know. It makes me curious to chat with people who read the book first, to see how their perspectives changed. While I loved the book, this is one of those situations where the movie goes leaps and bounds beyond it, and even the author agrees. Still, there were a lot of gems within the book, all of which made their way into the movie, such as the single serving life, and many of the great quotes.
tay02's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
worst outcome possible for a man w daddy issues
giampaolom's review against another edition
5.0
Il solito Palahniuk con le sue solite splendide storie sghembe, personaggi surreali, sarcasmo, cinismo. Insomma il solito campionario di genio e sregolatezza.
mischixx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
squid_vicious's review against another edition
5.0
Re-reading this book in 2021, at least five or six years since my last read, I was wondering if it would feel dated, if the angry Gen-X energy would feel somewhat stale. It hasn't. In fact, I found it unnervingly relevant...
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“Nihilistic Zen” would have been a great subtitle for “Fight Club”. I have to admit this is the only Palahniuk I’ve read, and while I am not really tempted to read more (I get the point Chuck, I don’t need to discuss the most disgusting things humans are capable of over and over again, but thank you for your valiant efforts), I absolutely loved this one.
It’s a weird, transgressive book, full of dark humour and it sounds like something Hemingway would have written while tripping on amphetamines. It’s a book about what happens when you realize that buying stuff will not make you nearly as happy as the ads said it would, when you realize that you are not destined for greatness, when you realize that the world is completely fubar and that while you can try to do something about, it is unlikely you will ever see tangible results. When all of that hits you, the only thing that might make you feel better is having someone else hit you in the face as hard as they can. It’s a book about what happens when you let your pessimism and your nihilistic urges take over the wheel and drive you straight into a wall. It’s a restless, angry book: but Gen-X is an angry and restless generation, and it really captured something about the apathy and disillusionment that plagues it.
Consumerist culture is something that drives me completely insane. I’ve worked in offices for a decade, and sometimes, while I listen to my colleagues talk about their slow-cookers, their frontal washer and dryer sets, their fancy cars and Heaven knows what else, I hear Tyler Durden’s voice in my head:
“And the things you used to own, now they own you.”
Don’t get me wrong: I have plenty of crap I don’t need, we all do. And I really don’t like it… I don’t feel the need to punch people, but it used to be an attractive idea, and I can see why after this book (and the brilliant movie adaptation) came out, short-lived fight clubs were created here and there. This brilliant and gritty statement about our lives being governed by a hollow materialism that only seeks to distract us from the meaninglessness of existence touched a nerve in way too many people to be ignored. Of course what you are supposed to get out of this is that people need a purpose – not to mention genuine human connection – to be fulfilled. Otherwise their brains are easily subverted to the point where they think that ganging up to blow shit up “just because” is a great idea.
When you look at it from a psychological perspective, Tyler is pure Id unleashed; the devil on your shoulder that wants to destroy everything. The narrator’s ego asserts itself through violent acts, and it spirals out of control brutally fast, with the Fight Club turning into Project Mayhem in what seems like the blink of an eye. Of course all of this is only an illusory escape, and when Tyler punches the narrator in the face, it’s really the narrator punching himself the same way that the ego’s violence is only ultimately directed inwards. But if I am going to be totally honest, I am not sure if Palahniuk even knew that he was writing a psychological allegory. Or that he gives a fuck about whether or not people see it as such.
Whether you see it as a cautionary tale, as an allegory of spiritual rebellion gone bad or as a middle-management revenge fantasy is irrelevant, as far as I am concerned. I believe it to be an important book because it broke the mold when it was first published and while we are way more jaded now, the jab at consumerism and traditionally defined masculinity (or lack thereof) still rings awfully true. It remains darkly funny, completely absurd and terrifyingly plausible.
---
“Nihilistic Zen” would have been a great subtitle for “Fight Club”. I have to admit this is the only Palahniuk I’ve read, and while I am not really tempted to read more (I get the point Chuck, I don’t need to discuss the most disgusting things humans are capable of over and over again, but thank you for your valiant efforts), I absolutely loved this one.
It’s a weird, transgressive book, full of dark humour and it sounds like something Hemingway would have written while tripping on amphetamines. It’s a book about what happens when you realize that buying stuff will not make you nearly as happy as the ads said it would, when you realize that you are not destined for greatness, when you realize that the world is completely fubar and that while you can try to do something about, it is unlikely you will ever see tangible results. When all of that hits you, the only thing that might make you feel better is having someone else hit you in the face as hard as they can. It’s a book about what happens when you let your pessimism and your nihilistic urges take over the wheel and drive you straight into a wall. It’s a restless, angry book: but Gen-X is an angry and restless generation, and it really captured something about the apathy and disillusionment that plagues it.
Consumerist culture is something that drives me completely insane. I’ve worked in offices for a decade, and sometimes, while I listen to my colleagues talk about their slow-cookers, their frontal washer and dryer sets, their fancy cars and Heaven knows what else, I hear Tyler Durden’s voice in my head:
“And the things you used to own, now they own you.”
Don’t get me wrong: I have plenty of crap I don’t need, we all do. And I really don’t like it… I don’t feel the need to punch people, but it used to be an attractive idea, and I can see why after this book (and the brilliant movie adaptation) came out, short-lived fight clubs were created here and there. This brilliant and gritty statement about our lives being governed by a hollow materialism that only seeks to distract us from the meaninglessness of existence touched a nerve in way too many people to be ignored. Of course what you are supposed to get out of this is that people need a purpose – not to mention genuine human connection – to be fulfilled. Otherwise their brains are easily subverted to the point where they think that ganging up to blow shit up “just because” is a great idea.
When you look at it from a psychological perspective, Tyler is pure Id unleashed; the devil on your shoulder that wants to destroy everything. The narrator’s ego asserts itself through violent acts, and it spirals out of control brutally fast, with the Fight Club turning into Project Mayhem in what seems like the blink of an eye. Of course all of this is only an illusory escape, and when Tyler punches the narrator in the face, it’s really the narrator punching himself the same way that the ego’s violence is only ultimately directed inwards. But if I am going to be totally honest, I am not sure if Palahniuk even knew that he was writing a psychological allegory. Or that he gives a fuck about whether or not people see it as such.
Whether you see it as a cautionary tale, as an allegory of spiritual rebellion gone bad or as a middle-management revenge fantasy is irrelevant, as far as I am concerned. I believe it to be an important book because it broke the mold when it was first published and while we are way more jaded now, the jab at consumerism and traditionally defined masculinity (or lack thereof) still rings awfully true. It remains darkly funny, completely absurd and terrifyingly plausible.
chycksinger's review against another edition
3.0
One of the few books where I thought the movie version was better.