Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

28 reviews

stephanierose11's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

sobake_cih's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It’s one of my fav books since my teens, so I’m very biased. But reading it now so many years later gave me so much more to think about. A truly iconic book.

It’s a lot more dark and twisted than the film, and many issues in society and the world in general mentioned and discussed in the book are very present to this day, even though it was published almost 30 years ago. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

mdwsn27's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

vexant's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Car accident, and Murder

breadbummer's review against another edition

dark funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I...truly do not know how to feel about this book. I know there are tons of people out there arguing about whether this glorifies toxic masculinity or is the best book/movie ever (by *cough* cishet able-bodied white men who somehow got the idea that society wasn't specifically built for and around them *cough*); very obviously, I don't agree with that second statement, though this story has the elements of taking itself seriously and, at the same time, parodying itself. "Fight Club" really reminds me of the song 'Two Trucks" in this way: what is more masculine than explosions, lack of individuality, senseless violence, hating women, and having literal balls? All of that crammed together into a single can, that's what. For sure, it's a ridiculous story (filled with some great chemistry lessons, I might add), but it's a bit too sobering to know how many white men don't realize this. That is, even if Palahniuk IS poking fun at these types of people, how effective can that message be if no one's reading between the lines?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Fatphobia, Vomit, and Grief

meganashlee27's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

cristina_g_'s review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.5

So here we go:

Talking 'bout "Fight Club" feels like I'm stomping all over the sacred rules, just like smashing those first two commandments of the Fight Club itself. The moment you crack open this thing, it slams you with a barrage of words that's as colorful as a damn rainbow on steroids.

A language so rich and flavorful, loaded with all those spicy bits and intriguing details that tickle your curiosity about our main dude. It's like you're not just reading, you're damn well living and breathing in his skin, existing on his terms alone.

Now, those hops between chapters? Well, let's just say they're like a funky dance that sometimes lands you back where you started, just to double-check you didn't miss a beat.

You keep reading, letting the pages swallow you whole, and then bam! There it is, the first WTF moment that practically gives you a sneak peek into the wild rollercoaster you're in for. But trust me, that's just the tip of the iceberg of WTFs; this whole book is like a compilation of mind-bending, jaw-dropping, what-the-actual-f*** moments.

So let's talk about those WTF moments, shall we?

- You've got the audacious appearance of a big red rooster (randomly spliced porn frames in innocent movies – like a big swinging… you get the idea).

- Then, there's the way he gets all possessive about those support groups. Like there's only room for one impostor in town, and guess who's playing that role? Our man, of course. Negotiating with Marla like a hustler at the market, as if his lunch's meat depends on that deal.

- Marla, oh Marla. She goes ahead and asks Tyler to knock her up just so she can abort Tyler's baby. Now that's a whole new level of WTF.

- Speaking of Marla, she's a walking, talking WTF in herself. She's like a collision of chaos and oddity.

- Self-mutilation, that's another one.

- The 'special' soup with a twisted extra ingredient, hunting for hepatitis like it's some kind of treasure hunt, soap made from Marla's mom (seriously, what?).

- Oh, and that chat with his boss, when the Fight Club's rule list is discovered. The myriad of brutal scenarios discussed there? Definitely a WTF.

- Blackmailing, now that's a monologue marvel in itself.

But hold on, the mother of all WTFs? Brace yourselves:

- The Chaos Project. I mean, what in the literal name of all that's sane and insane? It's like a garden of WTFs, blossoming into a twisted bouquet of madness.

And there's more, a whole plethora of minor WTFs that start off making you gape but soon become so commonplace you'd think they're just everyday occurrences.

And then, the grandest twist of them all – who'd have thought Tyler and our man were having a one-on-one tête-à-tête in the same noggin? It's like getting slapped with a mind-bending revelation that leaves you reeling and questioning every damn thing you just read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Torture, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

lindsgiovannone's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

kaitoro_walker13's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Shocking, dark and horribly disturbing, I loved this book. The

plot twist at the end, where he finds that Tyler is just part of his imagination, and that he's schizophrenic

was incredible. What a read, great book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

christina_huseth's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Split Personality meets cult leader of a regime army that follows a bunch of rules. Can’t really talk about it though, because of the first rule.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood