Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Fight Club

Palahniuk is one of my favorite authors, so returning to his works is like catching up with an old friend... Even if they weren't your favorite, they make you feel nostalgic.

Fight Club is clearly early in his career and the elements of his style are being experimented upon. While sometimes it hits his razor sharp mania, other times it feels very stream of consciousness as told by characters who just aren't always that interesting. Shock value is a trademark of his style but here it feels gratuitous, where in other books it feels immersive. Still, he makes his point, and his critique of capitalism and hyper masculinity is absolutely clear. If this is your first tango with Chuck, I'd recommend you start with Rant before checking out Fight Club, but don't count this one out entirely.

Content Warnings

cristina_g_'s review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings