Fight Club

Rating:
Summary: Laughing at Atrocity
Review: How good is Fight Club? So good that I've been buying copies of the book just to give away to people who haven't read it yet.

Fight Club is a welcome, refreshing blast of everything that literature needs; anti-establishment philosophy, the strangest group of characters ever to come together on the page, anger so sharp you'll start bleeding before it starts hurting, all coupled with the unique ability to sit back and laugh at the whole ungodly mess. Fight Club is a novel that doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is, an unsightly lump of sweat, bone, and blood.

It is about a group of men who are becoming increasingly frustrated with the emptiness of their lives, and who set about to change it. And while their method may not be the best, they do manage to tell the rest of us about the power available to us all; as long as we're willing to pay the price to get it.

People will change when they need to. Lester Burnham in American Beauty smoked pot and almost had sex with his daughters' sixteen-year-old friend to try to change his life; Tyler Durden let people punch him in the face.

To each their own, brother.

Rating:
Summary: Anger
Review: The book tells about a generation of 30 something men (incidently I fit that description) who are angry to discovered that they did not become the movie stars, millionaies, what society claim they would and are very angry about it. They express their rage beating each others up in underground fighting club. Later the whole thing evolved into a more elobarate terrorist plot. The story is told by the narrator whose job is to apply the formula (is it cheaper to organize a recall or to indemnify the victims) for a large car company.

It is a very powerful book, although a little strange. I don't think anybody would like it, in particular I don't think many women would. If you are seen the film, there are many significant differences.

Rating:
Summary: A rare occurence!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: The movie was more engaging.
Review: I'll try not to dwell too much on the points others have addressed. One thing I am curious about is whether Palahniuk approved of all the changes made for the movie (although given how these things usually work, there are very few changes). Because I found that almost every single adjustment the screenplay had made was an improvement.

Palahniuk is, to me, the definition of "potential." He has very good ideas, but he doesn't yet have the experience or polish as a writer to pull them off.

For instance, this novel has a very intriguing twist at the core of its plot. But reading the novel, it was clear that Palahniuk hadn't yet mastered the skill of building up false leads or suspense for this surprise. Many times, it read as though he seemed to feel that his plot twist was too obvious to bother hiding. Which is sad, because it wasn't, and the movie showed how he could have more effectively built up suspense and driven home the climax with a punch.

Also, I agree with those who say that Marla is more developed here. And the goings-on with Project Mayhem are more detailed, although I don't think that there's enough in the novel that sheds more light upon it; there's just more about it.

In addition, while Norton's narration in the movie brings us in tight with the protagonist, Paladniuk keeps too much distance. I wanted to be immersed even more in this fictional world; more detail, more intensity, and a slower pace would have helped immensely. As it is, at times it reads as though Paladniuk is in a hurry to get a good novel over with.

Finally, the ending here feels awkward and tacked-on. Had he wanted to keep this ending, he could have taken the time to explore its possibilities more. I strongly disagree with the idea that the movie had a more upbeat ending, though. If you pay attention to the implications of the end of the movie, its ending was much bleaker than the novel's.

Despite its shortcomings, I would recommend this novel, especially if you liked the movie, or are generally intrigued by writers trying something different. I'm just hoping that next time, Palahniuk harnesses that potential more.

Rating:
Summary: do they still track purchases of "The Catcher In The Rye?"
Review: Aw geez, just read the damn book. If you've heard anything about it, it's peaked your interest, buy it.
Or just buy it so Chuck can continue to write full time and provide us with more brutally clever commentary on the sad state of America's plague of consumerism. The accomplishment of his first-person narrative is damn impressive. The narrator is to Holden Caulfield what "Falling Down" is to "Bartleby the Scrivener."

Rating:
Summary: The movie is better than the book?!?!?!
Review: I feel I should start off this review by saying that I bought and read this book because I enjoyed the movie so much (and it's rare when I actually like a movie I see). In every case, when I watch a movie and read the book version, the book version is superior. However, this is not the case for "Fight Club". My biggest problem with the book was the genre in which it is written. The narrative is quick, with short paragraphs, constantly shifting between describing the action and waxing philosophy (more on that later). This technique made it difficult for me to empathize with the unnamed main character. While Palahniuk did succeed in making me feel the despair and frustration of insomnia, it was much more difficult to understand the tragedy of having a split personality, knowing that you're being followed and tracked, or the frustration that must accompany why strangers are calling you "sir" and treating you with uncommon respect. Also, the most interesting and developed character is Marla. While I do appreciate her character, I would have preferred a more developed main character or Tyler Durden.

There are, however, some very good aspects of the book as well. I have read this book being compared to "The Sun Also Rises" and "On the Road" because it's so representative of my generation (indeed, the quick pace reminded me of "On the Road"). In many ways, I agree with this comparison as Palahniuk addresses many issues and frustarations unique of Generation X: being bombarded by violence; constant pressure from advertisers and commercialism; empty feelings that result from a consumer culture; the fact that we are "a generation of men raised by women" and thus have a self-identity conflict and others. While I can't identify with Tyler Durden's rant that we are "God's middle children," without a special place in history and that it would be better for us to be noticed for being bad than not be noticed at all, I imagine that many in my generation can identify with that remark. In all, I would recommend the book to members of my generation as it addresses topics that the movie does not, but I would also strongly advise you to watch the movie first and to talk to others about the topics raised. It can't help but assist us in making sense of our generation and our time.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: If you liked the movie, You'll love the book. There is so much more in the book that the movie left out, you'll enjoy comparing the two.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbingly deep, or deeply disturbing?
Review: Both. Fight Club dives deep into the mind of an insomniac with a death wish. Our nameless hero meets a man named Tyler Durden, who seems to be everything the narrirator wishes he was. The two soon form a bond. And late one night Tyler requests an odd favor of the hero "I want you to hit me as hard as you can." The two then physically take out thier anger on one another, fighting not thier friend, but everything they hate in the world. It is here that fight club is born. But as the popularity of fight club spreads like wild fire and Tyler's twisted philosophies reach more and more minds it grows into something more. And all our "everyman" hero can do is be dragged along. I'm not the quickest reader in the world, but I finished Fight Club in about a day. It's a quick read, but don't just blaze through it. I found myself going back through and re-reading parts. This is easily one of the best books I've read. However, and this is a sincire warning, if you are easily disturbed, paranoid, or don't like anything controversial, you may want to stear clear of this. There are people who, if they read this book, would feel a need to ruin it for everyone else. Those people are called cowards and fools.

Mischief, Mayhaem, Soap. FIGHT CLUB.

Rating:
Summary: so fresh
Review: This novel is incredible just like all of Chuck Palahniuk novels. Highly recommend it to all readers.

Rating:
Summary: better than the movie
Review: It's rare that I ever read a book after seeing the film it was based on, but I couldn't resist after I saw Palanhiuk's FIGHT CLUB on the big screen. Surprisingly, the book held its own against the blindingly intelligent, witty, and high-paced film. Palanhiuk has since taken a top spot on my favorite author's list, and I would recommend this book to anyone.