Rating: 
Summary: I read this book because I liked the movie
Review: I was a big fan of the movie Fight Club and was very interested in seeing how the book stacked up against the movie. Was this like most books which wind up being poorly translated, or was the movie a fair representation of Palahniuk's original novel?It turns out that the movie is a very faithful reproduction of the book. Many scenes are taken out of the book wholesale, and a number of the narrations done by Ed Norton are taken word for word out of the text. This being said, the book was very much worth the read, and the character development is a little bit more in depth, as books tend to do. There were several areas that were different between the movie and the book, as outlined below (no plot spoilers, so feel free to read away): 1. Marla's mother. 2. The main character's interactions with his boss. 3. The investigation into the destruction of the main character's condo. 4. The garden at the Paper Street house. 5. The action leading up to the climax. and most importantly 6. The ending. That being said, if you were a fan of the movie and want to read a little bit more of Tyler Durden's ramblings on life, then the book will provide you with the opportunity to do so.
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Summary: An eye opener, or at least something to make you think
Review: I read this book after I saw the movie, and it made the movie seem even better. But still, the book excells the movie by far. It is told in a unique style, that depicts in a very "real" way, how the narrator sees his life: mundane and unfulfilling. He is unhappy and feels that he his in pain, and so begins to go to self help groups... where he witnesses true pain. But there he can finally admitt to himself how bad he feels about his own miserable existence. And so he visits these groups more often. Until he meets Tyler Durden, who starts a figth with him. This fight is a liberation to the narrator. And from then on he fights often, not to win or loose, but to fight. It is a liberation of the materialistic world, that the narrator experiences. Suddenly he doesn't need all the Things he used to have. He becomes "the all dancing, all singing crap of the world" I found the book excelently written, spell binding and full of interessting aspects. "the things you own, end up owning you" is one of my favorite lines of the movie... The whole book portrais the consumer nature of our society and it's decadence, and the conflict of one man against this, and against himself. It is one of the best books I've read so far, and truly compareable to Anthony Burgess "A Clockwork Orange"
Rating:
Summary: best book i've ever read
Review: i honestly cant remember reading a book that was better than this one. even though the movie held true to the book for the most part, i still enjoyed the time spent reading it... i especially loved the ending, which wasn't shown in the movie. this book comes with my highest recommendations!
Rating:
Summary: Dark, Devious and Delightful.
Review: Chuck Palahniuk's debut novel, 'Fight Club', is modern fiction of the darkest calibur. It pokes into the ribs of our society, making us take notice of 'our generations' downfall. Told from the first person perspective of an unnamed narrator, 'Fight Club' follows his impending demise as he leads his life towards disaster with the help of an anarchic prophet known as Tyler Durden. Together, they set up fight clubs in secluded basements and carparks where young, white-collar men can take turns to fight each other barehanded, as much as their bodies can take and afterwords, actually feel a sense of accomplishment that they never find in their day jobs. Yet Tyler Durdens' fight club is only the beginning of his vision and where he intends to take it, only he knows. 'Fight Club' is definitely dark in it's vision's of societies apocalypse. Chuck Palahniuk sends us head first into this this world and is relentless in allowing you to see only bits of it. This isn't a book for everyone, but for those who can endure the violence and dark imagery, it becomes a fantastic read that is really hard to deny. I found it great in it's black humor and bleak outlooks on our live's impotence and highly recommend it to any young reader, without words to describe their life's pains.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZINGLY GREAT
Review: If you don't have any money in ou society, you're nothing. If you don't have a job, you're lost, you're an outcast. If don't have the latest modern car or TV set, forget about it - you're a loser. But TYler Durden changes it all. What a book, what a book. What a movie also !
Rating:
Summary: I'll fight whoever didn't like it
Review: My expectations for the book after watching the movie were, to say the least, very high. I had watched the movie many times, obsessing over every second of footage. I watched certain parts in slow motion, and memorized practicly every line. So of course, I wanted to read the book. I already knew the basic plot from the movie, but I felt that there must be even more to grasp from the book, and there was. Fight Club is a very deep story, that involves many of the morals and values of today's society, from who we are to what we may become. It will make you think for hours about things you had never thought of before. Some of the imagery in the book will stay in your mind for days. It has a complexity in thought, yet a simpleness in words. While it is only about 200 pages long, it contains so much thought that it feels like it is very long. There are many different theme's that I noticed interwoven through the novel. There was the obvious theme of violence, as suggested in the title. However, there are also themes such as lust, jealousy, insanity and the role of modern civilization. To say more might ruin parts of the book, especially if you haven't seen the movie. One thing I am most impressed about is the fact that this is Chuck Palahniuk's first novel. The writing style is very clear and easy to read, even though what is going on is very complex. For instance, Palahniuk describes will two completely different scenes simultaneaously, without getting too wordy or vague. I definately look forward to books from him in the future. In short, Fight Club is an excellent book, for many reasons. I recommend it for anyone who has an open mind, and will not take it the wrong way. Definately worth your time to read it. Oh, yeah, and the movie is really good too. :)
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Summary: Loved the movie but the book is even better.
Review: This book was turly written for the disenchanted generation X, quite often you find Mr. Palahniuk slipping into a poetry with his words and the way it is written is even more interesting that the story itself. When I was half way throught the copy I got from the libary, I wanted to hurry to return it so the next person could read it. The book is not really about business men fighting to a pulp. It is turly about the freedom of hoplessness. If you aren't afraid of going to prision then you can break the law with impunity, if you aren't afarid of living in a condemed building then you aren't afraid of losing your job and yes, if you aren't afraid of getting hurt then you aren't afraid of getting hurt. The book follows the life of the main character who is never identified by name, and it takes you over the pointlessness of his life and how he longs to die in a midair collision. There is nothing that is presented in life that seems to be of any importance, he has grown angery at the world and the big corporation that have made it what it is although he doesn't let himself realize that he is angery. Then on a business trip he meets Tyler Durden, a man who lives for perfect moments and works to punish the rich and powerful as a champion for the poor and oppressed. Unfortunanly I saw the movie first, this is not a critizism the movie was great, however the unusual plot twist is easier to believe in the book that is written in such a poetic sense that often you don't know how much time has passed for the main character in one paragraph. I recommend reading the book then seeing the movie. This is a story most men will enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Fight Club, Book of the Century?
Review: Not only is this book well written, but it makes you think and i also saw the movie 5 times. It's constructed and put together very brilliantly and Chuck Palahniuk is a talented writer. I seriously think that everybody should a least rent the movie and watch it about 3 times. Some things they say are unforgettable and it's a great script all together. I would be lying if I said it didn't deserve 5 stars. It's just flat out great.
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Summary: This used to be my favorite book?!?
Review: It's so hard to believe that only a few years ago, I thought that this was a pinnacle of the literary arts. How fascinating just to know that about myself. The novel, while not awful, is a boringly nihilistic and hateful to "society," that great evil that makes men hate themselves and forces us to buy things we don't want. Or something. While there are very funny moments, the whole premise of fighting to regain some sort of lost humanity, maiming the body to regain the soul, is just so angst-filled. Also, Palahniuk's pointless insistance on making a surprise twist ending that makes very little sense began with this book, so that certainly doesn't make it any better.
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Summary: The first and best of modern psycho-macho-novels
Review: My advice to any young college student today is to write that novel. Anybody with a half-grasp of English grammar can punch out a saleable text these days, provided it is a painfully honest first-person confession liberally dosed with social commentary, obsessive pop-culture references, and some clinical violence. It worked for Bret Ellis, it worked for Alex Garland, and it can work for you too! But Chuck Palahniuk manages to do some great tricks with the still-evolving tenents of this new genre. Firstly, his writing style is intense and original. When pondering an airplane explosion, the narrator refers to his fellow travellers as 'human tobacco - packed tight in the long white fuselage of the plane'. Palahniuk's pop references are everywhere, but they are generally appropriate. The plot of the novel is original, managing to use the general message of 'Lord of the Flies' without becoming a hackish remake like 'The Beach'. While his protagonist displays undeniably psychotic behavior, it is in a subtle and intricate manner, relying far more on the reader's intuition than the straight-forward hack-n-slash murders of Bret Ellis's 'American Psycho'. The main purpose of Fight Club is to deliver a thrilling yet thought-provoking adventure, and Palahniuk carries this through magnificently. The secondary attack on the meaningless, effete nature of nineties consumer culture also suceeds, even when new novels are co-opting this stance every day. Of course, the bitter irony of our culture is that Palahniuk's underground, counter-insurgent message is being trumpeted loudly now by the same corporate machinery he lambasts. The success of the Fight Club movie (which is still an excellent flick) has led to a cursory, surface exploration of the novel by millions of ignorant young men, who are extracting precisely the wrong message from the book. The foolish boys who are even now pummelling each other in dark basements in emulation of Tyler Durden have failed to realize that by following the example of a popular cultural icon, they are becoming even more conformist, not less, as Palahniuk would want them to.
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