Everyone has heard about the Fight Club because the first rule of the Fight Club is… You don’t talk about Fight Club.
Fight Club is a book by an American journalist and novelist Chuck Palahniuk. It was first printed in 1996 and was an instant success. Already in 1999 a film was made starring such stars as Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Jared Leto and Helena Bonham Carter.
This book has been on my list for a very long time. I had no idea what it is about (despite seeing film years and years ago), which was a bit scary, because of the title and how it seems to be a cult film. It’s definitely a pressure to take up and read something that you know most of the world loves. Well… I liked it. Is that good enough?
Fight club is a book about an insomniac, an office worker who lives a life he doesn’t love. He is looking for a way to change his life, when meets Tyler Durdan and Marla Singer. Soon though he finds a new way of letting everything out, he forms an underground fight club together with Tyler which meets in the dark and evolves in something much more then expected.
I usually don’t like these types of books. But this was surprisingly easy to read and the writing was good. I admit that it’s a good book, and I see why it is so popular, but I failed to connect with it or any of its characters on a deep emotional level. I didn’t care for the main heroes because they were made in that way (which is typical for these ‘deep but kind of hip’ books, where the characters are careless and deep but kind of hip).
The story was light and reading it was easy, which is quite the surprise, because I was expecting either something very serious or overdone fake deepness (you know, the one that stops making sense at some point), but no, this was actually pretty good. I liked some of the ideas expressed in this book and I must admit – thought that I should remember one or two things I had never thought about in my life.
But I didn’t love the book although I admit it is a good book. I continuously failed to be impressed by the events or plot twists, I failed to like any of the characters to the level I would care about them and generally had a constant feeling of ‘meh’, but with the slight twists that I didn’t regret sitting and reading it.
I had no ‘inside’ information about the story or the book. I have seen the film very long time ago and I am pretty sure that even if I tried, I wasn’t able to appreciate all the details in it and I also have zero memories of it (I didn’t even know who plays Marla), which was kind of cool, because I didn’t know anything at all about what is going to happen. Which created the second first experience for me.
Anyway, I am definitely going to watch the film again, because I feel like it might translate better to the screen and be one of those rare works of art, where you can say that the film was better than the book. I love Edward Norton, so I expect to be happy to watch him perform.
This book received two stars from me on my goodreads page and I would say that adults should read it, but I am not so sure about the angry teens who sometimes already feel like they’re above the law.
Let me know your thoughts on this world famous book and film and share your favourite scenes, so I could look out for them, when I watch the film. Cheerio!
January 19, 2017 at 18:22
I’ve not read the book yet – I keep meaning to. I do really enjoy the film though, and I’d be really interested to know what you think of it when/if you rewatch it. I have quite a few Chuck Palahniuk books sitting in my unread pile…
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January 19, 2017 at 18:42
Reblogged this on The Vanishing Writer.
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January 19, 2017 at 20:08
I’ve never read the book and am not sure I ever will, even though I thought the film was great. I’ve read this author’s Invisible Monsters and liked it, despite having to read between my fingers for the sections describing cosmetic surgeries. But I had that sense you describe of not connecting deeply with the characters, even though the writing itself was good. So I think in my head I’ve classified the author as one who tells a good story but the screenplay takes it to another level, so I’ll just watch the film.
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January 19, 2017 at 20:33
I read a lot of Palahniuk books a few years ago because a friend of mine was very into him. None of them really impressed me that much, but Fight Club was one of the better books. Some of his later ones get very gross or violent for reasons that don’t really improve the plot but just feel gratuitous.
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January 24, 2017 at 21:09
Aw, that’s sad. It dislike quite a lot when author’s is just trying to show off or shock the readers and thus gain fame/popularity.
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January 19, 2017 at 23:47
Read the book before it was a movie. Creepy good.
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January 20, 2017 at 05:44
A lot of people recommended this book to me, but I am hesitating to read it for the same reasons as you–it’s very easy to hate a mainstream book because of all the reasons mentioned here. And honestly, reading the blurb gives me this “not my type of book” vibe, which is strange because I love reading about characters who go to extreme lengths when they are depressed or angry or…you get the gist? Great review though. I hope your next read is much better.
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January 24, 2017 at 21:06
Yes, I am also often a victim of bookish prejudice, it seems like the standard rises and the critique mode gets switched on, when I read a book like that. I try to recognise when I am doing it, but it is not always possible.
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January 20, 2017 at 08:59
I love this book but then, I love almost all of Palahniuk’s books. If I remember correctly, he never bothers too much with character development or depth of characters. I always had the impression that the characters are mere vehicles to transport a certain story which usually is very weird, sometimes gross but almos always interesting enough to keep me reading. The only character that really stuck with me after finishing the books was Madison from “Damned” and “Doomed”. That girl was… I don’t know… more “real” than other characters. For example, I loved “Haunted” but cannot remember a single character’s Name. Same goes for “Diary” or “Lullaby” even though I loved both books.
My point is, to cut this short, that characters are not as important to Palahniuk as to other writers. He’s more interested in exploring the dark, twisted and sometimes really disgusting corners of the human mind. And he LOVES to write about gross stuff. Characters are mostly vehicles.
What I loved about “Fight Club” was that the book has a completely different ending than the film which I had seen before. And, with the movie in mind, you can watch out for all those little clues as to what is going on 🙂
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January 24, 2017 at 21:04
Thanks for inspiration, I feel like I definitely want to read something more of the author, because I thought that the writing was brilliant and this comment gives me courage. But I will be careful to select the book that will seem to be the most appropriate for my taste.
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January 20, 2017 at 10:01
I love, love, love the film of Fight Club (and not just because I have a huge crush on Ed Norton!!!) but I haven’t gotten round to reading the book yet. I hope it doesn’t disappoint, I’ve heard so many contrasting review on it.
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January 24, 2017 at 21:03
Now that I watched the film, I prefer the book (although I also like Norton a lot!), because it seemed to me more organised and my brain was able to receive it better. All in all there are some twists and differences (kind of minor, but important at the same time), but I don’t think that you will be disappointed in the book, if you love the film!
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January 24, 2017 at 22:41
I hope I’ll still enjoy the book, I’ve heard it’s slightly different to the movie
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January 21, 2017 at 15:56
It definitely sounds like an interesting read. Great review!
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January 22, 2017 at 00:18
I watched the movie more than I can count, I can almost quote word for word…. then I read the book….. I thought it was totally worth it… I gave the book 4 stars on my Good Reads rating because it was that awesome….
~B
PS And the actress who plays Marla in Fight Club is the same person who is Bellatrix Lastrange in the Harry Potter movies but I must confess off the top of my head I do not know her name
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January 24, 2017 at 20:59
Helen Bonham Carter, yes, she is amazing. It was great to see her so young!
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January 22, 2017 at 01:33
I’ve read the book and seen the movie. And still to this day, I don’t know which one I prefer. The story itself blends so well to cinema, but Chuck is godly with his words.
The last scenes are, by far, my favourite!
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January 24, 2017 at 20:58
I have now watched the film and I feel like I prefer the book. Some things were different in the film and sometimes I liked it, but sometimes not… But the main reason for me preferring the book is that it somehow seemed less chaotic or… I guess it seemed more like organised chaos – in the good sense of the word.
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January 22, 2017 at 11:14
It’s hard to review a book you’ve don’t like although it’s well written. I have a hard time engaging with the book if I don’t care about the characters.
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January 24, 2017 at 20:57
Indeed, usually though it comes together – if I don’t like the characters, I usually don’t like the writing (or am annoyed at something in the writing), but this was like a special snowflake.
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January 22, 2017 at 14:54
I actually had no idea fight club was a book! I saw the movie years ago and really liked it, so maybe I’ll still give it a try! Thanks for the review!
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January 24, 2017 at 20:55
Since writing the review, I watched the film and I have to say that, I liked the book better. It seemed less chaotic (in a sense) and I guess I expected more from the film. I was still amazed, that I did not remember anything at all, when watching it. 😀
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January 24, 2017 at 20:56
Well, I mean not the book, but the fact that I didn’t remember anything from the previous time I watched the film. 😀
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January 28, 2017 at 01:07
You’ve been nominated. Sorry I didn’t know where else to post this lol
https://readsandreels.com/2017/01/27/blogger-recognition-award/#more-14625
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January 31, 2017 at 21:06
Interesting review. I definitely am not likely to read it, but I give you two thumbs up for giving it a go. Sometimes we should step outside our comfort zone: it expands our world view without necessarily changing our viewpoint.
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March 1, 2017 at 20:37
Fight Club is a book?!!! I’ve watched the movie a long time ago (Edward Norton, you rock dude. Have no idea why you aren’t Hulk in Avengers). I’d like to read the book version some day. Great review, bookowly!
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