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Fight Club: A Novel Paperback – October 17, 2005
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The first rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club.
In his debut novel, Chuck Palahniuk showed himself to be his generation's most visionary satirist. Fight Club's estranged narrator leaves his lackluster job when he comes under the thrall of Tyler Durden, an enigmatic young man who holds secret boxing matches in the basement of bars. There two men fight "as long as they have to." A gloriously original work that exposes what is at the core of our modern world.
- Print length224 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherW. W. Norton
- Publication dateOctober 17, 2005
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
- ISBN-100393327345
- ISBN-13978-0393327342
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Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book incredible, riveting, and masterful. They describe the story as unique, interesting, and exciting. Readers mention the book is thought-provoking, engrossing, and introspective. They praise the writing style as amazing, thick, and clever. Additionally, they appreciate the characters, saying they're emotionally exhilarating and full of honest pain. They also mention the tone is dark.
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Customers find the book fantastic, riveting, and enjoyable. They say it's a great first novel and one of the most significant works of literature. Readers also mention the satire is vicious and masterful.
"i got paperback and it's a very nice material. can't wait to start reading!" Read more
"...I’ve loved the film since I saw it in the theater. The book is fantastic." Read more
"...MY IMPRESSION“Fight Club” is a fistful of fun and an enjoyable read that will punch you in the face. KA-POW! **..." Read more
"...Chuck Palaniuk's satire is vicious, masterful, a vision of a bloated culture set on the cutting board , inspecting with a dissecting eye...." Read more
Customers find the story unique, intriguing, and exciting. They say it's a work of fiction to entertain. Readers also mention the plot unfolds incrementally at just the right pace.
"...The story itself is strong, consistent to the bone and detail oriented without being overwhelming...." Read more
"...Palahniuk is also a master storyteller. The plot of Fight Club unfolds incrementally, at just the right pace...." Read more
"...The writing is impeccable and the story is gritty, dirty, and insane. It’s uncomfortable at times but not enough to make you want to stop reading...." Read more
"...For instance, this novel has a very intriguing twist at the core of its plot...." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking. They say it offers unique perspectives on capitalism, is introspective, and has vivid descriptions. Readers also mention the book has pages of thought-provoking quotes and is eye-opening.
"...mental vault, the fact that someone had come up with such a powerful and compelling idea, executed it impecably on screen..." Read more
"...The story set up is great. It really is a super interesting concept. Don’t let my opinion of the narrator sway you." Read more
"...finest works of art that talks about societal issues, seeks the identity of the individual, and dares to empower the commoner to be subversive about..." Read more
"...is unique and, particularly for the storyline, does a good job of painting the picture of someone on the edge of insanity...." Read more
Customers find the writing style amazing, rich, and clever. They say the author has a way with words and a wicked sense of humor. Readers also describe the book as funny, satirical, and dark.
"...reading and reading, constantly trying to decipher why the writing style was so good and so bold and so... damn original...." Read more
"...His writing style is as spare and fit as his characters.That said, I’m not sure how well Fight Club has aged...." Read more
"...I said the writing is amazing. The story set up is great. It really is a super interesting concept. Don’t let my opinion of the narrator sway you." Read more
"...Far more nuance than the movie, however.... Chucks writing style can sometimes be confusing...." Read more
Customers find the characters emotionally exhilarating, interesting, and full of honest pain. They also describe the book as a classic study into split personalities. Readers appreciate the brilliant language and intriguing ideas.
"...Indeed, this literary work has affective appeal and quintessence of portrayal since Chuck Palahniuk shows how violence can truly be liberating as an..." Read more
"...Read this first if you have not seen the movie. It's a dark, psychological story!" Read more
"...were; this book contains a much clearer, more nuanced representation of the characters; these are not psychopathic aliens but believable people like..." Read more
"...Such emotionally exhilarating characters full of honest pain, angst, and raw determination to hang to the bottom of life and not only live, but..." Read more
Customers find the tone of the book thought-provoking, disturbing, and twisted. They also say it's entertaining and a peaceful journey of freedom. Readers also mention the mysterious touch adds suspense.
"...Fight club is a great book in that it explores some of the darker sides of society and psychology that most people tend to ignore, or flatly refuse..." Read more
"This is the debut novel of Chuck Palahnluk. It is a dark, disturbing novel. However it is very well written...." Read more
"...who remains nameless mostly throughout the book, just adds that mysterious touch, as well as the suspense and thrilling scenes scattered..." Read more
"...Its dark and disturbing reflection and the rhythmic writing and graphic descriptions of pain and the promise of violence are not gratuitous, but are..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the length of the book. Some mention it's an easy read with good page lengths and nice text size. Others say it doesn't have much room to dig deeper into its concepts and that the widths vary wildly, making it difficult to grab the shorter pages when the edges are longer.
"...The author makes many clever observations and allusions. The novel is not lengthy...." Read more
"...The book more clearly maligns the actions as evil. Incredible read, pretty short and digestible. 5/5." Read more
"This is my favorite book. As for this edition, nice text size, a quality paperback. Thanks" Read more
"...I finally gave the book a try. I was surprised to see that the book was short...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some mention it's disturbing, depressing, and harsh. Others say it's hilarious and relatable.
"...This book definitely is not for the faint of heart or stomach. If you’re sensitive at all, this book probably isn’t for you...." Read more
"...Fight Club is a rousing, disturbing read." Read more
"...Finally, the ending here feels awkward and tacked-on...." Read more
"...Its non-linear storytelling colliding with Palahniuk’s unique writing style combine to make an introspective, action-packed cult classic that will..." Read more
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So I Have Watched The Movie 10+ Times - Still Enjoyed the book
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Having watched the movie was the strongest reason why I didn't feel the need to read the book. It always bumped in my mental vault, the fact that someone had come up with such a powerful and compelling idea, executed it impecably on screen (Norton's and Pit's acting was phenomenal; perhaps Pit's finest performances). I finally gave the book a try. I was surprised to see that the book was short. It didn't put me off at all, it was just an observation, especially after having watched the movie I expected a lengthier book.
As I read through the pages I was aware of the nuances with the movie, something that made my neurons glitch from time to time, for I expected one thing, yet found something else. Yet, Palahniuk's mastery of his unique style and narrative kept me reading and reading, constantly trying to decipher why the writing style was so good and so bold and so... damn original.
The story itself is strong, consistent to the bone and detail oriented without being overwhelming. I figured Fight Club was very successful because it defined a putrid, rotten world that exists within the human realm. Fight Club gave this world a face, a personality, a tangible morphology we could finally grasp. This world occupies the mind of the bluest, the raw material of hatred towards the organized, paved by those who seek to control through the creation of rules that determine a beings reality. This reality has a big blind-spot, and the world Palanhniuk described in Fight Club defined this blind-spot and exploited it. This blind-spot is an individual's need to feel unique, and yet, the opposing desire to feel he is part of a movement, a group, to be part of a collective. To be part of Fight Club one had to slay one's reality, to lay naked midst the ugly and emerged reborn, only to join a new set of dogmas. This is portrayed as the idea of propagating organized-chaos, an idea that spread through the mediocre like a virus. The virus lived among society cloaked under the veil of working men, men who seemed to follow a set of social rules; the virus unveiled during the night, during Fight Club. An integrant of Fight Club was a menacing soul in search of freedom, from social expectations and the boxed-in sensation felt by binding rules of how one must supposedly behave midst peers. The soul within Fight Club sought freedom, even from itself, only to be lured by its desire to belong, to be part of the clan: the paradox of wanting to be unique and yet, the inevitability of desiring to be part of cult, to be part of the change. Man's demise is served cold in Fight Club, for example, when Tyler makes soap out of fat rendered by liposuction--society's shame--, sold back to the thinned as soap, purchasing what once was thought as biological waste, now regarded precious and a standard of "high society".
To leave aside the story, I would like to mention Palahniuk's writing style. To achieve the deliverance of a message so profound, in such a raw manner, using short sentences and explicit imagery is indeed a literary achievement. I truly enjoyed this read, far better than watching the movie. The movie, however, is also an achievement in itself.
Palahniuk is also a master storyteller. The plot of Fight Club unfolds incrementally, at just the right pace. Pieces gradually click into place until everything gels at the end—and blessedly, Palahniuk knows exactly when that end should come. He doesn’t drag out things for hundreds of superfluous pages. His writing style is as spare and fit as his characters.
That said, I’m not sure how well Fight Club has aged. That’s not because of any “un-PC” elements in the plot (although those definitely exist). It’s more because of the book’s fairly naive view of how the world works and how it can be changed.
Fight Club purports to be—at least to some degree—a response to capitalism and consumerism and their “emasculating” effect on society. It’s no stretch at all to compare the community of men created by the book’s fight clubs to today’s real-life Proud Boys. Like Tyler’s “space monkeys”, the Proud Boys have generated attention and taken some action, like helping to launch a failed coup of the US government on January 6, 2021. But ultimately, the actions of both groups—the space monkeys and the Proud Boys—seem like futile, misguided attempts to reclaim some fabled masculine identity.
If the book were written today, all of Tyler’s explosive know-how would have to be channeled into screen-friendly social media campaigns. The Proud Boys have shown that, at least in America, brute force alone can’t compete with the power of influencers, the vast budgets the fuel consumer culture, or the other complexities of capitalist society.






