Fight Club
Ratings597
Average rating4.1
I really don't like reading a book after having seen the film based on it. I can't help but see the actors in my head when I read the story, and I'd much rather see the ones my brain creates from the author's descriptions. Bah. Still, this is a good book. Hard to believe it was Chuck Palahniuk's first. If you've seen the film, you already have a pretty good idea of how he writes: staccato sentences, mired in small details, repetitive. Somehow, he makes the sum of these off-putting parts a good thing.
There are a lot of things we don't want to know about the people we love.
Fight Club is my favorite movie. The book was all over the place — like the movie. Somehow the format fit the screen better for me.
I'm going to break the first rule of fight club, and I'm going to talk about it - because as in the book, Fight Club is just too brilliant an idea not to talk about.
I knew the ending of the book/movie since 2012, from a throwaway Reddit comment. I saw the movie for the first time a few months back, so I already knew the entire plot. I was still blown to smithereens.
The narrator hates his hollow existence. He meets Tyler Durden, a projectionist and waiter who has visions of society being destroyed through destructive anarchy. They both begin to form fight clubs through which they begin to set their plan, Project Mayhem, into motion. If it sounds mind-bending, it's because it most certainly is.
This will remain on my mind for a long time to come. The book holding its own till date, even after the film became a cult classic, is only testimony to Palahniuk's grand vision.
Saw the movie years ago. Finally got around to reading the book (audiobook). The movie was very faithful to the book. Good listen, even if it can be a bit rough around the edges at time.
This book is dark. Very very dark. But an interesting read. It's not a fun book in any way, but it is a really well written, interesting book.
Palahniuk are nevoie de un psiholog... si noi dupa ce citim cartile lui, dar asta e partea a doua.
I saw the movie first and thought I should finally read the book. Good book, the movie was almost an exact take on the book. So the movie was on of my favorites and with the visuals, I think it is a better option. Book gets 4 stars, the movie gets 5. Just watch the movie.
Definitely a classic. It's horrific and unique and wonderful. I need to see the movie now.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Sometimes a story becomes so ingrained within the culture that it feels impossible to truly read it for the first time. That is absolutely how I feel about Fight Club. This book and its movie adaptation are so ubiquitous that I felt like I already knew everything about it before I started listening to the audiobook. I knew the memes. I knew the ending. I knew the big twist. For a book that is largely centered around that twist, you’d think that would be a bad thing. And yet I can honestly say that reading Fight Club for the first time in 2024 is still a damn good time. Palahniuk is a really cool writer who is oftentimes very heavy handed but leaves enough room for interpretation that the book is still fun to read. I can see why David Fincher read this and figured it would make for a good movie adaptation and I also see why said movie adaptation became a big hit. Tyler Durden is a truly wonderful character who is able to elicit all manners of jealousy and distaste from any reader and it makes sense that he is an icon. There’s just so much to like about this book and I consider it to be a genuine classic.
I haven't seen the movie because of the clips I've seen. I just finished listening to the audio version of the book, and it's way better than I would have guessed from what I understood about the movie. Now I may have to see the movie, too.
A fantastic book. Had me enthralled from the beginning. I found both the book and movie enjoyable. I recommend reading the book before watching the movie.
Fight Club is my favorite movie. The book was all over the place — like the movie. Somehow the format fit the screen better for me.
I need to give this a reread (not really the best time to read, just wanted to finish it and put it on the side), but the narration is so interesting and bizarre. Want to see the movie to make comparisons too!
I don't know what I could say about this book that hasn't been said before by MANY others. It's truly a deeply immersive story of the struggles of masculine men in this increasingly feminized world. The surprise ending was ruined for me long before I read the book OR watched the movie; and yet the journey there, and the repercussions thereof, were every bit as fascinating. Truly a page turner that alters your perception of what reality is; and where your place is in it.
Executive Summary: I might actually like the movie better, but it's pretty close.
Audiobook: Jim Colby was an OK narrator. Part of the problem was probably always contrasting it to Edward Norton. That's not Mr. Colby's fault though. This is one of those that's fine in audio, but nothing special.
Full Review
I was tempted to make my review the single line of the “The first rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club” but I'm sure that's been done before and of course I'm not as funny or as clever as I'd like to think I am sometimes. That didn't stop me from using that or the Jack joke as status updates though..
I think it's hard to write a review about this book without talking about the movie. For me, it's impossible, especially since I read this for the first time so many years after the movie came out. Fight Club was one of those movies that blew my mind the first time I saw it. There was nothing like it. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it now. It's probably right up there with The Matrix as one of the defining movies of my teenage years.
So I was a bit apprehensive about reading the book. I've actually owned the audio book for a few years from some kind of sale or daily deal, but kept avoiding it in favor of other things. Typically the book is always better than the movie, so of course I should love the book right?
The thing is for me, part of the brilliance of the movie was in the big reveal. The second time through the movie there were all these little things to catch that I totally missed the first time, that made me love the movie even more. But the 3rd time? The tenth? So I'm coming into this book seeing Ed Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter and Meat Loaf in my head.
In the end, I liked the book, but I probably like the movie better. It's a pretty faithful adaptation actually. Nothing in the book really stuck out to me as missing from the movie. I'm sure there are some differences I missed, especially given the length differences, but I felt like I was getting the same story.
For me, personally, I'm going to grab my copy of the movie before I grab my copy of the book the next time I want to enjoy Fight Club, but I'm glad I finally read it.
4.6
Even if I'm one of those who haven't seen the Fight Club movie, I'm glad that I got to read this book before I start watching it. This was such an entertaining read from start to finish. It's extremely hard to put down. I hate the fact that it's only 200+ pages, since I didn't want it to end. The story was dark, humorous, suspenseful, and contains a twist you won't see coming (unless you've seen the film). Palahniuk has such a great writing style and I love how he didn't sugarcoat the story.
I'd really recommend this to anyone who likes black comedy, and those who want to read about complex characters who have different views on society. Even if you won't gain much from reading this book if you've seen the film, you should still read this one! Go ahead, read it, and tell your friends about it.
I personally really liked this book, I thought it was fascinating. A lot of people who didn't like this book were upset at the repetitives of the story, or have said that the movie was better. I like to think that they like the movie better because they have no sense of imagination. this book really drew me in and had my attention the entire time. Overall one of my favs.
Il solito Palahniuk con le sue solite splendide storie sghembe, personaggi surreali, sarcasmo, cinismo. Insomma il solito campionario di genio e sregolatezza.
My Amazon review -
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1H0NDHW1CNWUP/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm