Survivor

“The only difference between a suicide and a martyrdom really is the amount of press coverage.”

“If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, doesn't it just lie there and rot?”

“There are only patterns, patterns on top of patterns, patterns that affect other patterns. Patterns hidden by patterns. Patterns within patterns. If you watch close, history does nothing but repeat itself. What we call chaos is just patterns we haven't recognized. What we call random is just patterns we can't decipher. what we can't understand we call nonsense. What we can't read we call gibberish.”

Oh, I could go on and end up quoting the entire book here. Every Chuck Palahniuk book that I pick up to read, somehow turns out to be a masterpiece. And Survivor is no exception either. I still can't understand how Chuck manages to do. To alter your entire mindset and perception with mere words. To start with, this book is about a guy called Tender Branson who happens to be a member of some Creedish Church. Right fom his childhood he's raised up in the cult's environment. The story moves ahead with Tender Branson rising to fame and then the great fall that comes with it. It's a profoundly cynical take on the world of glitz and glamour and how everything isn't as beautiful as they show it on the screens. About how everything is just a marketing gimmick to rake in the moolah. Survivor for me, is a rather satirical and unabashed take on the capitalistic and contemporary modern American culture. The characters are insanely interesting and weird, like every character Chuck creates.

Overall, Survivor is truly an underrated masterpiece among Chuck's best works!