Author: Chuck Palahniuk
Genre: Fiction- General
Once you've watched a movie, it's hard to forget anything about it. The characters are ingrained in your memory forever. Although many people will not have a problem with the Hollywood casting, some readers (like me) become slightly annoyed that these faces of Brad Pitt (however good looking), Edward Norton (however talented), and Helena Bonham Carter (personal favourite) take over your mind without asking or at least a fight (no pun intended).For this review I will try my hardest not to make it a comparison essay about what was included and excluded and why. All I will say is that David Fincher did a great job translating Palahniuk's unique writing technique into a screenplay. Heavily reliant on narration, the voice over was crucial to make the audience understand anything that was happening.
Now, for the book itself, I must say that I loved Palahniuk's writing. It's satirical, sarcastic, dark and pretty gross, but that's what makes it so appealing. The way he crafts his sentences makes them a punchline after a punchline. They're heavy hitting. They're crazy confusing, all over the place. They're a train of thought. Who ever thinks straight and coherently anyways? One other thing about his writing that you need to pay attention to is the use of punctuation. Throughout my university career, there was much emphasis put on grammar and punctuation. Everything in the writing, what's on the page, means something. Palaniuck likes to play around with quotation marks. He sometimes uses them and most times doesn't often within the same conversation/scene. Pay attention to what it means to use and not use them.
Another great thing about his writing is that there are hints all over the place about what's going to happen in the end. It's the narration coming full circle on many occasions, constantly linking back and forward in the protagonist's mind. This is what got me the most. Nothing is really a secret in this book. Everything is pretty much laid out for the reader from the first couple of pages, yet you have to keep reading. You're propelled to see it through. Maybe a little deep reading is needed for the 'twist', but it's all there before anything really happens.
Fight Club is really not just a story about fighting. If you have not seen the movie and decide wisely to read the book first, do not go into it believing that. It's also not just a story. Take the time to appreciate his writing skill, his sentence structures. His metaphors are completely attached to the setting he wants to portray. You will not find any images of butterflies and snowflakes
to link to a character's happiness. Only crude images await. Just make sure to read the Afterword. Not always do you have the luxury of reading what an author thinks about their story after the fact. It's only a couple pages long and really makes you think about his intentions and the aftermath of his novel.
Favourite Quote:
"I don't want to die without any scars."
"I've met God across his long walnut desk with his diplomas hanging on the wall behind him, and God asks me, "Why?"
Why did I cause so much pain?
Didn't I realize that each of us is a sacred, unique snowflake of special unique specialness?
Can't I see how we're all manifestations of love?
I look at God behind his desk, taking notes on a pad, but God's got this all wrong.
We are not special.
We are not crap or trash, either.
We just are.
We just are, and what happens just happens.
And God says, "No, that's not right."
Yeah. Well. Whatever. You can't teach God anything."
