Book Review: Fight Club

The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club! 

  

Stars: 3.5/5

There are times when I've watched the movie before I've read the book and there are times when I've read the book before watching the movie. In the case of Fight Club, I'm proud to say that it is the latter, although I'm certainly going to watch the movie as soon as I get the chance.  I do believe that Fight Club has a bit of a cult following (the book and the movie). I mean,  who doesn't love that poster with Brad Pitt holding a bar of soap? Although I do believe just his face tends to do the trick.

Fight Club is a 1996 novel written by Chuck Palaniuk and is considered to be his most famous work. The story follows an insomniac narrator who finds relief in support groups by pretending to have a serious illness. The narrator eventually befriends the magnetic and mysterious Tyler Durden and the two soon begin Fight Club as a way to express male aggression. As for the soap, Tyler supplements his income by selling his handmade soap with questionable ingredients.  I'd go further into the story, but I'll leave the plot at that to prevent any spoilers. 

The story has several themes throughout it, including masculinity and how this is a generation of men raised by women because their fathers abandon the family, as is the case with the narrator. There is also an anger towards consumerism present, which is ironic, given that Tyler makes and sells upscale soap bars. I'd certainly recommend this book, although I will say that it is not a normal read. In fact, I read this while at the beach in March and immediately realized that Palaniuk's writing is complex and, as a reader, you're basically just reading the narrator's thoughts and seeing everything from his perspective. Basically, if you're looking for a nice beach read, I'd stick with Sarah Dessen, but hey, you do you, either way, just remember, do not talk about Fight Club!