Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Fight Club

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

57 reviews

terorr's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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tgifiona's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book focuses on the mental health/illness specifically of poor, white men in the US and what happens when a mental health crisis is ignored or downplayed. I went into this book without any idea of the subject matter--I expected it to be about a boxing club--and I was surprised by the dark themes. Palahniuk's novel is an interesting meditation on the failings of our society and how we handle those issues to our own detriment. This book was not an enjoyable read, but nonetheless it was worth my time.

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jadziaaudrey's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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kingcrookback's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

So, ultimately, I do prefer Fincher's adaptation to the book--though whether or not that's because I watched the movie before I read the book bears some more consideration. For some reason, though, I was surprised how good of a creative choice it was, to translate the narrator's distinctive (might we say, "iconic"?) voice into voiceover. First-person POV does not voiceover necessitate, generally. The themes of toxic masculinity and the futility of grasping for meaning in this era of capitalism also carried over well, though I felt that they're much more present in the novel.

And speaking of themes that are much more present in the novel, the gay undertones. To be fair, they're not entirely absent from the film, but the blowjob imagery in the opening chapter is blunt enough that it'd take either willful ignorance or the possession of some aggressively heterosexual blinkers to miss it. As for the rest of the book, well--a unspoken, unacknowledged club of people whose membership is secret but whom you recognize and understand on a certain level? Sounds familiar.

I don't recommend skipping the afterword.

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sidekicksam's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The first rule of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club.

I think this line has become legendary, mostly through the cult-status the movie adaptation has gotten over the years. I have seen the movie myself before, and decided to give the book a go after having it for a few years.

I’m unsure of what I think of the book. Though I appreciated it, I am very sure I was not part of the target audience. Also, I could not let the twist from the movie go (iykyk) and that affected the reading experience so much for me, that I found it difficult to read and love the book as much as I would had I not known the outcome.

The writing style was engaging throughout though, and though it was published mid-90’s, most issues addressed are still relevant today.

If you have not seen the movie yet (how?) I would recommend you start with the book. If you have seen the movie but are better at letting things go than I am, you will also appreciate this.

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