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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There’s a pattern in all Palahniuk characters. I read Choke before this, and the narrator in Fight Club is similar to the one in Choke. Very sporadic. Unsure. Of course, the plot is confusing and disgusting, just like the other great books he’s written. I do think it’s interesting that Fight Club was the book that took off for him. It’s a beacon for all those toxic-masculine incels out there, and yet, no one knows there’s a book. I know in the afterword it says that Fight Club is an escape. But so are his other books. So while I loved this book, I’m not sure why this book is the standout of Chuck Palahniuk’s novels.
Fight club. Damn.
For me reading it was like being an outsider witnessing a complete down spiral of one bad choice after the other. How a character, not sure how to handle trauma and difficulties in their life, tries to make it worse only to feel better about themself. The lines they had previously drawn up for how far they could go where slowly moved further and further away, until the person they once was could no longer be found.
It started with one punch, and then it ended in this.
I never found this book as glorification of violence and toxic masculinity, instead it served as a reminder that if you don’t handle the shit in your life the bad things will only lead to more bad things. Violence create more violence until morals can no longer be found.
In Fight Club I saw the worst of society - the worst in humans - and somehow it amazed and disgusted me at the same time.
For me reading it was like being an outsider witnessing a complete down spiral of one bad choice after the other. How a character, not sure how to handle trauma and difficulties in their life, tries to make it worse only to feel better about themself. The lines they had previously drawn up for how far they could go where slowly moved further and further away, until the person they once was could no longer be found.
It started with one punch, and then it ended in this.
I never found this book as glorification of violence and toxic masculinity, instead it served as a reminder that if you don’t handle the shit in your life the bad things will only lead to more bad things. Violence create more violence until morals can no longer be found.
In Fight Club I saw the worst of society - the worst in humans - and somehow it amazed and disgusted me at the same time.
adventurous
dark
funny
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
as close as well get to that joke tv show pitch "breaking bad, with the same amount of death and drama, but it's a soap making mlm". 10/10. also a huge fan of angel face. dude entered fight club, became the male manic pixie dream girl for a solid 30 mins, and then joined the leaders cult compound the second it opened. icon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Sexual content
Minor: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reading this book in 2025 is genuinely a very complicated experience, possibly due to when the book was written.
Starting with what I liked about the book, there is a reason that it is heralded as a classic critique of toxic masculinity. It's narrator and many other characters are genuinely so terrible that it was hard to read at times, especially when listening tonthis first person POV as an audiobook (to be clear, this is on purpose, as far as I could tell). While it's easy to believe that there are also themes of class critique, I firmly belive that Tyler Durden (the founder of Fight Club) is not being honest. This is something that I actually really appreciated, as the use of class distress to stoke the worst in people (and especially men who belive that they should have it all) is something that is seen often now. Additionally, the build up to the main twist of this book was great, and the awareness that slowly built meant that you understood the narrators dread - even when you know the twist. While the reason for the twist wasn't accurate, it was the perfect catalyst for the critique that the book was trying to make. Finally, the ending was absolutely needed for the critique of the book (and especially it's narrator) to land correctly.
However, the book does read as dated in some ways that make reading it very hard. As I stated earlier, the narrators POV is one that can really hard to be in, as having his thoughts so clear can be genuinely incredibly difficult. The misogyny, violence, and more are deliberate (and meant to be seen as bad) but still terrible to read. This is especially the case when it comes to how the book, the narrator, and Tyler Durden treat Marla. Additionally, while I belive Tyler Durden's class critiques aren't honest, they are latching onto real issues which can make both the reasons he gives and his less intense solutions seem reasonable to a person not reading it critically (though I don't know that this is a fair critique.)
Maybe most pertinently though is the way the book treats mental illness. (The rest of this review will be spoilers, and while most people know these already, I still plan on blocking them.)The way that this book treats DID is outdated enoigh to be genuinely infuriating in a lot of ways. Luke most media that has a charcter with DID, this book fundamentally misunderatands it and makes it out to be the cause of harm to others. It also seems to really misunderstand how the condition actually works.
Starting with what I liked about the book, there is a reason that it is heralded as a classic critique of toxic masculinity. It's narrator and many other characters are genuinely so terrible that it was hard to read at times, especially when listening tonthis first person POV as an audiobook (to be clear, this is on purpose, as far as I could tell). While it's easy to believe that there are also themes of class critique, I firmly belive that Tyler Durden (the founder of Fight Club) is not being honest. This is something that I actually really appreciated, as the use of class distress to stoke the worst in people (and especially men who belive that they should have it all) is something that is seen often now. Additionally, the build up to the main twist of this book was great, and the awareness that slowly built meant that you understood the narrators dread - even when you know the twist. While the reason for the twist wasn't accurate, it was the perfect catalyst for the critique that the book was trying to make. Finally, the ending was absolutely needed for the critique of the book (and especially it's narrator) to land correctly.
However, the book does read as dated in some ways that make reading it very hard. As I stated earlier, the narrators POV is one that can really hard to be in, as having his thoughts so clear can be genuinely incredibly difficult. The misogyny, violence, and more are deliberate (and meant to be seen as bad) but still terrible to read. This is especially the case when it comes to how the book, the narrator, and Tyler Durden treat Marla. Additionally, while I belive Tyler Durden's class critiques aren't honest, they are latching onto real issues which can make both the reasons he gives and his less intense solutions seem reasonable to a person not reading it critically (though I don't know that this is a fair critique.)
Maybe most pertinently though is the way the book treats mental illness. (The rest of this review will be spoilers, and while most people know these already, I still plan on blocking them.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting
Minor: Body shaming, Blood, Police brutality
In addition to the content warnings above, the book is also very much about the growing of a terror cell. Adding in the book being in the POV of a man who is genuinely terrible and (separately) has (likely inaccurate) DID can add to the complicated nature of reading it.