Saturday, October 22, 2005
Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik
"The first rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club."
"The second rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club."
I'm breaking the first two rules of fight club by writing about it. For the few of you who haven't seen the movie, here's synopsis...
The unnamed nararator, suffering from insomnia and the drudgery of everyday living in our superficial society, begins frequenting support groups trying to find someone who will care. Eventually he meets Tyler Durden, who introduces him to a hazy underground world: waiters who do the unmentionable to food, film projectionists who splice movies together, and other seedy activities. Most of all, Tyler begins an underground movement of fight clubs where men secretly gather to relieve their frustration by beating one another to a pulp. Eventually this isn't enough and Tyler transforms the male agressors into an army committed to Project Mayhem. Tyler wants to destroy modern civilization and turn it into complete anarchy.
I'm probably one of the three people on the planet who have read the book before seeing the movie. Actually, I can't really say that I've seen the film (I watched it while dozing in and out of sleep, which only added to the style of the movie.) So, if you haven't seen the movie, here are three aspects of the book that are worth mentioning...
1. The style of the writing was really annoying. Maybe it was supposed to resemble someone who hasn't slept in weeks. Palahnuik rarely writes in a complete sentence or uses quotation marks. It is really difficulty to keep track of the story line and who is speaking (or thinking!)
2. There is a real surprise ending!
3. Fight Club is not for the faint of heart. It includes a significant amount of profanity and disturbing material. It dwindles down into the depths of nihilsim. While asking the right questions about life (What's the meaning and purpose?), Palahnuik chooses the dark path rather than looking beyond life itself for the answers. Of course, if you buy into the basic tennets of naturalism, it is a logical progression. However, the ending of the book suggests that he isn't quite at ease with the result of nihilism as he would have you think.
Even though my friend Kirk the Rock Star (veiled Donald Miller reference) recommended the book, I can't say that I would recommend this as uplifting reading. You're pretty depressed at the end. However, if you want a good look at what the modern world thinks like, this is a great primer.
Overall Rating: 1.5 stars
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I can think of a lot more things that would provide community for guys...beer, gambling, firearms, etc.
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