Review of "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk

FIGHT CLUB ★★★☆☆

by Chuck Palahniuk

All right. I don't know what to feel about this one. Did I like it? Was it amazing? Did it annoy me? I certainly don't know how to answer these questions. It took me a long time to read this because of college stuff, but I would admit: several instances I didn't feel like picking this up and read it for leisure. I don't know. The gist of the novel just wasn't fit for relaxation, as you might well know.

Why did I give it three stars then?

The conclusion of the novel decided that for me. And, of course, the fact that Fight Club is unlike other stories that I've encountered before. The narrator was a bundle of contradictions, which is shown in the style with which he told the story. Gritty, crisp; sometimes harboring innocence. Sometimes mischief. All I'm certain of is that the whole thing was very confusing indeed.

Fight Club started out very quickly. As a reader, you'd feel the tension as the narrator neared toward his destruction. And then, all of a sudden, you are grabbed back and forth through time and through different places. Most of the time what happened in between didn't make sense. But I read on, hoping to scavenge something extraordinary in this roller coaster ride of a novel, only to find violence, violence, bad ass characters, and more chaotic adventures. I felt like everything was simply turning round and round and that the plot wasn't going anywhere.

As I've mentioned, I was only starting to like it when I was nearing the end. By then it wasn't just about violence and Marla and Tyler - other people were starting to be a part of the scenario. It wasn't merely revolving on Joe mumbling about Tyler and his escapades - they were actually doing things together (like that thing at the hotel). Especially at the part when people were starting to call the narrator Tyler and he didn't have the faintest idea why. I would commend Chuck Palahniuk for the way he decided to weave the conclusion of the novel. Most of the things mentioned at the beginning of the novel were starting to make sense. 

Apparently, though, it didn't make the novel less confusing. Admittedly, I would say I have more questions than answers after reading Fight Club.