Summer Readin' V

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

When I started reading this book I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it at all. To be honest after the first forty pages or so I was starting to think that the movie was far better than the book. I know, it's usually a sin to even utter such words, but its what I thought. After finishing it however, I realized its not that the movie was better, the book is just very different in subtle ways. The book is a far more brutal, and unpleasant story. The narrator seems to go through much more agony and despair than Edward Norton's character in the film. When comparing the two, the movie almost seems like a toned-down version of the book. Not as brutally violent or shocking. The narrator has a fucking hole in his cheek for 75% of the novel. I doubt the production company behind the film would have enjoyed putting that on film.

Furthermore the ending in the book is very different, and in my opinion far superior. The writing is very minimalist, with little back story or set up. The reader is simply thrust into Tyler Durden's world, and is sucked in by his madness.

Anyways I recommend it...and if you do read it, try and forget everything about the film beforehand. I'm sure it will make for a much more hypnotic read.


Currently reading: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.