Fight Club

by Chuck Palahniuk

218 pages

English language

Published Nov. 2, 2005 by W. W. Norton & Company.

ISBN:: 978-0-393-32734-2
Goodreads:: 5759

(157 reviews)

Fight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It follows the experiences of an unnamed protagonist struggling with insomnia. Inspired by his doctor's exasperated remark that insomnia is not suffering, the protagonist finds relief by impersonating a seriously ill person in several support groups. Then he meets a mysterious man named Tyler Durden and establishes an underground fighting club as radical psychotherapy. In 1999, director David Fincher adapted the novel into a film of the same name, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. The film acquired a cult following despite underperforming financially. The film's prominence heightened the profile of the novel and that of Palahniuk. The sequel Fight Club 2 was released in comic book form in May 2015.Fight Club 3 was released in comic book form in 2019.

10 editions

Pentapod reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Haven't seen the movie. Thought I should read the book (or listen, on audible). Thought provoking and well written? Okay. But enjoyable? No. It read to me like the anthem for miserable, self-absorbed, disaffected young men who'd rather justify their feelings of being oppressed by the world and burn it down around them than actually do anything to improve themselves or the world around them. This book is to self-pitying misogynistic assholes what "Atlas Shrugged" is to self-centered capitalist assholes. As a talking point and a warning, it's a pertinent read. As an enjoyable or positive experience, not for me.

dankeller reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Hard not to imagine The Chemical Brothers' soundtrack while reading but that just adds to the fun! Just as funny and rebellious as the fantastic film, even if you already know the twists and turns.

eyal reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

If you've seen the movie, you really don't have to read the book. Go read something else of Palahniuk's.

Esquiretheduke reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

It's difficult to rate this book fairly. I've watched the movie countless times, and it's clearly faithful to the book. There were still a couple of surprises, but not nearly as many as I thought there would be for a story that has become synonymous as "The Nihilist Cookbook." Enjoyable, but just a bit is lost if you watch the movie first.

The Gnome King reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Wow that was a chuffing great read. Not bad for a debut novel (or at least I think it was)

It is pretty hard to write a review of this book without giving too much away, but the bouncing between the two main characters is really well written and even though I knew what was coming (Due to having seen the movie) it was a major event when all things started coming together.

Really glad I gave this book a chance and you should too. Gonna read Haunted next.

drizzy reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Sadly, I've seen the movie first. But even then, knowing the ending I enjoyed the book. It was a bit hard to follow it, just like the movie. The main characters are saying the ugly things we all want to say from time to time but we are afraid to admit it to ourselves. There are so many memorable parts that I am hard-pressed to pick a quote, but for some reason I liked this:

Pounding on that kid, I really wanted to put a bullet between the eyes of every endangered panda that wouldn't screw to save its species and every whale or dolphin that gave up and ran itself aground.

It's a classic and one well worth reading even if you know how it all ends.

Pounding on that kid, I really wanted to put a bullet between the eyes of every endangered panda that wouldn't screw to save its species and every whale or dolphin that gave up and ran itself aground.

It's a classic and one well worth reading even if you know how it all ends.

Michael @ Knowledge Lost reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I really think if I read this book before seeing the movie, I might have enjoyed it. I really enjoy the movie and the book is really good too, but I knew the twist and that kind of defeated the purpose of reading it.

Sarja reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Amazing. I never thought I'd find a writer like Palahniuk.

Pearson (he/they) reviewed Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Review of 'Fight Club' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Although many know "Fight Club" for the cult cinema classic starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, the epic novel first penned by Chuck Palahniuk was just as--if not more--compelling as its silver-screen counterpart. The success of "Fight Club" was the absolutely engrossing, conversational manner in which the narrator conveyed his experiences. Every picture was painted brilliant and vivid through the use of contemporary metaphors and rich, expressive detail. The experimentation with sentence structure, syntax, diction, as well as the manipulation of time worked perfectly to convey the delusional feel of an insomniac's waking consciousness. Chuck Palahniuk's most well-known--and, arguably, his greatest--work is an utter success that grips the reader by the throat from page one.