Book Review: Fight Club

Never judge a book by its movie. - J. W. Eagan

I feel the above quote is very apposite for the book that I am going to review today (a full-fledged review at last!) - yes, it's Fight Club written by the American novelist Chuck Palahniuk. But many might be already well-acquainted with the movie of the same name directed by David Fincher starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton - a film that gained cult following post its release.

The plot (for the uninitiated!) narrates the experiences of an unnamed protagonist who works in a car company as a recall specialist. After suffering from bouts of insomnia due to the nature of his job that requires him to be on the constant move, he seeks the help of his doctor, who advises him to visit testicular cancer victims to know what real suffering is.

Impersonating a terminally ill person, he begins to visit various cancer support groups and these social calls prove to be cathartic and anodynic for his recurring insomnia until he meets Marla Singer, who too frequents such gatherings under false pretences.

With his insomnia making a comeback, he befriends a mysterious man Tyler Dureen, who works as a part-time soap salesman and movie projectionist, and establishes Fight Club as a means of therapy. But as the activities of the club, under the leadership of Tyler, become increasingly destructive, he takes a reality check only to realize that the situation has spiraled out of control and the only way to end this Mayhem is to end his own life.

Dealing with themes that are transgressive and nihilistic in nature, FC attempts to portray the life of a man who fights himself to break free from the expected norms of the society. The narrator, depressed with his own life, forms the Fight Club - a place where people indulge in visceral fisticuffs - as an escape from his drab life.

The novel also explores the human attachment with materialistic things through the protagonist's penchant for his apartment's furniture. The blowing up of his condominium, in fact, seeks to crush this consumerist proclivity in all of us. Of course, the story is a sheer adrenaline rush from start to finish and the climactic portions have been treated with aplomb. Brilliantly narrated and compelling, this is one heck of a book you wouldn't want to miss. A true American tour de force!

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