Author Archives: susan

In my father’s house are many mansions. Of course, when I pulled the trigger, I died. Liar. And Tyler died.  (pg. 206) This is the opening of the last chapter. I wouldn’t call it a spoiler; it’s as vague in … Continue reading →

There are certain elements of human nature–instinct, desire, jealousy, cunning–that I have no doubt are fine-tuned by evolution, good or bad, but truly enduring. This story at various points has hit me as a mix of A Clockwork Orange and … Continue reading →

The fight club has expanded into Project Mayhem as its next step, and more and more guys are swelling the membership. They accept and live by the rules. Understandably, there are always people who will join the most outrageous movement … Continue reading →

I’m beginning to focus on a theme here, and I believe that this segment where the narrator is discussing Project Mayhem, may reveal it best: When Tyler invented Project Mayhem, Tyler said the goal of Project Mayhem had nothing to … Continue reading →

There are many repetitive statements made in Fight Club, and I’m wondering if they qualify as leit motif. Arson meets on Monday Assault on Tuesday Mischief meets on Wednesday  (pg. 119) This is the schedule of Project Mayhem. Palahniuk also … Continue reading →

Palahniuk has taken much time in building the environment of the story, depending upon the reader to like the protagonist before hitting us with some less likeable characteristics. What the narrator has done so far, for example, going to all … Continue reading →

Palahniuk’s use of a blunt voice in this book doesn’t preclude the beauty of his use of language: The moment Marla is out the door, Tyler appears back in the room Fast as a magic trick. My parents did this … Continue reading →

Most good novels have some relevance to the current atmosphere of society when written, whether political or of a social nature. The interesting thing is that these reference to conflicts, tensions, or topics uppermost in society’s minds at the time … Continue reading →

I really think I’m going to like this book. The writing style, as I mentioned, is very much in the style of a first person detective novel. But the roughness of the voice is softened by a personality who is … Continue reading →

A few pages in and I could already see a huge difference in writing styles between Palahniuk and coming off Peter Taylor. Palahniuk punches out his words (no, I didn’t plan that metaphor, but it’s surprisingly in alignment with the … Continue reading →