# Chuck Palahniuk's writing: Survivor, Fight Club, etc **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2004, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097 "2004-09-04T07:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/1 "2004-09-04T07:20:50Z")
Anyone here read Chuck Palahniuk? I’d reccommend his books to anyone who hasn’t read fiction since the days when they were forced to read it in high school (like myself.) You won’t be bored. He wrote Fight Club, which was obviously turned into the hugely successful movie, and other works of his include Choke, Survivor, and ‘Stranger than Fiction.’ What books have everyone here read? I’ve read all the ones I mentioned, and plan to read Diary and Lullaby also. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/2 "2004-09-04T07:52:52Z")
Fight Club was genius. Choke got on my nerves to the point where I hesitate to pick up another of his books. ---
**Author:** ![Powers106](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Powers106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers106)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/3 "2004-09-04T13:16:43Z")
I really, really enjoyed the first chapter of Lullaby, then the book slowly fizzled for me to the point I haven’t yet managed to finish it, feeling like I should but that it is going to be a struggle to force myself. Maybe it will pick up again - anyone else have that same problem? Cheers, Powers ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/4 "2004-09-04T15:10:27Z")
I’ve enjoyed all his work immensely, with Diary probably being my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/5 "2004-09-04T16:05:27Z")
I agree with **Otto** : _Fight Club_ was good, _Choke_ made me want to vomit after a few pages. Now I’m leery about reading his other books. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/6 "2004-09-04T16:12:25Z")
> [@Powers106](#): > > I really, really enjoyed the first chapter of Lullaby, then the book slowly fizzled for me to the point I haven’t yet managed to finish it, feeling like I should but that it is going to be a struggle to force myself. Maybe it will pick up again - anyone else have that same problem? > > Cheers, > Powers What he said. I read actually about half and it finally got to the point that picking up the book was physically painful and my stomach would start aching in anticipation( and not in a good way either) I’m not condemning him… I just don’t think I’ll read his other stuff. I don’t think we are compatible. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/7 "2004-09-04T16:39:04Z")
I’ve read Fight Club, Diary, Choke and Invisible Monsters. I’m currently reading Survivor, and Lullaby is next on my list. > [@krisfer the cat](#): > > I read actually about half and it finally got to the point that picking up the book was physically painful and my stomach would start aching in anticipation That’s a reason I like him. I like that I get such a visceral reaction from the writing but that it’s not like watching a gory movie. Although, I have to admit that the part of Choke where he has the anal beads lodged inside him, I’m pretty sure that’s what they were …well, wow, that made me REALLY squirm in my seat. I’m a little squirmy just thinking about it again, lol. ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/8 "2004-09-07T02:39:50Z")
Did I kill this thread? Bah! I bump in your general direction! I have a question about Survivor. Without spoiling anything for me, is the Creedish culture for real? Or did Chuck make them up? ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/9 "2004-09-07T05:10:38Z")
I really enjoyed _Lullaby_ and _Survivor_, but I didn’t like _Choke_. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/10 "2004-09-07T11:46:18Z")
My first experience with him was Choke, and while I did finish it, I really didn’t enjoy it. I have no idea why I decided to read Diary, but I enjoyed the book. A little creepy, but fascinating at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/11 "2004-09-07T12:09:33Z")
I have read everything the man has published, and I consider him to be one of my favorite authors. In my opinion, Choke and Invisible Monsters are his weakest works, but are still VERY readable. Fight Club is great, but David Fincher made it even better when he made it a film. Lullaby is excellent, but not his most memorable. Diary was practically perfect storytelling. Palahniuk’s best work, however, in my opinion, is Survivor. I love that book. I’ve read it several times, and I think it’s the best of the lot. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/12 "2004-09-07T12:13:58Z")
> [@saramamalana](#): > > Did I kill this thread? Bah! I bump in your general direction! > > I have a question about Survivor. Without spoiling anything for me, is the Creedish culture for real? Or did Chuck make them up? Survivor is the only one I’ve read. I assumed Creedish culture was made up. Sort of a combination of Hutterites and cultish religions wrapped up into something. ---
**Author:** ![TheTyrant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thetyrant/32/19111_2.png) [@TheTyrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTyrant)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/13 "2004-09-07T12:25:34Z")
Wow, I must be one of the few people who loved _Choke_. I haven’t finished _Lullabye_ yet, and never read _Fight Club_. Yet another thing I need to get around to. Have any of you who found _Choke_ a little stomach-turning seen his short story _GUTS_ (I think it’s called)? I read it online somewhere a little while back, and it even made ME cringe. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/14 "2004-09-07T13:12:14Z")
I thought Choke was great. And Survivor. Lullaby and Diary, less so. Invisible Monsters is the only one I really didn’t enjoy. One of the main things I like is the weird bits of trivia, urban legend and higher education thrown in. Diary’s got those bits of art history thrown in, and Choke has all that medical stuff. And of course, Fight Club lets you know all sorts of stuff about making bombs and manufacturing soap. All good, useful stuff. He also uses some pretty striking turns of phrase. One that keeps cropping up is his use of the word ‘anymore’. He uses it backwards to the way most people would (at least, that I’ve heard.) For example, instead of saying, “People don’t go there anymore,” he’d say, “Anymore, people don’t go there.” thwartme ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/15 "2004-09-07T15:07:56Z")
Eh, he’s decent. I loved his work (even _Choke_) until I read John Hawkes and realised that Chuck borrowed many of his methods from him. Now I’m too disappointed that he’s not a genius to pick up _Diary_ or _Lullaby_. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/16 "2004-09-07T18:45:52Z")
My favorites of his are _Invisible Monsters_ and _Lullaby_. I have yet to read _Choke_ or _Diary_. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/17 "2004-09-07T19:59:32Z")
_Invisible Monsters_ is probably the most disurbing book I’ve ever read, mainly because Palahniuk goes into such mad scientist laboratory detail about the things supermodels will do to stay beautiful. Plus, the main character is a chick who’s missing her lower jaw and tries to turn her boyfriend into a woman. The narrator of a Palahniuk novel will always have Ed Norton’s voice for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lambo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lambo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lambo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/18 "2004-09-07T21:47:42Z")
I’ve read all of them except Lullaby (or Diary, I really can’t remember which one of those I read). Fight Club really stood out, but the rest seemed pretty much the same story: disturbing for their own sake, I don’t think I’ll spend the time on another. Also, I usually have to take a week off in the middle of most of the books, the sheer 'Ain’t I clever" attitude gets to me. > [@TheTyrant](#): > > Have any of you who found _Choke_ a little stomach-turning seen his short story _GUTS_ (I think it’s called)? I read it online somewhere a little while back, and it even made ME cringe. I read it recently (one of this years’ issues of Playboy, I believe). I stopped reading after I could see what was coming, and I just wasn’t interested. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/19 "2004-09-08T10:22:58Z")
> [@TheTyrant](#): > > Have any of you who found _Choke_ a little stomach-turning seen his short story _ **GUTS** _ (I think it’s called)? I read it online somewhere a little while back, and it even made ME cringe. Damn you, **Tyrant**! Thanks very much for drawing my attention to that little bit of nastiness. Now I’ve got to go scrub out my eyes and cranium with Comet and SOS pads. Another thing- If I ever have a son, I won’t ever be able to leave him alone after he hits puberty. I read _Choke_ a few months ago, and found it a bit… disturbing. I just chalked my reaction up to never having been exposed to that style of writing. Now after reading _Guts_ I swear I’ll never read Palahniuk again. He just pushes too many buttons for me. And not in a pleasing way. ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097/20 "2004-09-08T22:28:55Z")
> [@Lambo](#): > > I read it recently (one of this years’ issues of Playboy, I believe). For the articles, indeed. 😉 I’ve noticed a pattern in Chuck’s writing, in that he likes to start in the future, and then go back and tell the story that leads up to that point. So far this is the case with _Fight Club, Invisible Monsters_, and \*Survivor \* (which I’m halfway through). I forget if \*Diary \* started that way and I’m pretty sure \*Choke \* didn’t, but I haven’t read \*Lullaby \* so perhaps that one does too? _Fight Club_ I’d put off reading because I knew and loved the movie so I knew I’d be doing too much comparison. Also, when I read a book, I get a certain image in my head of what a character looks like. In the case of \*FC \* I already had a picture (but hey, who’s to argue with thinking about Brad Pitt, lol). I’m in the small camp of people who liked _Choke_. I loaned it to a friend and when she gives it back I’m going to read it again. \*Invisible Monsters \* I liked but didn’t love. What I liked about it was all the twists at the end; however I got confused on the timeline in places. I have a problem with reading books in that after I read them, I forget basic details of the story. So remind me about something in \*Diary \* (spoiler box to be safe): Does the main character, the woman, keep jabbing her comatose husband’s hand with her earring? I remember her saying something like “Do you feel that, Peter?” Like if he feels pain then it means he’s still alive. I remember something about her earrings and jabbing them into hands. Oh and a question for all of you: **What other book of Chuck’s would you like to see made into a movie?** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-palahniuks-writing-survivor-fight-club-etc/263097.md?page=2)