No, not the vaguely racist television show. I'm actually referring to Chuck Palahniuk's "brilliantly satiric and savagely funny" second novel, as the San Francisco Chronicle described it. During my commute home this evening, I spotted two people reading this book in a stunningly short amount of time--between boarding the subway headed for the Port Authority and boarding the bus leaving the Port Authority (a matter of 4 subway stops and a walk to the bus terminal; about 15 minutes total).
The book was published in 1999 and has since achieved notoriety and acclaim, particularly among cult fans. I've never been a fan of Palahniuk. From the brief passages I've read of his, I have found his works to be pretentious and not particularly well written or original (I have read many authors who have written in reverse chronology before). Funny thing is, a friend of mine lent me a copy of Survivor many years back, which is still sitting on my bookshelf, as I have yet to get past the first chapter.
How can it be that almost seven years later, so many people are still reading this book? Is it just me? Can it perhaps be one of those books that I am dismissing too quickly that is, in fact, marvelous? Or are more people than I think reading it based on word-of-mouth and not enjoying it? Perhaps the success of the Fight Club movie has engendered some sort of psychological do-no-wrong status among cult fans. I have no idea.
Tell me people, is this book (or others by him) worth an honest read?
1 comment:
I actually read part of his book "Lullaby," and I didn't like it. He's incredibly overrated. But the masses like him, and of course, the masses are always right.
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