Rating:  Summary: Everything you love will die Review: im a semi slow reader, but i fell right into survivor. i feel so close to tender now i wish there was more book. so many great lines in this book "Since change is constant, you wonder if people crave death because it's the only way they can get anything really finished." The best part of chuck palahniuk's writings are is he writes things that we all think but never have the guts to say out loud. i would recomend this book to anyone who enjoys dark humor.
Rating:  Summary: Not really for everyone Review: I loved reading this book, but then I gave it to my friend and he could only get to about page 60. So I guess if get a laugh about a guy who's only trill in life is to talk to people who want to commit suicide, then this is the book for you. Oh and this is a satire, so don't take it seriously.
Rating:  Summary: This is our Richard Hatch, (or our Tina) Review: Wow. Damn. Better 'n Fight Club. Better 'n Choke. Damn skippy. Didn't like Invisible Monsters. Oh well. Too lazy to continue writing, but loved, loved, loved this book.
Rating:  Summary: Incredible. Review: This is the first Palahniuk novel I've read. I was mesmerized by the movie Fight Club, and when I heard it was originally a book I couldn't wait to read this author's work. I started with Survivor, and I just finished Choke. I don't think this book contains as much philosophy as Fight Club (or at least the movie), but I am so glad I read it. There are so many great quotes in this book, and so many memorable settings. These words will stay with you long after you read the book, for example, the last time I was at the airport I was looking for the holes in the stalls and hoping to find the (almost deep) writings on the walls. Unfortunately, I found neither, but the book is still stained into my memory. It's interesting in a lot of the things Tender comes across in the plot, but his philosophies are what make this a great book. It starts slow, but a month after you're done reading you'll wish you could read more.
Rating:  Summary: Eye Opener Review: In one word: Wow! This novel will blow you away. It's so full of ideas and radical thoughts that you can't help but feel amazed. This is one book that dares to look at what is wrong with our society (of course, all of it done under the form of a satire) and it tries to show us how these 'wrong' things affect our every day life to the utter most degree.Here, you have a young man who becomes a sensational celebrity. He is the only survivor of a cult where all its members killed themselves. Now, after a lot of work from publicists and agents (makeovers, a new history, endorsements and so on...), he becomes a national religious leader. But it all comes crumbling down quickly enough because, like everything in this world, he too quickly becomes something of the past, something outdated. After writing the so-so Fight Club, Palahniuk has outdone himself with this social satire. The books show us perfectly how we tend to like on thing one day and something else the next. It shows us how we love to idolize criminals and how we need to let others give our life meaning. We are all a manufactured product of society; everything we say, think, see has been manufactured by groups of people who are paid to invent the society we live in. As shocking and thought-provoking as this is, this is exactly what Survivor shows us. This book is intelligent, funny and very inventive. In one word, this book is an eye opener!
Rating:  Summary: Beginning GREAT- the rest mixed Review: The beginning of Survivor really sets a very dark, sad and original tone, with the Tender Branson ultra loser, ultra isolated character. The suicide hotline in which he tells people to just kill themselves is sadistically funny. Fertility is a great character all the way through the book. But once Tender Branson becomes a superstar(made by agents and the like) for being the last creedish cult member living(presumably) the book gets a little too flashy, a little too quick and superficial. It's still a very good book from a very good writer. But with the promise of the first half of the book it is sort of a let down to resort to (as other reviewers have mentioned on here) gimmicks. Chuck P. does write with vigor and is an easy and mostly exiciting read. I just thought this book could have gone FAR deeper and instead it seemed to have sped up, and lose me with lack of much emotion, that I felt the first half had.
Rating:  Summary: The Darker Side of the Human Spirit Review: Survivor has to be one of the best books that I have had the fortune to pick up. The novel tells the tale of the sole survivor of a religious death cult called the Creedish. The novel uniquely begins at the end of the story (it's like reading the last page first) with Chapter 47 and hurtles the reader through the events of the life of Tender Branson, our hero and foil, and how he has arrived at the start/end of the novel. The novel builds great insight into the character of Branson as he tells of his life as a member of the cult and then his eventual life in the outside world. Branson has a very cynical outlook on life and it is almost humorous to see how accurately his view of society portrays how society really is. The trek from Branson's innocence in the cult to a full blown religious media sensation is filled with interesting characters, must notably Fertility Hollis, his love interest/guiding light. Additionally this journey parodies the society of today and portrays it as one of materialism and appearances. Especially funny is the agent that represents Branson and the way that he maps out Branson's career as well as that of the rest of the world. Overall, a very dark comedy, very well written, that hurtles the reader from the end to the beginning and back again.
Rating:  Summary: Amazing follow-up to Fight Club Review: With a first novel like Fight Club, you almost expect to be disappointed by the follow-up. The sophomore novel/album/movie is usually the one that tanks, but Survivor is a definite exception. The book, like Fight Club, is actually sadistically funny. There are moments when you find yourself laughing out loud at things you should probably not laugh about. But, that's what satire is all about, isn't it? This book is a wonderful satire of the media, religion, and even those suicide hotlines. And then there is the practical advice, such as how to get blood out of a fur coat, how to eat a lobster, how to fix a facial cut in a hurry, and how to clean up broken glass. At times I found myself wanting to take notes... and wondering how Chuck Palahniuk knows all this. Come to think of it, this guy has a lot of dangerous information. Don't cross him. The concept of the novel is completely new (as far as I know). Tender is narrating his entire story into the black box as the plane goes down. (For those of you who haven't read it yet, don't worry. I'm not giving anything away that you down learn on the first page. Because we know that if someone really did that that some well-meaning, but money-hungry, publisher would get ahold of the story and publish it, you are almost able to believe that this really happened, and you're really reading about it, giving you an almost voyueristic thrill. Like Fight Club, the action of the book is told in retrospect, allowing characters to comment on things as they see them now. I don't want to give anything away, but I'll just say that I find it amazing how likeable these characters are. I really shouldn't like them, but I do... and that's a little disconcerting. This book is a great and fairly quick read. I highly recommend it to anyone who liked Fight Club (either movie or book). And if you haven't read Fight Club... well, read my review of that, too.
Rating:  Summary: Palahniuk's Best Review: This is by far the best book I ever read. It starts off like Fight Club, a man who is not happy with himself. But this man is much different, he has a strange passed and strange obsessions. This is a great social commentary and has raised my standard for books, none (even Palahniuk's others) seen to be near equal.
Rating:  Summary: A read definitely worth the mind job Review: I read Survivor because, like most everybody else, I was intrigued by Fight Club. Survivor, like Fight Club, has all the twists, turns, and funky characters you'd expect to see from an author like Palahniuk. Again, Palahniuk succeeds in poking fun at the madness of modern society. He points out the obvious that everyone else seems to miss. He points out how our society is so driven by markets, and media, and hype. I loved it most when he talks about those obsessions: "You realize that there's no point to doing anything if nobody's watching. You wonder, If there had been a low turnout at the crucifixion , would they have rescheduled?...Life is everyway the agent said. You realize that if no one's watching, you might as well stay home. Play with yourself. Watch broadcast television."
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