Survivor : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Not quite "Fight Club", but yet, that's a good thing.
Review: It seems to me that Chuck Paluhniak's sophomore follow-up to "Fight Club" doesn't quite have a place in any author's literary spectrum. It's not good enough to be a debut, and after all the accolades "Fight Club" collected, "Survivor" does a poor job of following a show that wasn't that great to begin with. The characters in "Survivor" seemed shallow to me, and Paluhniak is more concerned with making them quirky, wierd or just downright f'd up than making them real people. It also seems that he's pretty concerned with letting everyone know that he see's a bleak future ahead and that he's read the Anarchist cook-book and knows all the little secrets to the dark side of the world. A place like that may exist in life but I garauntee you the people who populate it are more real than Tender Branson and friends. The premise is exciting, and the book description paints a different picture than what I got. Chuck P. is taking on religious hypocrisy in this one, a wider target than the Yuppie corporate hypoocrisy that he tackled in "Fight Club" and he does an okay job of shooting around the bulls-eye, but never quite hitting it. Not that I could do a better job, but it seems to me like this is perhaps Vonnegut territory, with a more nihilstic kick that only a product of the past twenty-or-thirty years could deliver. It's interesting, if nothing else, tedious in places, gripping (rarely) in others, but there is a process here. Chuck P. is climbing the rungs, and as he develops as a writer so will his characters. I'm looking forward to see what his take on the millenium will be. In retrospect, I wouldn't have dropped the dough to buy this one in hardcover, and I'm glad his third effort, "Invisible Monsters" is coming straight to paper-back. David Fincher will do a fine job tweaking the problems out of "Fight Club", but "Survivor" is something that doesn't quite belong on the screen or the page. It's that rare story that should be the topic of a news segment, a momentary blip on our cultural screen. It's a good thing this book isn't kicking up the fervor "Fight Club" is, but wait until the movie trailer comes out.

Rating:
Summary: a bowel clencing, upside-down, whirling in awe read!
Review: let me tell you about Tender Branson... he had a plan... in Tender we trust... Seriously though: this is an excellent novel. Palahniuk (see, i spelled it correctly there!) is a master at crafting a world that we know exists, but we're too afraid to go there. I was glad to go there and I'll gladly go there again. So should you.

Rating:
Summary: Great Satire on Fame and Religion
Review: This was a really interesting and enjoyable novel about the trials and tribulations of false Messiah-hood. It is darkly humorous and contains many moments and ideas that are simply too odd to describe faithfully here. I can't say anymore for fear that I will ruin to book for those who haven't read it. Palahniuk seems to be a damn good writer and I am awaiting his new books. Go ahead and read it, dammit!

Rating:
Summary: Facinating storytelling -- Must be true!!
Review: The first rule about Palahniuk books is you don't talk about Palahniuk books. The second rule about Palahniuk books is everything dies sometime, it's unavoidable. The third rule about Palahniuk books is always expect something new and different. The fourth rule about Palahniuk books is you don't talk about Palahniuk books. Can't wait for number 3.

Rating:
Summary: As good as Fight Club
Review: I was expecting as good a book and got it. Maybe even better. He had more to say here and gets it across perfectly. Definate recommend from me.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant and unique novel
Review: This book is a fascinating and often hilarious satire of religion and fame. I know I'll never look at the world the same way after reading this book. If we really wanted to teach our children about the ways of the world, we'd make them read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Bizarre and Affecting
Review: Both a brilliant psychological portrait and a mesmerizing read, this books is a wonderful follow-up to this author's equally bizarre first novel. Palhaniuk creates both a modern Cain and Abel and a fable of the destructive forces of our times. Both darkly hilarious and at times filled with pathos. You will not soon forget Tender Branson, his brother Adam, his counselor, Fertility Hollis, or the people Branson works for who commnuicate with him via speakerphone. A satirical and serious work that speaks to both the strength of survival and the seductive nature of suicide.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging read, an intriguing mystery
Review: This book is a fast and compelling read, dark and funny and satisfying. If you were pleased with FIGHT CLUB, I suspect you'll get a lot out of SURVIVOR. Palahniuk has a rich and distinct voice, and he has a knack for expressing his deeply disturbing view of the world.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book
Review: a friend sent me this novel while at school because she enjoyed it, and thought i would enjoy it, she couldn't have been more right.. from the moment i picked up the novel i could not put it down. palahniuk is genious with every word he writes, and thats all i have to say.. this book was simply amazing

Rating:
Summary: Subversive Satire
Review: Chuck Palhniuk is auter in every sense of the word; by that he is highly overrated but with good reason. He is an incredible writer. In SURIVIVOR, his best, he takes a very one-dimensional set-up of a man regailing his life story in his final moments into a black box of a plane about to crash. This framework is very contrite, but Chuck follows it through and makes it work. You must consider that he writes not only these great subversive satires full of unimaginable detail and humor, but writes as an author of an author, the creator of Tender Branson who "writes" his story to the reader. This style of writing is what gives his pyscological probing such cadence. In this sense he is a genius and some of the finest details, little stories within the story, are shown in SURVIVOR.
It is clear though that there is not one single solidifying story throughout the novel. It turns many times, and like Fight Club and Choke, he goes one turn to far. But it still works. It still holds up under a literay light and SURVIVOR is really his best work to date.