Rating: 
Summary: Hip Book!
Review: The novel Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk is a stylish, fast-paced book about wanting to be different. 'Don't do what you want. Do what you don't want. Do what you're trained not to want. (221)' It teaches that not following your bliss might just be your salvation, and that reinventing yourself may mean erasing your past and making up something better. I liked the fascinating characters and how contemporary their predicaments were. The language of the book also had an amusing and trendy the ambiance. I also enjoyed how wildly inventive the story was and how easily I could fall prey to another bizarre plot twist.
The theme of the book is that you might find yourself in the last place you want to look. The main character, Shannon, whose real name you only learn the end of this perverse ride, takes on a myriad of identities before she finally finds out who she is, and only after a chaotic climax involving a assortment of unusual characters. The novel also tackles the issues of gender and sexuality is this time of advanced sex-change technology. I can relate to this book because the question of identity is a universal theme, but Palahniuk expresses it in a very Gen-X backdrop that young people can really connect to growing up in.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an open mind who enjoys contemporary fiction with hip language and style. This novel is the epitome of pop culture literature and a delightful alternative to other more conventional novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Invisible Monsters? Or merely monsters in drag? You decide
Review: This is the first novel that I've read by Chuck Palahniuk. I've seen "Fight Club," the movie, but not had the opportunity to read Chuck's own words. His writing style is quite unique is very conversational, which makes for a quick, easy, and enjoyable read. And his twisted sense of humor definitely shines through his writing. However, I think this book is better for its parts than as a whole. The first chapter was EXCELLENT, but unfortunately, it's no indication of the quality of the rest of the book, in my opinion. The only other chapter which could possibly compete was one involving conversation around the dinner table with the main character's parents. This chapter could definitely stand alone as a short story. A very humorous, twisted short story. Would I recommend "Invisible Monsters" to a friend? Probably. If only for those two chapters. If only the rest of the book was as entertaining...
Rating:
Summary: Give me detached existentialist ennui. Flash.
Review: "Another thing is no matter how much you think you love someone, you'll step back when the pool of their blood edges up too close." Chuck Palahniuk's third published novel and maybe his most powerful shows us yet again the purity of imperfection. If every lost male of our generation needs to read "fight club," then every lost female in our generation should read "invisible monsters." While "fight club" is still Palahniuk's finest novel, "invisible monsters" comes very close to match the intense nature and clever satire of "fight club." One characteristic of all Palahniuk's novels is the undeniably unique characters that fill his books. This definately has some of the most interesting in even a Palahniuk novel. The plot is very thick, it almost makes it impossible to put the book down. With twist that never seem to stop and heavy satire that cries to be heard. If you haven't yet had the pleasure of reading any of Palahniuk's works, this is a good one to start with.
Rating:
Summary: Vulgar, obscene, dirty, and wonderful
Review: Being a fan of the 'Fight Club' movie, I decided that I wanted to enter Chuck's world on a much deeper level, and so picked up this book. The book has a refreshing, and sometimes confusing writing style. The story is told in first person format, but 'jumps' to different points of time with little warning. One minute we're in the hospital, the next in Canda, the next on a bed in a furniture store. Important bits of information are often witheld from us until the impact becomes clear - at times I would back-read parts of the book to see if I missed something, only to discover that the information I wanted was to be found much later, making the book very interesting to read. This is a very funny book, in the sense that the movie 'fight club' was funny. Sometimes the humor is slapstick, sometimes caustic, sometimes unintentional. But it is funny. This is not a book for younger readers - it contains adult language, adult situations, and graphic sexual scenes. But it's not gratuitous - without those elements the book wouldn't work on the same level. Jump to me recommending this book. In the end, this is a book about identity, about love, about starting over, and is a wonderful read. Give me more great books like this.
Flash.
Rating:
Summary: In one word, WOW.
Review: As I read the other reviews I am baffled at how many negative reviews there are. I found this book to be humorous, insightful, not to mention incredibly captivating, after the first page I found it hard to put down. The characters are intruiging as well, though they are slightly hard to figure out. But that just makes the book all the more fun, it's unpredictable and the twists continued to shock me throughout the book. While this is the only Palahanuik novel that I have read as of yet I look forward to future reads. I highly recommend this to Palahanuik fans and general book lovers alike as it was an exellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Meeting Expectations
Review: Literally from cover to cover Invisible Monsters keeps your attention. Not your normal suspense book by reading in a well laid out non-chronological order, jumping all over time leaking out small information that slowly leads you to the ending. Palahniuk takes you on a journey with one girl who "faced" a horrible accident and piece-by-piece lays out the details of her life and how she got to where she was. Everything is a surprise and makes one question our idea of beauty and the costs of it. After reading many other of Palahniuk's work I had high expectations and this met all of them. Its like reading a rollercoaster, taking one on many twists and turns all leading up to that great dip just before its over. This book is an exciting and in a sense fun read that will hold ht readers attention until the end and leave the reader with a sense of fulfillment at the end.
Rating:
Summary: I'm hooked
Review: The first Chuck Palahniuk book I read was "Lullaby" which I thought was incredibly twisted and couldn't put down. I then read this one ... "Invisible Monsters". Once again I couldn't put it down. Suffice to say I am hooked on Chuck and will be reading all his other books. Although I saw the movie "Fight Club" and lived it I plan on that being my next read.
Rating:
Summary: Palahniuk Does It Again
Review: Well, once again, at the end of this book, all I could think was, "That was one hell of a book." This is the case with all of Chuck Palahniuk's outrageous and disturbingly gripping novels, especially the one in question, "Invisible Monsters." The narrator in this story is a hopeless ex-model whose stunning looks have been destroyed by an "accident" that left her horribly disfigured. She meets an almost-transexual, Brandy Alexander, and the two go on a journey together to start life over and find themselves by doing the opposite of what they should want, keeping their lives interesting, making the reader think and entertaining them at the same time. Palahniuk, as usual, takes creativity and runs with it, coming up with possibly his best narrative yet, the story jumping from one point in time to another, and forming characters that you hate, pity, and almost love all at once. This is one of Chuck's best novels, definitely better than "Fight Club" (wait, aren't all of them?). Yeah. That's all there is to it. So buy it. And read it. And love it.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best.
Review: I've been disappointed by the disappointment that other fans of Palahniuk have displayed about this novel, and often can't believe the things that I've heard. Invisible Monsters is without a doubt my favourite novel. I found that I could relate easily to the characters (though one must wonder what that says about me), and that the words written there have stuck with me for years. I've often used Invisible Monsters to create new Palahniuk fans in my friends. Though it's unmistakably different than Fight Club, which is what most people think of when they think of Chuck, I've always felt that Invisible Monsters helped me understand Palahnuik's train of thought better. In any case, anyone who loves Chuck simply must read it, even if they don't appreciate it. I swear that once you get into it, you never come back out.
Rating:
Summary: Tightly written and mostly entertaining
Review: Man, my wife is driving me nuts right now. Just absolutely n-u-t-s. What were we talking about... oh yeah, Invisible Monsters. I like to periodically roll the dice and pick up a book of which I know nothing substantial. Such was the case with this one; I was not aware that Mr. Palahniuk had written Fight Club (which I have not read, nor have I seen the movie). Invisible Monsters is a brisk read, and for the most part engaging. I thought it became a bit contrived at the end, with all the various story threads being pulled together for a fatalistic climax which seemed a bit too pat for my taste. But that can be forgiven for the fact that the rest of the work is quite satisfying.
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