Rating: 
Summary: True Chuck
Review: This is the second of Chuck Palahniuk's books that I've read, and although it does not quite deliver what Fight Club did, it's still amazing, twisted and incredibly Chuck.One thing about this book is that it delivers constant tension. I had a lot of trouble sitting down and reading for any length of time, because there was no relief. However, I feel that this led up towards the end. Most of the book was spent guessing, "what could twists could possibly occur in this?" I think that I was somewhat spoiled by Fight Club, because I was expecting twists and turns. Through most of the book, it is straight narrative, talking about what is happenning, what has been happenning, with few bends in the road. There is more open gruesomeness in this book, with the main character having her jaw blown off. I think that this is what the first part of the book is established on. In the final parts of the book, all of the characters are brought together in a complex network of unexpected relationships, which to me was the most mindblowing part of the book. The author has worked in an utterly believeable connection between all of the characters, which is the twisted part of this book. It manages to tie up every single loose end that you could possibly find in this book. I would definately recommend reading Invisible Monsters, especially if you are a Chuck fan. And remember to keep looking for the links within the story. They make everything much more interesting. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Simply stunning!
Review: This book is very well written. All I really have to say is that it is a book you won't want to put down and it is EXTREMELY unpredictable. Personally, I read the whole book in one sitting and I have read it two times more. If you have ever read any of his other books you can agree this would be a great addition to your collection. However, Invisible Monsters was not as interesting as Fight Club was, but then again, no novel I've read is as captivating as Fight Club.
Rating:
Summary: Pahlaniuk's best so far
Review: Like all of Chuck Pahlaniuk's novels, "Invisible Monsters" combines off-color humor, a bizarre, twist-filled plot, and the author's own brand of unique social commentary. I think this one may well do the best job of it, though. I find it funnier than "Fight Club," deeper than "Choke," and more interesting plot-wise than "Lullaby" or "Survivor." It's not Palahniuk's easiest book to get into, but for what it's worth, I got the most out of it. It's very weird on the surface, with a literally faceless narrator and a plot concerning cross-dressing, sex changes, duplicity, and betrayal. But like in all Chuck Palahniuk novels, there's something profound buried beneath the weirdness. In the case of "Invisible Monsters," it's an examination of how perceive ourselves and others and how we're shaped by societal expectations. Brandy Alexander, the cross-dressing wannabe transvestite, is essentially the vessel Pahlaniuk uses to get his points across. She preaches the importance of constantly reinventing yourslef, spouts lines like "Everything you want, you've been trained to want," and says she chose to become a woman because doing the most unthinkable thing you can think of is the only way to achieve true freedom. She's the most memorable of the book's cast of memorable characters, and it adds up to Pahlaniuk's most memorable novel.
Rating:
Summary: Bizarre Hilarity..The Jackass Crew has nothing on these guys
Review: If I had to recommend a single Palahniuk book, other than the justifiably overhyped Fight Club, it would be this one. Not as meandering as Choke, self-righteous as Survivor, and as brief as Lullaby. Invisible Monsters is another one of his books that plays itself as a film within your head...you try not to gasp in horror and laugh at the same time. It has a solid story and a concrete ending! Palahniuk needs to follow this model using his style as a assault on your imagination. I'm suprised that this is not as popular as Fight Club...seeing as how this is every bit as stylistic as it was. For those of you that can't get Brad Pitt out of your head when you read about Tyler Durden, this is a good one to pick up before a film version steals that purity from you. It's cheaply priced and a fun read...the pages blaze by.
Rating:
Summary: Review I wrote of Invisible Monsters for my school newspaper
Review: Beginning Invisible Monsters, I admit it-I was biased. I mean, this is Chuck Palahniuk we're talking about here! This is Chuck Palahniuk, the man who debuted with his brutal intellectual assault known as Fight Club. This is Chuck Palahniuk, author of five books and each appears to get progressively more bizarre. This man is borderline genius.
The first noticeable aspect to any reader must surely be Palahniuk's obscure writing structure and style. He is repetitious with his catch phrases in the most delightful way. The main character and narrator is Shannon McFarland, a beauty queen turned monster in a horrendous "accident." Shannon is an ex-model because of the fact that she only has half of a face after her "accident," but she still thinks like there is a photographer in her head, demanding from her the look of different emotions such as compassion, lust, courage, or patience, which is then followed by the "flash" of the camera. This is how Shannon sees herself, in her first person narration, and she also commonly uses the phrase "jump to..." which leads the reader into the horrible incidents in her past or right back into the future because she is constantly living in her reminiscent state of mind.
Palahniuk uses mantras such as these to assist the reader in fully grasping just how strangely all of the characters think and function, not solely the narrator. This usage of uncommon narrative structure is present in Fight Club as well. Read the book or watch the movie. You'll see what I mean and you'll fall in love with Palahniuk's work.
It isn't merely his style that makes the reader wonder where they are and where Palahniuk is leading them. The characters and the plot are so twisted that to attempt to summarize would do neither any justice.
To say the least, Invisible Monsters is an intense expression on the way society has conditioned its common man to look at the world, and the crumbling utopia is seen through each and every character, major or minor.
Palahniuk is profound in his mockery of the materialistic undertone in what drives every citizen in America; he is unrelentingly sardonic when he details every type of make-up, clothing accessory, or plastic surgery operation. Through the narrator's eyes, this detailed account is like a Girl's Night Out from hell.
I will allow that this book should first be approached with caveat emptor in mind as the content is not for the extremely conservative.
Palahniuk addresses not only the aforementioned subjects, but also homosexuality and the view that many have toward it, which goes hand-in-hand with the many transsexuals that are strewn throughout the book. Without these parts, the story could not be whole as the plot twist is largely dependent upon it.
There is also the abusive usage of female hormones and other prescription medications, as well as violence, sex, and deceit. We're only missing the rock and roll.
Invisible Monsters is not exactly the most difficult of books to read.
I'd consider it to be mind candy: deep thoughts in the chocolate-coated guise of an innocent book and a weird trip through the mind of Chuck Palahniuk.
Anyone considering taking the few days to read this book should also take into account that the summary given on the back cover of the book is only a vague description of what is to come within the pages.
I proceeded with this book with a biased view and Palahniuk seems to do nothing but perpetuate that feeling. I highly recommend this book for any person who likes the strange and unusual, and those with an open mind.
If you haven't yet at least seen the movie Fight Club, I also urge you to go see that, just to get the sweet and sour taste of what exactly Chuck Palahniuk does. As for what I thought when I finished Invisible Monsters:
The photographer in my head yells, Give me passion. Give me joy. Give me complete and absolute adoration of this book.
Flash.
Rating:
Summary: interesting...
Review: Strange story to begin with but it all ties in and makes sense in the end and makes it a wonderful read.
Rating:
Summary: Palahniuk, you're a genious.
Review: In a word. Wow. This book left me speechless. I loved the way Palahniuk's words just fit together so perfectly. This has to be one of the best books that I will ever read in my lifetime.
Rating: 
Summary: Read his other work instead
Review: I was a fan of both fight club and survivor (the latter more so) and was looking forward to this read. Howver I was greatly dissapointed. I was also unimpressed with Choke (I have yet to read his most recent). I just get the impression that Chuck is trying too hard. Maybe his time has passed.
Rating:
Summary: A great read when stranded on a desert island
Review: I was too sick to snorkel for the first leg of my Fiji vacation, and read this book in three days. It's hard to judge wether I would have finished it atall were I not stranded across the globe eating penicillin, but regardless I found the humor delightfully twisted enough to keep my interest. Whatever the struggle is to make it through the book, it is well worth it for the broadway caliber ending.
Rating:
Summary: typical palahniuk
Review: Having read this after Fight Club, Survivor, and Choke, I have to say it was the least engaging of all of Chuck's novels, at least up until the final 50 pages or so. However the least of his work it way beyond pretty much anything else out there, so this book is still highly recommended. This book is filled with the sick humor characteristic of Palahniuk, which I personally find delightful (sample quote: "no matter how much you think you love somebody, you'll step back when the pool of their blood edges too close."). The plot takes many twists and turns as it constantly flashes back and jumps forward, in a style not unlike Vonnegut's in Slaughterhouse Five. The reader is forced to constantly reevaluate each character and question his or her true identity, and like most other Palahniuk books there are a few major twists at the end. However, while this book contains the brilliance of all Chuck's work, it also contains many redundancies that are apparent to one who is familiar with his work. For example, Chuck Palahniuk always seems to feel the need to come up with some sort of clever little literary device to express the emotions of a character or simply to provide an adjective. In Fight Club there was the whole "I am Joe's _____," in Choke there was "_____ isn't the right word but it's the first word that comes to mind," and in Invisible Monsters there's "Show me _____. Flash." Now, Chuck, you may find these little devices cute and convenient, but after seeing them in multiple books they are simply TIRESOME! Also, Chuck seems to be obsessed with the concept of destruction as a means of finding a new beginning, finding salvation, etc. Now this is a very interesting theme, but it's really been done to death in all the books. Keep in mind that these are truly minor qualms when compared to the greatness of my favorite writer. Any hardcore Palahniuk fan should read this book and probably will love it, but someone just getting into his work would be much better served by "Fight Club" or (my personal favorite) "Choke."
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