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28.2%ANMag Issue 21 Entertainment
Three Novels by Chuck Palahniuk
By Shrief Fadl, Staff Writer
Kuwait City, Kuwait − One is tempted to describe Chuck Palahniuk's writing as shockingly violent. However, not only would this be a gross oversimplification, it would also be an inaccurate portrayal of a writer whose novels are original, intense and delightfully satirical. Although his most famous novel is Fight Club, there are two other novels that are noteworthy: Survivor and Invisible Monsters.
In his most famous novel, Fight Club (published in 1996), Palahniuk focuses on themes such as commercialism, materialism and the role of men in modern American culture. The story follows an unnamed protagonist who forms an underground fighting club as a result of his growing disenchantment with American society and his chronic insomnia. The club was initially created as a form of catharsis for those, who like the protagonist, have grown disillusioned with, well, pretty much everything. The most attractive thing about Fight Club is that it appeals to the modern man, as throughout the story, Palahniuk focuses on how people try to find meaning in their lives through consumerism and how such an endeavor is ultimately meaningless. At one point in the story, the protagonist comments on the contents of his fridge as being "full of condiments but no real food". Although it has been often criticized for its overt depiction of violence, upon further reflection, it is clear that such violent scenes are necessary. The whole point of the story is that men have grown tired of merely being cogs in a giant machine, whether in their jobs or in social circles. The men in Fight Club crave the chaos that results from their endeavors, for it is through this chaos that their lives gain meaning.
Palahniuk's second novel, Survivor (published in 1999) is much more satirical than Fight Club. Survivor follows Tender Branson who is a member of a religious cult that sends out its members to work as servants for society's elite. These members are taught to fear most human pleasures, and they await a sign from God, telling them to release themselves, or in lament terms, commit suicide. When the sign comes, most do commit suicide, and eventually Tender becomes the only surviving member of the cult, which ultimately leads him to become a pseudo-religious icon. Palahniuk's writing in Survivor is very satirical and at times quite cynical, not only about the media, but also about any kind of greater meaning in life. It is because of this that Survivor seems to contain certain nihilistic elements. In fact, at one point, the protagonist claims that at the end of life, there is neither heaven nor hell, only death.
Keeping in tune with his other work, Survivor has a shock factor, and many critics feel that at times they are not necessary and are there only to shock the reader and nothing more. Although it may seem like that, I urge these critics to review these scenes carefully, and I am sure they can find some kind of symbolic relation to the themes of the novel in that shocking scene.
The most shocking and most disturbing of all of Palahniuk's novels is Invisible Monsters. Yet, this alone was not enough to stop it from being adapted into a graphic novel. The story follows three characters as they travel across America. Much like many of Palahniuk's other novels, the story jumps around to different points in the narrator's life. The main protagonist is Daisy, who was once a beautiful young model but is now disfigured and unable to speak as a result of an accident. During her stay in the hospital, she meets Brandy Alexander who helps her deal with her psychological trauma. Together with her ex-boyfriend, they embark on a road trip filled with sex, drugs and disturbing instances. Like his other novels, Invisible Monsters tackles the ideas of materialism and commercialism. Yet, it does not stop there. The novel takes a more personal look at the life of a person driven by materialism, and what better candidate for such an exploration than a model? At certain points in the story, the reader's jaw will quite literally drop; it seems that one of Chuck Palahniuk God-given talents is to shock and surprise the reader again and again. Although the story is quite graphic at times, it is still worth reading. This is because certain ideas and concepts in the novel hold true to most readers, and that is perhaps one of the most shocking things of all, that amidst all of this chaos and gore, the story still somehow relates to you.