Chuck Palahniuk: Fight Club/Haunted

Some time ago I finished Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club. I loved the film and heard good stuff about the original author so expectations where quite high.

Fincher directed the movie and he’s good in what he’s doing. The book contrasts with the movie. Quotes are re-attributed, the narrator is made more sympathic for the audience, whole sections where cut to make the script less controversial. Even after watching the film the book surprises: scenes that took long minutes watching are handled in mere two sentences. And the style of those is direct, brutal and graphic.

I really liked the book. Its ending just blows the film’s. I do not understand why Fincher didn’t kept more to the script.

The book’s afterword is even better. Chuck describes with a bit of disgust how the film turned out to be a block buster, how Tyler Durden got famous and people started reusing his quotes. By coincidence I saw a poster for a music gig in Klagenfurt last weekend, one of the band’s names was “Paper Street Soap Company” – I’m still wondering if they knew that the film was based upon a book.. or had any ideaof the author’s feeling for re-using names from his film.

After reading “Fight Club” I’ve started another book from the same author: Haunted. Picture me laughing at the “Parental advisory” sticker that is part of its cover, picture me 20 minutes later: pale, understanding why some people collapsed at readings. Great book, don’t read it, if you’re faint at heart.

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