Chuck Palahniuk ...

I think I have read all Chuck Palahniuk's books except for Fugitives and Refugees and Choke.

Fight Club is obviously his best, but I also loved Diary and Survivor. Lullaby is amazing as well as Stanger Than Fiction. Haunted is good as well. I don't know how much I liked Invisible Monsters. It's still a good book, but it took me longer to read than the others as I found myself putting it down more often.

Anyway, more to my point.. I'm looking for any authors who write similar to Chuck. I don't think anyone at this point is up to his level of writing in the fiction genre but I'm almost done with all of his books though so I am being forced to branch out and read from some different authors. Unfortunately, I know I will still crave the Palahniuk style of writing so if you can think of any authors similar to Chuck, please tell me!


Thanks...

 

Could you explain what his style of fiction is? I have only recently come across Palahniuk on amazon.com... if I recall correctly. He was associated with writers I enjoy reading such as Henry Roth, James Joyce, Ralph Ellison, among others. But you probably read the men already.

Of course, I would have to go through my cookies (which I'm forced to empty out almost every night) to know exactly which way my cybernetic travails took me... This was a couple of days ago.

 

No, no. I went on amazon.com just now and Chuch was associated with Bret Easton Ellis, and them.
I usually read stuff that's less plotty and more existential... But may I suggest John Rechy, or even Richard Price...

 

Get Choke it is one of my favorites of his. I just finished Lullaby this morning and that was great. He is becoming one of my favorite authors.

 

I love all of his stuff. Invisible Monsters was the first I read. I lvoed it. You should also look up his short story "Guts" it's very, ummm...well very Palahniuk. I find that Vonnegut is kind of like Chuck in the sense that he is very honest about people and their motives and thoughts. Have you looked into what authors have influenced his writing? Maybe you can find something similar that way. I eat up his books in hours flat

 

the only one i have is choke and of course i saw fight club like most everyone else.

 

I love Invisible Monsters
Fight Club is relaly fucking awesome as well
Diary is pretty boring
and I still need to read the other stuff

 

Thought I'd dig up this old thread. I'm in love with Palahniuk's writing. Has anyone read Rant yet? It looks good, but I'm waiting for it to come out on paperback. As far as how much I liked his books, well Choke is my favorite. Then Invisible Monsters and Fight Club are a close second. Survivor was pretty good but I wasn't a fan of the ending. Diary is the first one I read and while his style got me hooked, I wasn't impressed by the overall work. Lullaby was decent. I got a little bored with Stranger then Fiction and have not yet read Haunted. I'm pretty excited to see what Rant is all about. For those looking for a similar writer, the only one who has come close to him is Tawni O'Dell. She's relatively new, just releasing her third novel this year. I read Backroads which was phenomenal. I'm currently reading Coal Run and can't wait to read her latest, Sister Mine. That one is still only in hard cover I believe. I also love Wally Lamb. He only has 2 novels out. The books are not quite as edgy, but they are extremely good. His books are about 99% character development, like Palahniuk. Quirky too.

A lot of people compare Palahniuk to Brett Easton Ellis. I started reading Glamorama and I HATED it. It was nothing like Palahniuk. This is simply an author that Palahniuk likes to read. I think that was the misunderstanding.

 

I absolutely love Chuck Palahniuk. I read Rant, Haunted, Diary, Invisible Monsters, Lullaby, and Stranger than Fiction. Rant was actually amazing and I was skeptical because Palahniuk tends to reuse themes and such in many of his books. Yeah, some of his universal themes are still there, but its completely different. I think Invisible Monsters is my all time favorite book by him though.

The only writer that I can compare Palahniuk to is David Sedaris. Sedaris has a wholly different writing style, but some of his themes are similar. He also writes a lot of social satire.

 

Sweet I'll have to check him out. I can't wait to read Rant!

 

My neighbor across the street put a copy of 'Haunted' in my hands just yesterday...only halfway through it and I'm addicted. Will be on the lookout for more of his work in the future. Saw 'Fight Club', and want to know what the book was like.

 

I've only read Invisible Monsters and I loved it very much. Such a great book, just gets better and better with each page.

I have Haunted but haven't read it yet.

 

I've read "Choke" and "Survivor", both kicked ass.

 

I love Chuck Palahniuk. Choke was by far my favourite. Haunted had some exceptional bits (Guts of course!) I have to be careful when I read them though, because my parents don't allow his books in the house, so I can only read them occasionally.

 

I have only read Haunted so far, but I really got into it. I loved the back and forth of the story line. Are all of his books like that?

 

rant by far has been one of his best concept books.
completely 3rd person oral biography of an individual who happens to already be deceased.
amazing.

that's about the best explanation of it i can say minus spoilers

 

I used to like him a lot more than I do now... Fight Club was excellent and still is, but I grew a bit tired of his style of characters. I know it is his writing style, but I don't find them particularly believable. Anyway, if anyone wants other authors who write a bit like him (or influenced him) check out the following:

Kurt Vonnegut ("Slaughterhouse 5" or "Breakfast of Champions")
Irvine Welsh ("Trainspotting" or "Filth")
Will Self ("How the Dead Live" or "The Book of Dave")

 

Not all of his books are like Haunted, they generally follow a more linear storyline, ie. without the hopping around of perspectives.

 

^ are you kidding me?

I've only read one of hsi books that followed a linear storyline, and that was Diary (which is pretty boring)

 

diary is probably the worst of all his books.
so i'd suggest trying another.

if you want a flashy one try Rant

it's his latest and it's told by the 3rd person perspective in the form of an oral biography of sorts.

very good i'd say.