cp

When it comes down to modern literature, our generation seems blessed with more than enough ways to feed a reader (or two). Quality on the other hand remains hidden in the far away kingdom of Hard-to-find. As with most things, quality and quality look likely to remain very far from each other. Yet, Chuck Palahniuk manages to impose his enigmatic stand in the world of modern art; and its darker part. Sombre, twisted (sometimes), thought provoking, passionate, heart breaking, gut-wrenching and the list goes on… all we’ve come to realise after years of Palahniuk, is that the Washington born author has a prodigious literary touch, and a fine taste for the darker arts.

CP’s pieces were never going to be seen anywhere near the mass produced “pop stars” of modern literature. The touch of “everything” and “everyone” the pioneer of transgressional literature leaves in his work adds a raw and savagely appealing side to his characters; their actions always seem hit those honest enough (to themselves at least) to switch shoes and eyes for a moment (at least).

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Those who find the act of reading tedious will probably have come to hear about the avant-garde man of words through David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999); where Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham-Carter brought the gritty universe of Palahniuk to glorious life in a cinematographic adaptation that cemented its name as a mantra of liberalism (among the “middle children of history”?). Others who love a good read might just find all this useless, for the iconic author is more than just a name to fiction lovers, with titles such as Damned (2011), Survivor (1999) and Lullaby (2002).

The universe of Chuck Palahniuk does not only come with the macabre, but also with the writer’s unique style of defying mainstream while stirring some “sense” in even the most stubborn ones; the only evasive manoeuvre to the phenomena seems to be ignorance, which comes as near impossible when the transgressional genre only seems to be inviting more readers in as the clock ticks time away.

While Fight Club remains a cult title in both forms (film and literature), Palahniuk’s writing has been at the heart of many other fine “pieces”. The writer’s first New York Times bestseller, Choke, was also turned into a movie in 2008; while the number of people fainting during his public reading has only turned the spotlight on the man himself.

Who is Chuck Palahniuk? What’s so different about his stuff?

The answers to this only seem conveyable through personal experience. Try, taste before you dive… However, as someone familiar with the realm, I can only suggest it being a daunting and daring experience for those who question (things you only ask yourself) and sometimes have a hard time finding the right answer. Chuck Palahniuk might not answer them (or he might), but his works are likely to provide you with the right ammunition in the quest for those answers.

Until then, the prolific writer celebrates his birthday this week, and the amazing line up revealed comes as a fairly excessive display of care to his fans and the literary crowd alike.

 

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