Fight Club centers on a nameless narrator whose job it is to determine whether or not recalls are necassary for a major car manufacturer. He's generally unhappy with his life, and with how consumerism has forced him to be exactly like everyone else. His body responds to his mental (maybe spiritual) anguish by inflicting him with a severe case of insomnia, which he discovers he can treat by attending support groups for various fatal/life-changing illnesses or conditions.
His unique form of therapy is rendered useless when another faker, Marla Singer, starts visiting the same support groups that he does. He finds that with another faker present, he can't release the emotions he needs to release, and thus, can't sleep. They eventually work out a schedule (which is in Marla's favour) so that they don't have to see each other again at the groups. Eventually the narrator meets Tyler Durden, a free spirit who works low-paying jobs seemingly just for the fun of screwing around while on the clock and getting away with childish pranks. When the narrator's luck takes a turn for the worse, he moves in with Durden. Durden confesses that he's never been in a fight before, and would like to be in one. The narrator obliges, and they beat each other up. Both are surprised at how good it felt, better than therapy. Eventually more men join in in their late-night brawls, and Fight Club is born. As Fight Club grows and spreads across the country, Durden recruits the most loyal (and mindless) fighters and starts a new group, Project Mayhem. The group's ultimate goal is to eventually do away with consumerism and to initiate the downfall of civilization, a goal which the narrator is aghast at. After several scary encounters with the diehard Project Mayhem and the clearly insane Tyler, the narrator takes it upon himself (with aid from the reluctant Marla) to stop Durden's plans and disband Project Mayhem. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - humorous Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Romance/Romance Problems Yes Kind of romance: Kind of sport: Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Sports Story? Yes Lover is Unmarried Love Triangle? Yes Main Character Gender - Male Main Adversary Identity: - Male Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () United States Yes City? Yes Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - Weiner talk! Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |