By far Palahniuk's best work, in my opinion. ( )

Dark, weird, cynical, absurd, full of dark humour. My type of book! ( )

I didn't enjoy reading this novel at all.

I'm such a voracious fan of the dark humour/ satire/ social criticism combination which Vonnegut produces that I've hunted down nearly every novel he's written.

Still, I was put onto Palahniuk by a comparison to Vonnegut, and I have to say that don't see the similarity at all except for their use of lists and repetition as comedic schtick, and then, the schtick isn't what interests me in the first place.

As an author, Palahniuk strikes me as lacking the very depth that he criticizes society for lacking, and while this could be spun around as being a "satiric" or "ironic" element of his story, it rubbed me the wrong way as I found myself bored and completely uninspired by the story and the way the personalities of the characters were explored.

I mean really, Survivor was about some pretty heavy themes: suicide, death, faith (and brainwashing), fame, and mainstream pop-culture society. Yet, the only theme that was really explored was the fame aspect which is what all of the rave reviews on the back of my copy praise him for exposing. All of the characters felt flat and two-dimensional, and even the humor felt very derivative - most of it involved making pop culture references to our prescription drug culture, pornography, or consumerism at various circumstances.

For anyone who has thought about the nature of society and culture, and the mainstream on their own time this novel will just bore you to death. ( )

I have to read it again. Its one you have to finish before you judge it. ( )

incredibly weird, incredibly hilarious, incredibly incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Palahniuk novel and the absurd web he spins. ( )