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. ( )

Nel mondo di fuori, mi disse, non c'è un vero silenzio. Non il falso silenzio che ottieni quando ti tappi le orecchie così da non sentire altro che il tuo cuore pulsare, ma il reale silenzio fuori-dalla-porta.
-----
Ogni pianto o gioia diventava usuale nella nostre esistenza. Ogni emozione era decadenza. Speranze o rammarichi erano stupidi extra. Lussi.
-----
Non disperato o bisognoso, ma pieno di potenziale pronto per essere sfruttato. Non affamato. Certo, voglio dare l'impressione di valere lo sforzo. Lavato ma non stirato. Pulito ma non lucidato. Sicuro di me ma non dimesso. Voglio apparire sincero. La verità non brilla nè luccica.
-----
La gente che vuole comprare un messia cerca la qualità. Nessuno è disposto a seguire un perdente. Quando si tratta di scegliere un salvatore, non si accontentano di un semplice essere umano.
-----
Nel cielo sopra le nostre teste, c'è lo stesso sole che ci guarda fare gli stessi errori miliardi di volte. ( )

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