Book Review: Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk)

  It was the cult favorite movie "Fight Club" starring Brad Pitt which introduced me to Chuck Palahniuk and his style of transgressional fiction as he calls it. That is in layman's terms books about people who feel trapped and depressed living within society, and "Fight Club is his most famous work. The novel follows the life of an unnamed Protagonist who suffers from severe insomnia. He believes himself to be suffering without end and even attends support groups for terminally ill people such as cancer support groups, in order to gain sympathy where he meets Marla Singer, who also fakes.
  One day he meets a mysterious man named Tyler Durden and together they establish an underground fighting club for men to fight their depression away. Through this club both him and Tyler find a way to feel like their lives have a purpose. Tyler has a desire for chaos within society and pranks such as to "wipe my ass with the Mona Lisa" which leads him and his followers down a dangerous path of destruction.

Character Development 8.5/10
The book features three main characters each unique "Tyler", "Marla" and the narrator. Since the entire story takes place within the narrators head any other less significant characters whom he didn't car for like "Bob" and "Angel Face" don't see much development.

Dialogue/Monologue 9.5/10
The narrators monologues are fantastically disturbing, a real glimpse into the mind of a lunatic. 

Memorable Quotes or Scenes 9.5/10

The book's greatest attribute are the memorable lines which will cause you to put the book down pause and ponder about today's society.

"Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else".

Engagement 8/10
An entertaining book yet I needed to read it twice to really come to grips with what was happening. At first I found it a bit difficult to grasp what was going on (the book beings at the end) so maybe watching the movie also will help those of us who are reading Chuck Palahniuk for the first time.

Impact 9.5/10
Definitely leaves a lasting impact on your thought process, if you sometimes suffer from social anxiety or shyness then this book will help you overcome these roadblocks. The rules and expectations imposed on us by society are truly brought into question by this book.

Overall Rating 9/10
A great place to start a literature affair with Chuck Palahniuk, the book will leave you feeling like you should quit your job and beat up your boss. A favorite of mine among modern fiction.

Book Review: Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)

A timeless classic this novella has seen several adaptions into both movies and plays. A tragic story of an unlikely pair of best friends Lennie and George. The two are travelling men who work on ranches to get by in a world where every man is for himself. Lennie is mentally challenged and can be accurately described as a friendly but easily startled man of a huge size. George is a wise guy and a dreamer whom Lennie depends on to survive in the tough times of 1930s America. 

  The story has been challenged many times over the years for apparent offensive and racist language which I don't believe is justified, Steinbeck does an excellent job of absorbing us into the world of the ranches of the 1930s where I doubt punctuation or vulgar language concerned people in the slightest.
  The principle theme of the book is freedom, which to George means someday owning land. He dreams of owning his own place and living off the "phat of the land" with Lennie but the simple nature of his childhood friend leads the pair into trouble frequently and the presence of a flirtatious young lady on the ranch with her rowdy husband worries George.

Character Development 9.5/10
The books is a a short story but yet Steinbeck portrays greatly intriguing characters fantastically whom I felt genuine admiration and in other cases loathing for. The great achievement of this book is how we sympathies so much with the characters after such a short story.

Dialogue/Monologue 8.5/10
The dialogue is coloured nicely with slang, full of abbreviations yet easily read. There is a constant necessity for George to repeat things to Lennie but it doesn't ever drag on.

Memorable Quotes or Scenes 9/10
Quite possibly the most memorable ending to a story ever (note its not the quote below).

"They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of em' ever get it. Just like heaven. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out there. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land. It's just in their head."

Engagement 8.5/10
An entertaining and hard to put down kind of book but too short to keep you awake at night, I read it over two evenings.

Impact 9/10
Most definitely leaves a lasting impact about friendship and how we view people who are more mentally challenged in life, will be a book I re-read again in years to come.

Overall Rating 8.9/10
One of my favorites and a book I love to quote, definite must read and if you can't read then you need to watch the movie version for the great story.

Book Review: The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

  I heard about a Brazilian author by the name of Paulo Coelho from a Hungarian friend one evening in Budapest whilst drinking my last Soproni and smoking the last of my cheap cigarettes before the return to Ireland. The name slipped my mind however for a few months at least. One day whilst googling critically acclaimed authors looking for inspiration his name crept up again, and luckily I found a copy of his most well known book "The Alchemist" at a local charity shop.

  The story centers around a young shepherd boy from Spain who's name I don't believe was revealed instead he was merely addressed as "the boy" through out the book. He embarks on a journey of discovery after experiencing a dream about a treasure he believed was nearby the Pyramids of Giza. Putting all his trust in this dream he sells his sheep and heads across the Mediterranean for Africa in search of material treasure and along the way finds love and acquires great wisdom from such characters as a Gypsie, a King, Merchants and an Alchemist. The entire story centers around the books quote that "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" but along the way the boy faces obstacles and learns that "The secret of life though is to fall seven times and to get up eight times".

 The time period in which the books is set is never revealed but my guess would be the 19th century. Omens and forms of magic (such as speaking to the earths elements) play a major part in the plot so if you lack an imagination you may find this book frustrating. In fact it is in essence a simple book which can be read in a day or two. While I enjoyed it, I did fail to see at first how it deserved the great reputation. I can recommend not approaching the book with too high expectations because it is afterwards that you realise how the story has stuck with you and seems to have provided a life lesson on striving to reach goals. 

  Character Development 6/10

By far the books weakest attribute. Nothing is really know of any of the characters in this book, little is know of the main character either other then that he is a Shepherd. If the book had been longer maybe the characters could have been developed further.

  Dialogue/Monologue 9/10

The books strongest asset, clever dialogue between the boy and the various people he meets along his journey is what makes the book most engaging as we witness his growing maturity through his words with strangers.

  Memorable Quotes or Scenes 8/10

The book contains many memorable quotes especially from the king and the alchemist. There is an especially memorable scene where the boy speaks to the sun and wind in order to help achieve his goal.

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure"

  Engagement 8/10

The book was very engaging and I read through it very fast unwilling to put it down, however it is too short to capture your imagination for more then a day or two.

  Impact 8/10

The book can clearly have a huge influence on the lives of people who are afraid to chase their dreams. It definetly leaves a lasting impact but maybe not as much as other more dense books.

Overall Rating is a 7.8 out of 10, definitely worth reading and a good place to start with Paulo Coelho books.

Gaia

Mir called his many grandsons around the fireplace, pausing for a moment he congratulated himself on his life, leaving behind no less then 17 grandchildren to pass on his genes after just 170 years. His longtime partner Nim had proven a great catch, proving more then adequately fertile. He smiled remembering the wonderful morning that he awoke to the feeling of a strange tingling smell in his nostrils that could only mean one thing. After just 13 years Nim was ovulating for him, at the time he had recently published a well received article as the lead astronomer on the study of extra terrestrial life. This brought more joy to his thoughts. Today was his Birthday and his Grandchildren gathered around, no doubt curious as ever. His species curiosity was their greatest asset.

   His grandchildren like him had inherited a love for the night sky, every now and then when the two suns would slip below the horizon for a few hours they would beg to come sit in the observatory with him.

"Tell us about the life that surrounds us they pleaded" the youngest grandchild begged.

"Its his birthday I doubt he wants to work tonight" Nim chuckled knowing full well her partner loved nothing more then to tell fascinating stories of the people from Gaia.

Reaching into his pockets Mir pulled out some still frames he had taken recently when observing Gaia through the observatory's giant telescope, and passed them around. Each as amazed as the other.

   "Luckily there is no black holes between us and Gaia and so the light 140 light years away remains constant, in fact they can see our brighter sun Achernar appear as a dot in their night sky." explained Mir.

   "Can they see us?" exclaimed Mil a little bit frightened, the grandson who already had his heart set on becoming a Guru of the night sky.

   "As of yet no, but I can't be certain"

   "How come?"

   "I watch the people of Gaia from 140 light years away Mil you see"

   "So that mean we see them 140 years in the past and not as they are now?"

   "Exactly beamed Mir", proud of his grandson

   "As I see them now they have relatively recently discovered the vastness of their own planet, discovering tribes of other Gaian's that were separated by vast quantities of water"

   "Can they not move on their water?" Mil exclaimed even more frightened.

   "They have liquid water everywhere, unlike here very little is frozen as they live very close to their star. It is the source of all their life and also their moon is abnormally huge"

   "Wow so they depend on the star?"

   "Yes they have not reached our level of advancement and so depend on their star for all life, They used to worship and love their star, honoring its gift of life and practicing great faith in the universe"

   "What happened? Surely they still worship their nature"

   "No they traded that for an egotistical view that God created them in his own image and they brought violence on those that worshiped the Stars and Nature, this is why I don't recommend a travel to Gaia they are incredibly violent, They believe themselves to be more intelligent then all life even other Gaian's."

   "They fight amongst themselves?"

   "Throughout their history once a more advanced tribe finds another they would declare war. Intimidated by different intelligence, beliefs and cultures, always greedy for more resources. I do not know how much more advanced they are now but I don't want to see them visited in my time as I have no doubt they would react violently"

   "How does their nature differ? do they not orbit a larger planet?" asked Mil curious as ever.

   "No they only orbit a Star, in a circle"

   "But then where does  the planets fire come from?"

   "Their planet is not covered in fires like ours, our orbit is an elipse around a Gas Giant Planet causing great friction inside our core resulting in all this lava which melts the ice.

 Their ice is melted by their close proximity to a Star. They do have some fire from the planets core however as their planet is divided into plates and along these plates you will find many tribes taking the risk of being melted in exchange for the planets resources."

Mil was left with still so many questions as he flicked through the photographs, one showed a massive wall stretching for miles, another showed lines of creatures drawn on the ground. He wondered if he would ever get to visit one day, Mir as if reading his mind.

   "Traveling such a distance is difficult within a lifetime Mil, we shouldn't make contact until they have reached greater maturity, for their own safety. As we speak they are fast approaching their life renaissance should they survive, this will make for exciting observations and no doubt much more science fiction titles about life on Gaia"

Mil remembered back to what he had been thought in school about the life renaissance. The generations before him began to use their mind for great achievements of creativity, engineering and love. When intelligence and spirituality became the main subjects thought to the children. When they realized the full potential of all their minds when put to good use. Now his kind were capable of life on other moons and mined asteroids for resources. His kind unlike so many would stand the great test of geological time.

Looking at the photo of Gaia with the massive wall stretching for miles across a continent his optimism for the people of Gaia began to fade. He was not as excited at the prospect of their doubtful future.

Irony...

Just a quick thought on the troubles in Palestine, heres two extracts from wikepedia.

"Zionism (Hebrew: ציונות‎, Tsiyonut) is a form of nationalism of Jews and Jewish culture that supports a Jewish nation state in territory defined as the Land of Israel. Zionism supports Jews upholding their Jewish identity and opposes the assimilation of Jews into other societies and has advocated the return of Jews to Israel as a means for Jews to be liberated from anti-Semitic discrimination, exclusion, and persecution that has occurred in other societies "

"Nazism ..... Major elements of Nazism have been described as far-right, such as allowing domination of society by people deemed racially superior, while purging society of people declared inferior which were said to be a threat to national survival.......
The Nazis promoted German territorial expansionism to gain Lebensraum ("living space") for
German settlers and to bring labor, food and materials into the nation for growth.^"

See any similarities? Its like in school when the bullied grew up to become a bully

Time to make more Time

Polyphasic sleep!
I heard of this a year ago and now its appeared again in a book I'm reading.
Imagine living life with 2 hours sleep a day and not being tired? That would give me an extra 3 months a year.
Our essential 8 hourse sleep routine is a myth. Invented in the industrial revolution to suit the 9-5 man.
Different cultures through-out history have had different sleeping patterns. Man can survive on 20 minute naps every 4 hours, it's been proven. The long term side effects are unknown however.... Living on siesta's alone.
The transition from sleeping at night to napping now and then is apparently living hell until your brain readjusts itself but an extra 6 hours in the day would reap so many benifits!
If you don't believe then just google Uberman sleep. For now I need to do more research.

You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals

My friend recently spoke of the one. She recently meet a guy whom she said "could be the one".
The one is that person who makes you feel needed, indispensable and wants to climb up your butt crack and mate with your ego. I don't blame her for looking out for this guy
Its wired into her brains by TV, Church, Parents etc. to find someone compatible that considers you of their standards and labels it marriage.
Has anyone ever heard of lek mating in animals?
Its when a bunch of male Grouse gather in a field and female Grouse wonder about until they find a suitable alpha male to shag and then leave. Usually this means that maybe 2 male grouse fertilize 50 fighting female grouse. Animals eh?
But is this much different to the TV show "Take Me Out"?
Or 3am in the night club?

Our generation in growing up in a world where men please women and women complain about it...
Why?
Because women wanted equal rights and now your realizing that you got loving men and had more power when you were oppressed.
Not too long ago women waited to be charmed by a nice man, now women hit the streets in packs on Saturday nights and hunt down prince Charming.
Everyday I see a couple where the girl has assumed the role of the alpha male. Supporting her bitch in Chinos that she charmed in the nightclub with her fat ass.

Marriage no longer means happy ever after. Its more like when a stud dog is shagging the bitch in heat and his dick swells up meaning they are briefly stuck together for an awkward moment after sex.... That is animal marriage....
Are we so different?
None of your childhood love stories started with, "he bought me a jaeger bomb".
In every animal there is the gender that chases, charms and courts. Almost always the male.
Women stop chasing after that guy, your only going to upset yourselves.
Someday a guy will love you half as much as his own ego.