Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk
Palahniuk atBookConin June 2018
Born	Charles Michael Palahniuk (1962-02-21)February 21, 1962 Pasco, Washington,U.S.
Occupation	Novelist essayist
Alma mater	University of Oregon
Period	1996–present
Genre	Fiction horror satire
Literary movement	MinimalismPostmodernism
Notable works	Fight Club Choke Rant Invisible Monsters
Signature
Website
www.chuckpalahniuk.net

Charles Michael"Chuck"Palahniuk(/ˈpɔːlənɪk/;born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist who describes his work astransgressional fiction.He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories. His first published novel wasFight Club,which was adapted into afilm of the same title.

Early life

Palahniuk was born inPasco, Washington,the son of Carol Adele (née Tallent) and Fred Palahniuk.He hasFrenchandUkrainianancestry.His paternal grandfather migrated from Ukraine to Canada and then to New York in 1907.

Palahniuk grew up living in a mobile home inBurbank, Washington.His parents separated when he was 14 years old, and they subsequently divorced, often leaving him and his three siblings to live with their maternal grandparents at their cattle ranch ineastern Washington.Palahniuk acknowledged in a 2007 interview that he is a distant nephew of actorJack Palance,and that his family had talked of distant relations with Palance.

Palahniuk attended theUniversity of Oregon,graduating with a degree in journalism in 1986. He interned at the localpublic radiostation,KLCC,as part of his coursework.

Career

Early career

Palahniuk wrote for his local newspaper for a short while but then began working forFreightliner Trucksas a diesel mechanic, continuing until his writing career took off. During that time, he wrote manuals on fi xing trucks and had a stint as a journalist, a job to which he did not return until after he became a successful novelist. After casually attending a seminar byLandmark Education,Palahniuk quit his job as a journalist in 1988.He performed volunteer work for ahomeless shelterand volunteered at ahospiceas an escort, providing transportation for terminally ill people, taking them tosupport groupmeetings. He ceased volunteering upon the death of a patient to whom he had grown attached.

Palahniuk began writing fiction in his early 30s. By his account, he started writing while attending workshops for writers that were hosted byTom Spanbauer,which he attended to meet new friends. Spanbauer largely inspired Palahniuk's minimalistic writing style.

Fight Club

After his first novel,Invisible Monsters,was rejected by all publishers he submitted it to, he began work on his first published novel,Fight Club.Palahniuk wrote this story in his spare time while working for Freightliner. After initially publishing it as a short story (which became chapter 6 of the novel) in the 1995 compilationPursuit of Happiness,Palahniuk expanded it into a full novel, which, contrary to his expectations, a publisher accepted.While the original hardcover edition of the book received positive reviews and some awards, it had a short shelf life.

Initially, Palahniuk struggled to find aliterary agentand went without one until after the publication ofFight Club.After he began receiving attention from20th Century Fox,Palahniuk was signed by actor and literary agent,Edward Hibbert.Hibbert eventually guided and brokered the deal that tookFight Clubto the big screen.In 1999, thefilm adaptationby directorDavid Fincherwas released.The film was abox office disappointment(although it was No. 1 at the U.S. box office in its first weekend) and critical reaction was mixed, but acult followingsoon emerged as the DVD of the film became popular upon release.Three editions of the novel have been published in paperback, in 1999, in 2004 (with a new introduction by the author about the success of the film adaptation), and in 2005 (with an afterword by Palahniuk).

Invisible Monsters,Survivor,andChoke

A revised version ofInvisible Monsters,as well as his fourth novel,Survivor,were published in 1999. A few years later Palahniuk managed to complete his firstNew York Timesbestseller,the novelChoke,which later was made into amovie.

Lullaby

Palahniuk at theMiami Book Fair International2011

The year 1999 brought a series of great personal tragedies to Palahniuk's life. At that time, his father, Fred Palahniuk, had started dating a woman named Donna Fontaine, whom he had met through apersonal adunder the title "Kismet".Her former boyfriend, Dale Shackelford, had previously been imprisoned for sexual abuse and had vowed to kill Fontaine as soon as he was released from prison. Palahniuk believes that, using a personal ad, Fontaine was looking for "the biggest man she could find" to protect her from Shackelford, and Palahniuk's father qualified.After his release, Shackelford followed Fontaine and the senior Palahniuk to Fontaine's home inKendrick, Idaho,after they had gone out for a date. Shackelford then shot them both and dragged their bodies into Fontaine's cabin home, which he then set alight. In the spring of 2001, Shackelford was found guilty for two counts of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death. In the wake of these events, Palahniuk began working on the novelLullaby.He has stated that he wrote the novel to help him cope with having participated in the decision to have Shackelford receive thedeath sentence.

"Guts" andHaunted

While on his 2003 tour to promote his novel,Diary,Palahniuk read to his audiences a short story entitled "Guts", a sensational tale of accidents involvingmasturbation,which appears in his book,Haunted.The story begins with the author telling his listeners to inhale deeply and that "this story should last about as long as you can hold your breath." It was reported that 40 people had fainted listening to the readings while holding their breath.Playboymagazine later published the story in their March 2004 issue and Palahniuk offered to let them publish another story along with it, but the publishers found the second work too disturbing to publish. On his tour to promoteStranger than Fiction: True Storiesduring the summer of 2004, he read "Guts" to audiences again, bringing the total number of fainters up to 53 (and later up to 60 while on tour to promote the softcover edition ofDiary). In the fall of that year, he began promotingHaunted,and continued to read "Guts". In June 2005, Palahniuk noted that his number of fainters was up to 67.

At a 2005 appearance in Miami, Florida, during theHauntedtour, Palahniuk commented thatHauntedrepresented the last of a "horrortrilogy "(includingLullabyandDiary). He also indicated that his then-forthcoming novel,Rant,would be the first of a "science fiction trilogy".

In 2008, Palahniuk spent a week at theClarion West Writers Workshop,instructing eighteen students about his writing methods and theory of fiction.

Adaptations

In addition to the film,Fight Clubwas adapted into afighting video gameloosely based on the film, which was released in October 2004, receiving poor reviews universally.Palahniuk has mentioned at book readings that he is working on a musical based onFight Clubwith David Fincher andTrent Reznor.Edward Nortonhas said that he thinks it is unlikely that he andBrad Pitt,who "can't sing," would reprise their film roles in a musical.

Graphic novel adaptations ofInvisible MonstersandLullaby,drawn by comic artist, Kissgz, a.k.a. Gabor, are available online.

Following the success of the movie ofFight Club,interest began to build about adaptingSurvivorto film. The film rights toSurvivorwere sold in early 2001, but nomovie studiohad committed to filming the novel. After theattacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center on September 11, 2001,movie studios apparently deemed the novel too controversial to film because it includes the hijacking and crashing of a civilian airplane.In mid-2004, however, 20th Century Fox committed to adapting Palahniuk's novel. Palahniuk has said that the same people who made the filmConstantinewill be working on this film.

Following that, the film rights toInvisible MonstersandDiaryalso were sold. While little is known about some of these projects, it is known thatJessica Bielwas signed on to play the roles of both Shannon and Brandy inInvisible Monsters,which was supposed to begin filming in 2004, but as of 2010was still in development.

On January 14, 2008,the film version ofChokepremiered at theSundance Film Festival,starringSam Rockwell,Kelly MacdonaldandAnjelica HustonwithClark Greggdirecting.David Fincher expressed interest in filmingDiaryas anHBOminiseries.

On September 11, 2014, the film version ofRantwas announced, starringJames Franco,withPamela Romanowskywriting and directing.

Writing style and themes

Style

Palahniuk says that his writing style has been influenced by authors such as the minimalistTom Spanbauer(whose weekly workshop Palahniuk attended in Portland from 1991 to 1996),Amy Hempel,Mark Richard,Denis Johnson,Joan Didion,Thom Jones,Bret Easton Ellisand philosophersMichel Foucault,Friedrich NietzscheandAlbert Camus.In what the author refers to as aminimalisticapproach, his writings include a limited vocabulary and short sentences to mimic the way that an average person telling a story would speak. In an interview, he said that he "prefers to write in verbs instead of adjectives." Repetitions of certain lines or phrases in the story narrative (what Palahniuk refers to as "choruses" ) are one of the most common characteristics of his writing style, being dispersed within most chapters of his novels.Palahniuk has said that there also are some choruses between novels, noting that the colorcornflower blueand the city ofMissoula, Montanaappear in many of his novels. The characters in Palahniuk's stories often break into philosophical asides (either by the narrator to the reader, or spoken to the narrator through dialogue), offering numerous odd theories and opinions, oftenmisanthropicor darklyabsurdistin nature, on complex issues such as death, morality, childhood, parenthood, sexuality, and a deity. Other concepts borrowed from Spanbauer include the avoidance of "received text" (clichéd phrases or wording) and use of "burnt tongue" (intentionally odd wording).

In an interview with Jason Tanamor, he said, "It’s pathetic how much I rewrite. I’ll rework every scene a hundred times before my agent sees it. Then rework it a dozen times before my editor sees it. Then rework it all - almost beyond recognition - before it goes to the copy editor. My first draft is almost a bare-bones outline, fleshed out with every subsequent pass through. I’ll “test” the scenes in workshop and with friends, then revise them based on audience reaction and feedback. The only time a book is “done” is when the type is set. By then I'm in love with a new idea, so the old one is officially finished. "

Themes

Palahniuk's writing often contains anti-consumerist themes. Writing aboutFight Club,Paul Kennett argues that because the Narrator's fights with Tyler Durden are fights with himself, and because he fights himself in front of his Boss at the hotel, the Narrator is using the fights as a way of asserting himself as his own Boss. These fights are a representation of the struggle of theproletarianat the hands of a higher capitalist power; by asserting himself as capable of having the same power he thus becomes his own master. Later when fight club is formed, the participants are all dressed and groomed similarly, allowing them to symbolically fight themselves at the club and gain the same power.In an interview withHuffPost,Palahniuk says that "the central message ofFight Clubwas always about the empowerment of the individual through small, escalating challenges. "

Reception and criticism

The content of Palahniuk's works has been described asnihilistic.Palahniuk has rejected this label, stating that he is aromantic,and that his works are mistakenly seen as nihilistic because they express ideas that others do not believe in.

Personal life

As an adult, Palahniuk became a member of the rebelliousCacophony Society. He is a regular participant in their events, including the annualSanta Rampage(a public Christmas party involving pranks and drunkenness) inPortland, Oregon.His participation in the Society inspired some of the events in his writings, both fictional and non-fictional.

In 2004, Palahniukcame outas gay after an interview with Karen Valby, a reporter forEntertainment Weekly.Believing that he would be "outed" by Valby after confidentially referring to his male partner, he openly declared his homosexuality on his website.According to an interview withThe Advocatein May 2008, he and his unnamed male partner live in a former church compound outsideVancouver, Washington.He and his partner have been together since the 1990s, having met while Palahniuk was working at Freightliner. He told one interviewer, "We both had these veryblue-collarlives, and now our lives are completely different. "

Awards

Palahniuk has won the following awards:

• 1997Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award(forFight Club)
• 1997Oregon Book Awardfor Best Novel (forFight Club)
• 2003 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award (forLullaby)

He was nominated for the 1999 Oregon Book Award for Best Novel forSurvivorand for theBram Stoker Award for Best NovelforLullabyin 2002 and forHauntedin 2005.

Bibliography

Fiction

• Fight Club(1996)
• Survivor(1999)
• Invisible Monsters(1999)
• Choke(2001)
• Lullaby(2002)
• Diary(2003)
• Haunted(2005)
• Rant(2007)
• Snuff(2008)
• Pygmy(2009)
• Tell-All(2010)
• Damned(2011)
• Invisible Monsters Remix(2012)
• Doomed(2013)
• Burnt Tongues(2014) (editor)
• Beautiful You(2014)
• Make Something Up(2015)
• Fight Club 2(2015–16) (graphic novel withCameron Stewart)
• Bait: Off-Color Stories for You to Color(2016)
• Legacy: An Off-Color Novella for You to Color(2017)
• Adjustment Day(2018)
• Fight Club 3(2019) (graphic novel withCameron Stewart)
• Palahniuk, Chuck (2020).The Invention of Sound.Grand Central Publishing.ISBN978-1-5387-1800-1.
• Palahniuk, Chuck (2023).Not Forever, But For Now.Simon and Schuster.ISBN978-1-6680-2141-5.
• Palahniuk, Chuck (2024).Shock Induction.Simon & Schuster.ISBN978-1-6680-2144-6.

Short fiction

• "Negative Reinforcement" inModern Short Stories(1990)
• "The Love Theme of Sybil and William" inModern Short Stories(1990)
• "Insiders" inBest Life(2007)
• "Mister Elegant" inVICE(2007)
• "Fetch" inDark Delicacies III(2009)
• "Loser" inStories(2010)
• "Knock, Knock" inPlayboy(2010)
• "Romance" inPlayboy(2011)
• "Phoenix" (2013)
• "Cannibal" inPlayboy(2013)
• "Zombie" inPlayboy(2013)
• "Let's See What Happens" inNightmare Magazine,Issue 37 (2015)
• "One Day You'll Thank Me" inFangoria,Volume 2, Issue 1 (2018)
• "Unlawful Entry" inPlayboy(2018)
• "Repercussions" inPlayboy(2019)

Non-fiction

• Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon(2003)
• Stranger than Fiction: True Stories(2004)
• You Do Not Talk About Fight Club: I Am Jack's Completely Unauthorized Essay Collection(2008) (introduction)
• Consider This: Moments In My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different(2020)

Films

• Fight Club(1999) (feature based on the novel)
• Choke(2008) (feature based on the novel)
• Romance(2012) (short based on the short story)
• Lullaby(TBD) (feature based on the novel)
• Rant(TBD) (feature based on the novel)

Scholarship

• Francisco Collado-Rodriguez, editor, (2013)Chuck Palahniuk: Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, Choke.London, UK: Bloomsbury.
• Douglas Keesey (2016)Understanding Chuck Palahniuk.Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press.
• Cynthia Kuhn and Lance Rubin, editors, (2009)Reading Chuck Palahniuk: American Monsters and Literary Mayhem.New York, NY: Routledge.
• David McCracken (2016)Chuck Palahniuk, Parodist: Postmodern Irony in Six Transgressive Novels.Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc.
• Jeffrey A. Sartain, editor, (2009)Sacred and Immoral: On the Writings of Chuck Palahniuk.Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
• Read Mercer Schuchardt, editor (2008)You Do Not Talk About Fight Club: I Am Jack's Completely Unauthorized Essay Collection.Dallas, TX: Benbella Books.
• Massimo Bracci, (2023)La Filosofia del fight club,Odoya, Bologna (Italy).

See also

• List of American novelists
• List of LGBT people from Portland, Oregon

External links

• Official website
• Chuck PalahniukatIMDb