“Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk

The problem with the little book that caused such a cultural stir is that it is sort of brilliant. Palahniuk shows incredible insight into our culture. In particular, he has modern men—full grown fatherless boys—with their pathetic, spineless, herd-mentality figured out. However, his solution is just more of the prevailing mentality.

It is all good and well to point out the vacant, materialistic, attitude that makes the masses so easily manipulated. But to present the alternative as a nihilism that doesn’t just border on insanity—his protagonist is truly looney—is either an exacerbation of the problem, or an actual call to embrace a worse alternative.

Many people in my generation speak of “Fight Club” as if it is a voice of wisdom. I see in Tyler Durden something more akin to the father of lies.