When I heard that Chuck Palahniuk was going to write a sequel to his massively popular novel “Fight Club,” I was excited but also apprehensive about what that would entail. Later, it was revealed it would be a graphic novel, and I got a little more excited because Palahniuk’s often odd narrative writing style would be really cool to see in a comic format.

As the issues were being released, I heard very little about what people thought about the sequel, but I admittedly didn’t try to seek out any reviews either. I read an interview with Palahniuk, who said that the story would pick up about 10 years after the end of the first “Fight Club” and focus on Marla and the Narrator (now calling himself ‘Sebastian’) in a highly dissatisfying marriage. That was about all I knew going in, and that gets covered in about the first two pages.

After reading the graphic novel, I can see why I haven’t seen a whole lot of people talking about it. It’s definitely Palahniuk; it’s intense and odd and nonsensical at times. It challenges the reader at every turn in ways similar to the original "Fight Club," but also not similarly in a lot of other ways. I'll get into that in the spoiler section below.

Something I really liked about the novel is Cameron Stewart’s art style; it’s fantastic. He captures the visceral nature of Palahniuk’s world and adds so much to the dialogue. The first 60 to 70 pages feel like I’m reading a continuation of the first “Fight Club" perfectly. He does some very interesting things with the comic format, and overall his artistry is just beautiful despite the content he is drawing often being horrifying.

Overall, I am really conflicted about how I feel about this book. I really liked parts of it and really disliked other parts. It was wonderful being back in this world Palahniuk created again and watching Sebastian, Marla, and Tyler interact again. Even though I didn’t love all of it, I have to admit it was very engaging and impossible to put down; I read it all in one sitting. Regardless of how I feel, it is obvious Palahniuk wrote the story he wanted to write and whatever reaction he receives will probably please him. Palahniuk has already discussed that he has begun writing “Fight Club 3,” and I would be lying if I wasn’t interested and intrigued where Palahniuk is taking this crazy ride next.

Unfortunately, there was stuff I didn’t like about the novel as well. I’ll be getting into some spoiler territory here, so be warned.

Okay, three, two, one:

The biggest problem I had with the novel is also probably the one thing Palahniuk wanted everyone to hate about this book: as I said, it challenges the reader, and not in the same way he challenged the reader in the original "Fight Club," which made for an interesting reading experience. The plot itself isn’t overly complex or at least not more complex than the original, but the fourth wall breaks become cumbersome after a while. Yes, Chuck puts himself into his own book.

The first time this happens, Marla is looking for guidance and Chuck helps her with the plot. Honestly, this is kind of funny and the book even points out the ridiculousness of how meta it is. That was fine and if that had been a singular case of fourth wall breaking, it would’ve been funny and a non-issue. But it gets so contrived that by the end of it, Tyler Durden and Chuck are walking on a beach together and talking about the ending of the novel.

I understand that Palahniuk is doing this to make fun of sequels that have fan service, by including old characters like Chloe the cancer patient or Zombie Bob (which I’m still confused about; what are the rules with him?), and that he is making fun of people who saw the movie and felt like it changed their lives and used the ‘teachings’ of Tyler as a guide to how they should live their lives, even though the point of the book is to show you how awful that way of thinking is; and that would’ve been fine and could’ve made for an interesting story, but the story got too meta. It took itself too seriously but didn’t take the actual story seriously enough.

Another problem I had, which I also know was fully intentional, is the blocking of text by pills, petals, and an assortment of other things throughout the graphic novel. Once again, probably Palahniuk trying to not turn Tyler into a demagogue again, but on Palahniuk’s real Twitter, he often retweets fan’s tattoos of quotes of his, 90 percent of which are from the original “Fight Club.” It’s just kind of frustrating when you’re trying to read a conversation and part of it (possibly an important part) is covered by something.

There were parts of the novel I really liked. The first 70 pages are absolutely fantastic, and the first eight or nine chapters or issues overall are all pretty great with an interesting (albeit all over the place at times) story with characters that were developed and becoming more developed as the narrative progressed. It’s undeniable that Palahniuk writes one heck of a metaphor, and classic Palaniuk-isms, that will likely be tattoos one day, appear in this novel as well.

I guess I am most disappointed because I had expectation of a true sequel to one of my favorite books (and admittedly, favorite movies) and I got a kind of meta mockery that completely and utterly defeats any expectations that the reader had; and honestly, that’s exactly what Palahniuk wanted. He didn’t create a 'real' sequel; he wrote what he wanted to write.

“Das Jus Me Doe” – the1janitor

What did you think? Did you love it? Did you hate it?

Let me know in the comments down below!

Thank you for reading!