Un libro assolutamente nontriviale, che aggiunge spessore ai racconti di Palahniuk. Da leggere, però, come appendice. Mi ha fatto riflettere molto 'Egregio signor Levin,', altri racconti sono invece da catalogare come curiosità, ma comunque nel complesso un libro piacevole e scrorrevole. ( )

Audio version. Liked some of it. Some stories were meh, but I have not liked audiobooks overall, but finished this one for what that's worth. ( )

This collection of non-fiction pieces is what you would expect from the author of novels like Fight Club and Choke. In fact, you come to understand some of the inspiration for characters and scenes in those novels as Palahniuk unwinds various anecdotes, profiles, and reportage through the course of this book. I liked his report from a combine demolition in Eastern Washington, or the description of what it is like to wander Seattle in a dog costume. Or the profiles of castle builders, or life on a submarine. Or various stories from when Fight Club was being turned into a movie. Each story is told in different fashion, and is usually fascinating. ( )

I could have never predicted how boring this would be. ( )

I like Palahniuks writing and have read several of his novels. This I also enjoyed (on audio) but for the fact that many of the stories, including ones in the personal section, came across to me as backhandedly mocking. The people and events were laid out soundly enough and were entertaining but I couldn't get past the feeling he was secretly (or not so secretly) rolling his eyes at most of his subjects. Could've been the narration, though the author himself read some. Maybe I'm wrong. ( )

I don't understand why I haven't heard more about this book! If you're a fan of Palahniuk's novels, then you'll love his nonfiction collection. The final third, filled with a few personal essays, was amazing. Palahniuk talks about why he writes, and I think that every writer will appreciate his insight.

"So this is why I write. Because most times, your life isn't funny the first time through. Most times, you can hardly stand it."

"That's why I write, because life never works except in retrospect. And writing makes you look back. Because since you can't control life, at least you can control your version." ( )

This might be a bit of a cheat but I'm going to consider this one done and finished even though I didn't read the entire book. The problem was that I lost the book before I could finish it. Actually I know exactly where it was last left: in the pocket of my airline seat on a flight to Washington D.C. I just plain forgot it there. I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've ever done so. Anyway, if I was truly enjoying the book, I would hunt down a new copy or buy the ebook. However, I wasn't really enjoying it. The book is a collection of life experiences from Palahniuk; each chapter is a different experience. For example, in one chapter he describes what occurs at the Rock Creek Lodge Testicle Festival while in another chapter he portrays unpublished authors and the steps they take for fame. In these experiences, he illustrates people's lives and their pretty crazy actions. Some of the experiences are simply crazy experiences to be taken as indicative of people's lives; others experiences are infused with insights that provide depth and pathos to those lives. An analysis that makes you analyze your own life and hopefully, at least to me, want to live a more fuller life. So why then, if I was gaining some insight into my life, would I not want to continue? Because it was not the fun, entertaining type of book that I normally want to read. I think that I can count the number of self-help books that I read on one hand; something that I'm sure an ex or two would really prefer I had read more. Self-help books just aren't my usual cup-of-tea. Before I lost this book, I already knew that it was going to be some time before I finished the book. Time enough to start and finish several other books between chapters. Now I can move on and get back to Adam Cesare or Stephen King or start that Brian James Freeman book. ( )

A collection of essays and interviews about isolation, personal mission, adventure, and mortality. These essays focus on great creatives and personal experiences but they have a lot of layers that would benefit any reader. Some of the topics seemed designed to shock or beggar belief, but they are all well executed and thoughtful. ( )

As with basically any collection of essays, there are hits and misses. All of them are written in classic Chuck Palahniuk fashion, and some of them are absolutely phenomenal. "Escort," in particular, is one that has been haunting me ever since I finished reading it. ( )

There are some essays in here which are definitely Palahniuk and some which read like any journalist could have written them (a few of the profile pieces). This is a good read for fans and it gives some insight into the author's thoughts on literary and social topics. Fans will also enjoy the personal essays in the third section. My favourite by far is "You Are Here." It's packed full of great lines and musings on the industry. The book is not boring by any means and shouldn't be overlooked, but it is not his best work... although I'm not sure it's intended to be anything more than a collection. If you find it, read it. ( )

Ancora Palahniuk. Vista la qualità degli ultimi libri, non vorrei che l'autore - o il suo agente - volesse far uscire un libro all'anno solo per pagare le spese della propria sussistenza. Vista la qualità letteraria di questo e del precedente, Cavie, verrebbe da pensare che è cosi' che vanno le cose. Il testo è interessante, a tratti. Quello sui castelli americani, ad esempio, racconta fatti che mi hanno incuriosito: sono andato sul web a cercare - su Google Earth - il castello citato. Anche altri racconti sono curiosi; a volte anche dolorosi, nel loro minimalismo spinto. Però rimane un patchwork di altalenante maestria. Come si dice di alcuni dischi, "consigliato ai fans". Poi mi rimarrà a lungo la curiosità di come scrive Amy Hempel, visto che non si trovano traduzioni italiane... E anche dove diavolo è quel castello che ho tanto cercato sul web... ( )

Some great stories in here, like the ones about keeping perspective by being a hospice volunteer and letting an interviewee asking her own questions. Although varying in quality. ( )

Stranger Than Fiction was indeed a strange one. One of only two nonfiction books by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk, this collection of previously published and personal stories are about as off-beat as one could expect from Palahniuk. Topics run the gamut from the author's dabbling in steroids, guys who build and live in real castles, an interview with Marilyn Manson, and anything else you might imagine. Of particular interest to me was the piece about Navy submariners in King's Bay, GA. A nice, quick, bizarre read. ( )

One of the amazing things about Chuck Palahniuk is the amount of research the man does and the love he shows for any interesting real life tale that comes his way. Every single chapter of this book could have been a Palahniuk novel, all of it made better by the fact that none of it is fictional which is funny because I'm usually grateful that large chunks of what this author writes is fictional. Fascinating stuff.

thi book was great! i loved how all the stories were true and i could almost relate to all of them! I did not know palahnuik had such a dark past withhis father brought a lot of insight to the author! ( )

A mixed bag this collection. Palahniuk's journalist pieces are fairly boring to be honest. He offers no commentary on the events covered, instead letting them speak for themselves. Yet the matters involved are a little too self-evident and as a result these pieces read as nothing more than bland reporting.

The interview section is a lot better and Palahniuk illuminates some interesting characters in a surprising manner. The personal section of the book is equally good. Sure, one can't believe all of Palahniuk's self-hype, but there are some very good short pieces here and it's well worth reading overall. ( )

some stories were interesting, others I skipped. It's about 50/50 ( )

A collection of Chuck's non-fiction, not as good or out there as his fiction but still contained some interesting and amusing observations. Some of the stories didn't hold my interest as they weren't on a subject interesting to me, most notably one on wrestling. But, its still Chuck and any fan will appreciate a different type of work from him and a sort of clue as to why he writes what and how he does. ( )

I love Chuck Palahniuk's work, but this foray into the truly real didn't quite work for me. He's always been great at displaying true life with a bit of an edge. And while I know this is a series of non-fictional essays I felt I was missing that voice. The first part 'People Together' was actually rather enjoyable. It was very in your face of some of the just general weirdness that is people in groups and what they can do. 'Portraits' was kind of just...filler. I've never been one to be overly excited about the lives of celebrities. I am more than aware that under their make up that they are humans living real lives. It just seemed unnecessary. The last part, 'Personal' I really wish I could have liked. I know he was putting some of himself out there...but it just seemed rushed and hurried, which according to what he said about pushing the deadline with it, I believe might be true. Overall....it was a nice read. There were some things I enjoyed. But it wasn't quite what I was wanting or expecting. ( )

Fans of Palahniuk will find this collection significantly more subdued than his fiction, but equally as gripping.

A comment in the critical quotes, which mentions that this is one of the few nonfiction collections to be united by a single, coherent theme, is spot-on, and makes the collection as compulsively readable as his novels. Palahniuk proves here that he is an enormously gifted storyteller, with a friendly, nonjudgmental voice that begs to be read.

Recommended, even for those too wary to read his fictional works.

I was leant this (unrequested) by a friend, and have to admit to having no real enthusiasm when I started. I tried to be as open-minded as possible (honest) but find it really hard to muster any positive opinions about this book. Palahniuk is drowning in contraversialism. His essays are, presumably, supposed to be vignettes of modern american life in all its colour and shapes, but they are bottom-of-the-barrell scraping meaningless pieces with little context or subtext. It is like reading Hunter S. Thompson without the politics (or the humour). The reader is presumably supposed to be impressed with the sheer weirdness of some of the people Palahniuk writes about, because without the contraversialism these are poorly written, paper thin and pointless essays.

Sort of good if you like Palahnuik fiction. I dunno at times I enjoyed it, but it sorta became a chore and reminded me why collections of essay are not meant to be read front to back. Which I tried to do with this. About 3 times. It held me up when I could've been reading something else. So I dunno. I think its one of those 'it's not you, it's me' situations. Palahnuik seems like a fun guy to hang out with, not a shut in stuffy type. (Thinking about that, I bumped it up to 3 stars from 2 1/2) ( )

Stranger than fiction moves outside of Palahniuk's normal literary fiction genre as a publication of collected personal stories and articles written by Palahniuk for magazine articles. While it did not prove to be as outlandishly strange as I expected, it proved to be something even warmer and more endearing than I would have imagined possible based on Palhniuk's novels, all the while he manages to keep the dark humor that at times made me laugh out loud.

Prior to reading Stranger than Fiction I had always regarded Plahniuk's work in some sort of literature limbo. Something more than pulp, yet somehow something less than literary. This is not to say I do not love his works. I have two other unread Palahniuk novels that I refuse to pick up. There are only so many of his works available, and new Palaniuk experiences are not to be squandered frivolously. It is just that I did not know where or how to classify them within the spectrum if written material. With my reading of Stranger than Fiction I now have no doubt that his works are those of a literary writer.

Imagine a small farming town, where the residents have an annual combine tractor crash derby. What types of images come to mind? Palahniuk includes a story on just such an event held each year in Washington, and the intimate portrait he paints of the event is simply amazing. It takes on a gritty and truthful level of realism, where people are not poor caricatures of small town rednecks. It is a portrait of competent hard working people who come together to escape the vicissitudes of a hard farming life.

Another article contains the stories of some of the personalities involved in a set of wrestling matches held to win spots for an Olympic trial. In my mind I always had some dim and disdainful view of what Greco-Roman wrestling was, and I am sure that most other people have some similarly stereo-typed views of it. After reading Palahniuk's story however, I know I will never view wrestling the same way again. There is something there far deeper than I imagined. Something that is both tragic and in some ways inpspiring, and it took him giving it a face for me to recognize it.

The stories cover oddities such as the combine derby, interviews and profiles of both famous and unknown people, and personal stories from Palahniuk's past. Each one has that same intimate personal feel. The interviews especially impressed me as they are not just a set of cheap question and answers. Palahniuk spends time with the interviewee, then tells a story that makes you feel as though you were sitting in the room with them experiencing their lives, not some outsider peering into someone's life picking over a pile of facts or pre-canned facades. They are masterful displays of his writing talent.

If you are not familiar with Palahniuk's works, or only know of him from the movie adaptation of Fight Club, pick up his novels and start reading them today. If you follow his works but have not yet read Stranger than Fiction pick it up today. My only suggestion is that you should not sit down and read it all at once. Each story is like a rich dessert, and they should be savored one at a time and spread out through other readings rather than gobbling them up all at once. ( )

Link to a review on my personal website (might be in Swedish). ( )

http://12frogs.com/reading/reviews/2007/09/stranger-than-fiction/ ( )