Title: Survivor
Author: Chuck Palahniuk
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication Date: 1999
ISBN: 9780393338072
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Tender Branson—last surviving member of the Creedish Death Cult—is dictating his life story into Flight 2039’s recorder. He is all alone in the airplane, which will crash shortly into the vast Australian outback. But before it does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish child to an ultra-buffed, steroid- and collagen-packed media messiah. Unpredictable and unforgettable, Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk at his deadpan peak: a mesmerizing, unnerving, and hilarious satire on the wages of fame and the bedrock lunacy of the modern world.
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I must have read this book a few years ago, but I have no recollection of actually sitting down to read it. A friend has been after me to read this book and the premise sounded interesting. But when I finally sat down to read it last week, I got a few pages in and began to realize this book was so very familiar. With a protagonist with a name like Tender Branson, one can’t forget. But somehow, I seem to have lost all recollection of reading it. I think this is why I’m so on the fence about this book. It clearly didn’t stick in my memory the first time, but I was interested enough in the plot to give it another try.
This is the only Palanhiuk that I’ve ever read, and I think I’d try another of his novels. Any suggestions anyone? I once heard that Palaniuk novels are among the most stolen from bookstores. Perhaps that’s an indication that I should give him another try. But I can’t say that Survivor is one of the most profound books I’ve ever read. It was enjoyable, but nothing stellar. All in all, just a mediocre book I’m sorry to say.
Worn Pages and Ink 