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Amazon.co.uk Review
From the very opening of the book Palahniuk lets us know that his narrator, Tender Branson, the last surviving member of a religious death cult, is on a path to self-destruction. The tension in this book lies not in the outcome, because like Tender's soothsaying friend Fertility, we can see it coming 289 pages away, instead it lies in the intricate plot that takes Tender from farm boy to media celebrity and ruin.
This is a novel that examines what happens when religion meets the overindulgences of our consumerist society. In the world that the author envisages, which is all too real in the light of tragedies such as Waco and the Heaven's Gate suicides, the only acceptable religions are those that can be successfully marketed and controlled at a corporate level; the small separatist models of religion are superfluous, and self-destruct. This is also a look at religion itself, at how it can enslave as many people as it appears to liberate. A comic novel that deals with the most serious issues of society, Survivor places Palahniuk among the most daring and technically able writers of his generation.
Adam said the first step most cultures take to making you a slave is to castrate you ... the cultures that don't castrate you to make you a slave, they castrate your mind.--Iain Robinson
Amazon.co.uk Review
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Customer Reviews
Tender Branson is born into a Deliverance Day Cult, sold into servitude, and there he stays until one day the whole cult commits suicide. As all cult members (inside and out of the cult village) have been programmed to do the same, the government sets up a survivor programme whereby they try and stop the remaining members following suit. This is fairly unsuccessful as Tender ends up as the only one left alive. This is where the books takes a turn and he is swept up by a media agent who turns Tender into a pre-packaged, TelePrompTed, made-for-TV messiah.
Other reviewers have already covered the subjects that this book touches upon. It's angsty, it's nihilistic, and it's got a couple of good one-liners. It's quite far-fetched but it's based in enough reality to keep it interesting. It's a pacy read, it raises questions about modern society and it's well written. Don't know what else I can say other than I really enjoyed it.
The story concerns Tender Branson, the last surviving member of the "Creeds" (a religion not too dissimilar to that of the Mormons or Amish) all of whose members have committed suicide as part of an ancient pact. Living in the outside world, Tender decides not to conform to his religions decree and becomes a superstar as a result. In his state of religious (media) messiah he begins to deteriorate by taking drugs to improve his physique or hair or skin until he becomes hooked on a whole range of highly damaging substances. His only friend comes in the shape of Fertility Hollis, a mysterious woman who sees the future in her dreams. The book ends with Tenders death in a plane crash.
For everyone who thinks I just spoiled the story, you're wrong. In a brilliant stylistic stroke, Palahnuik starts the book on Chapter 43 and ends it on 1. This is because Tender is telling his story into the black box flight recorder on the plane, so as a result, you are aware that Tender is going to die from the first few pages.
Overall this book reeks of style and class. Palahniuk uses the book to comment on the misuse and commercialisation of religion in our society and the way in which any principles that once existed are mutated, reformed and packaged - just as Tender is during the book. In my opinion this is a thought provoking, well-written and ultimately excellent book.
If this short description sounds interesting to you, wait until you experience the various twists and turns that the plot takes. Palahniuk provides these in abundance - although there is no one real convention-defying plot twist as there was in fight club, that forces you to re-read the entire thing.
Also, it is sometimes difficult to understand just what Palahniuk is trying to get at in the story, and the plot is not always as engaging as you might expect from the excellent author. But regardless of this, if you enjoyed Fight Club, this one is definitely worth a read. If you haven't read Fight Club, if you are a fan of Kurt Vonnegut or Don Delillo, Palahniuk's highly original writing style should appeal to you.
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