Chuck Palahniuk. I know to some this name may sound very familiar. And I'll give you one reason:
"First rule of fight club: you don't talk about fight club".
Yes Palahniuk is the writer of the novel Fight Club that later became a film sensation starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in 1999. Also that year his book Invisible Monsters was published. But only now have I read it and only now I can talk about what a mind-blowing novel it is.
"This is the biggest mistake I could think would save me. I wanted to give up the idea I had any control. Shake things up. To be saved by chaos. To see if I could cope, I wanted to force myself to grow again. To explode my comfort zone"
This quote is probably the best way to sum up what the novel will reveal: a world of chaos. Even in the story's structure which constantly has the reader bouncing back and forth through time as the lead protagonist (I would name her but her name is also constantly changing along with the majority of the characters) reflects on how she came to be in her situation.
So here is a novel where you never seem to know anyone's true name or identity, filled with love that masks envy and revenge, filled with constant criminal activity that no one gets caught for or dies from, all leading to one plot twist after another, and characters so obsessed with the societal view of beauty that they end up being some of the ugliest people you could ever have been introduced to. This novel is full of sensationalism, constantly has you hooked because even me, thinking I could see the plot twists coming, never expected the ending. This is definitely not a novel to look up beforehand to check the summary, but one to dive right into.
This book was given to me recently as a birthday present when I told friends and family that I was hoping to expand my knowledge of literature more. I wasn't restricting myself to classics but wanted to try reading many different types of readers and authors. My friend, having read this and really loving it, gave this novel to me. I was instantly drawn to the name as well as the cover art but only later did I understand what it all meant and symbolized.
So what are the invisible monsters? Invisible monsters, to me, are those inner demons. Those ones we are unaware that drive our actions as human beings, that don't care about those it affects, that make it easy to victimize ourselves and put blame on others. It's the thoughts that eat at you that you can't totally shut out. In reference to this novel, it's the demons that constantly tell you that you are too fat or ugly or undeserving, or possibly, you are too beautiful and will only be seen as one thing. Never being allowed to amount to anything greater, to reach a fuller potential.
"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone i've ever known".
In this world where everything is measured to how society views you, holding every person to a certain caliber of beauty, it is no wonder that it would lead to hate, jealousy and revenge against those who have what you can't have. But it really makes you think... how many people out there want what I have yet I feel no content with it? Is there something that I am remarkable at that others would kill for yet... I don't even notice or care about it? There are always those people out there that we, as humans, aspire to be like. Yet how many of us actually attain it? And if we don't do we begin to resent them and their lack of gratefulness for their blessings?
And then on the other hand, what if we are remarkable at some particular thing. Should we just be content and happy because we are good at it or should we aspire to do something that gives us more purpose? Something that will drive us to reach our full potential as a human being.
I just felt like this novel raised so many questions within me. And it was done in such a remarkable and sensationalized way. As a student I am constantly striving to make something of myself, to find my purpose. And these are valid questions in a world where you are seen to be as good as your best qualities whether that be intelligence, creativity, or as in this novel... beauty.
"The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open".
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