Chuck Palahniuk
born 1962
8 genuine quotes, each found in the text, and 1 wrongly credited to Palahniuk.
American novelist and nonfiction writer, best known for Fight Club (1996), whose fiction combines black comedy, social criticism and characters at the margins. Many widely circulated lines belong to fictional speakers, notably Tyler Durden and the unnamed narrator of Fight Club, rather than statements of Palahniuk’s own beliefs. Quotations from the novel must also be distinguished from dialogue in its film adaptation.
Genuine Palahniuk quotes
- A good addiction takes the guesswork out of death.
Choke (2001), Publisher’s excerpt, reflection following Miss Lacey’s remark about James Bond and sex addiction, said by Victor Mancini.
- Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing.
Lullaby (2002), Chapter 3, while Streator builds a model house amid his neighbors’ noise, said by Carl Streator.
- The first step to eternal life is you have to die.
Fight Club (1996), Opening paragraph, said by Tyler Durden.
- By the time you read this, you’ll be older than you remember.
Diary (2003), Entry headed June 22, opening sentence.
- The problem with every story is you tell it after the fact.
Lullaby (2002), Chapter 1, opening sentence, said by Carl Streator.
- The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up.
Lullaby (2002), Chapter 3, after the miniature house is finished and illuminated, said by Carl Streator.
- That old saying, how you always kill the one you love, well, look, it works both ways.
Fight Club (1996), Opening rooftop scene at the Parker-Morris Building.
- You cannot be the person they know and the great, glorious person you want to become. Not at the same time.
Haunted (2005), Chapter 1, bus journey to the writers’ retreat, said by Mr. Whittier.
Quotes wrongly credited to Palahniuk
- We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.
Misattributed. The wording is misattributed to Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. Its older formulation is traced to Robert Quillen in 1928; the exact modern sentence’s author has not been established.
The works we hold
Quotes are looked up word for word in these texts. The number is how many genuine quotes here come from each.
| Work | Year | Genuine quotes |
|---|---|---|
| Fight Club | 1996 | 2 |
| Choke | 2001 | 1 |
| Lullaby | 2002 | 3 |
| Diary | 2003 | 1 |
| Haunted | 2005 | 1 |