A satisfying romp through modern American belief systems, though the spectre of Fight Club is always lurking there just beneath the surface. Is cornflower-blue his favorite metaphor, and if so, what does it mean? I have no idea. Also, the phrase "People are always asking me..." stuck out like a sore thumb. A good writer shouldn't have to recycle his old stuff this much.

Another issue is his general cluelessness about other parts of the world. At one point in the book, 12 people die in an avalanche in Finland. As a lifetime resident of the above mentioned country, I can inform Mr. Palahniuk that avalanches are not a problem here. He's probably thinking about Austria or whatever. At another point, he indicates that steroids are easier to come by in Sweden than in USA. Nothing could be further from the truth, as several drugs that are illegal in these parts of the world are quite legal in USA and can be bought by mail. So, instead of Americans going to Sweden to buy steroids, it's actually the other way around.