Throw in plenty of twists, some very non-traditional sex, celebrity references, and Las Vegas and are we sure Palahniuk didn’t actually write this? You may also like Atwood’s sci-fi trilogy that begins with Oryx & Crake.From the author of the underground sensation Fight Club comes this wickedly incisive second novel, a mesmerizing, unnerving, and hilarious vision of cult and post-cult life. A couple in dire financial straits takes the chance to escape their plight by living in an experimental community where you move back and forth between a perfect life and prison labor, each for a month at a time.

Palahniuk loves a fucked up utopia-turned-dystopia with an extra dose of social satire, which is exactly how I’d describe The Heart Goes Last. Not exactly horror but something else entirely, similar to many a Palahniuk novel. The Grownup is a novella, a quick read, featuring a woman pretending to be a psychic and the rich family who need their house purged from ghosts…or something. The very first sentence will turn away the faint of heart and let you know exactly what you’re in for. Minato’s next novel Penance is another great pick.Īnother writer of extra-dark fiction, you know Flynn is legit since the movie adaptation of her mega-hit Gone Girl was directed by David Fincher, the director of Palahniuk’s classic Fight Club. It takes a certain kind of reader to enjoy a book where the primary subject is trying to hurt tweens, and Palahniuk readers fall pretty squarely in that camp. Slowly we learn that she has decided to take revenge against this room full of children in a particularly unexpected and unusual way. The first chapter sets the scene: a schoolteacher talks to her class in one long, monologue. Confessions is the first book in a long time that truly shocked me, that made me swear in surprise.

Here are a few of our suggestions for readers looking for someChuck Palahniuk-esque fiction: Confessionsby Kanae MinatoĪs someone who loves a truly twisted story, Kanae Minato is one of my new favorites. He’s covered a wide variety of subjects and characters, but it can be hard to find books that hit the same sweet spot. His books are dark, twisty, nihilistic, shocking, and even more shocking. Chuck Palahniuk is a particularly distinctive writer.

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