Survivor

By: Chuck Palahniuk

Narrated by: Michael Braun

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Tender Branson - last surviving member of the so-called "Creedish Death Cult" - is dictating his incredible life story into the flight recorder of Flight 2039, cruising on autopilot at 39,000 feet somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. He is all alone in the plane, which will shortly reach terminal velocity and crash into the vast Australian outback. Before it does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish child and humble domestic servant to an ultra-buffed, steroid- and collagen-packed media messiah, author of a best-selling autobiography, Saved from Salvation, and the even better-selling Book of Very Common Prayer (The Prayer to Delay Orgasm, The Prayer to Prevent Hair Loss, The Prayer to Silence Car Alarms). He'll even share his insight that "the only difference between suicide and martyrdom is press coverage", and deny responsibility for the Tender Branson Sensitive Materials Landfill - a 20,000-acre repository for the nation's outdated pornography. Among other matters both bizarre and trenchant.

Not since Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night and Jerzy Kosinski's Being There has there been as black and telling a satire on the wages of fame and the bedrock lunacy of the modern world. Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk at his deadpan peak, and it marks him as a blazing talent for the new millennium.

©1999 Chuck Palahniuk (P)2021 Recorded Books

Been there, I want to tell them. Done that.

I'm all for dark humor and this is technically a well written book but at no point in this story did I personally care if any of the characters lived or died.

A good story, but not terribly interesting

Overall, I felt the story wasn’t as interesting as I would have liked. The main character wasn’t as relatable as he could have been, and the side characters seem to be missing depth. The book was technically proficient and well told, but didn’t engage me on a personal level.

quite weird

I had to finish it because it was so weird and I needed to see where the author was going with it. But I didn't really enjoy it. It was a collection of strange details about house keeping, then a couple of completely left field twists that came out of nowhere and seemed desperate to make the story interesting.

No love for this book

I’m with many other reviewers. There was nothing that made me connect with any of the characters which made the story seem empty. I did finish the book hoping at some point there would be some bow to tie it all together and make me say “oh wow”. It never came. The subject matter was dark and twisted so I really wanted to like it and it just completely missed the mark.

Best Narration Ever

I had previously read the novel, but this narrator was PERFECT. The story is captivating and professionally read. Don’t skip this one!

One of Palahniuk's darkest satires

This may be the best Palahniuk novel. Twisted and dark, hopeless and disillusioned, desperate enough to actually border on hope again. Grotesquely cynical in a way which would be easy to dismiss were it not wrapped in just enough grounded reality. It's this realism which separates Survivor's satire from nihilism. And it's this satire which is profoundly more disturbing and harder to dismiss.

Great Book, Great Narrator

As always, this author and his writing style are very entertaining and good.

I loved the satire of religious institutions and the capitalist system.

Strange and interesting

Unique in its delivery and story. He writes stories from the underbelly of the zeitgeist and goes to places most of us don’t think of.

Great Narrator - Great Story

This one puts Palahniuk up there with Vonnegut or Haruki Murakami. Absurd, surreal, existential, and captivating. The narrator tells the story just like I would read it in my mind. Well worth the read or listen.

Dark Comedy at its best

Chuck Palahniuk has a gift for Dark Comedy, well paced, a fun and morbid listen. Michael Braun narration was fantastic.