Chuck Palahniuk is an American writer and novelist known for his dark forays into modern culture and the human psyche. Born in Pasco, Washington, he began to develop his interest in writing while studying journalism at the University of Oregon in the mid-1980s. Fight Club, his first published novel, was an underground sensation and eventually became an even more popular David Fincher film starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Some of the book's themes--rejecting societal norms, overcoming vanity, etc--would prove to become universal ties that have linked together several of his subsequent works. Not for the feint of heart, his novels are often full of unflinching portrayals of societal ills, violence, sexual dysfunction, drugs and pretty much any taboo subject you could dream up. For open-minded readers, however, Palahniuk remains one of the more fearless, talented and often funniest writers willing to hold a mirror up to some of the more dark and disturbing alleyways of American culture.
