The CNY Long Weekend is coming to an end. Rummaged through my old stuff at my mom's place I found Chuck Palahniuk's book of short stories titled "Stranger than Fiction". I wanted to savour the stories and stopped myself from finishing the book, putting aside the book after reading one or two stories. More than half a year later, I'm still not yet halfway through the book.
I have sympathies for Palahniuk's worldview, more so than I care to admit. Anarchic, anti-capitalist, and overall pessimistic about the human condition, Palahniuk reminds me of the fiery nativist anti-modern rhetoric from prewar Japan. With boundless energy and creativity, we are destroying ourselves and our planet, lavishing a minority with lavish consumer goods while millions live in destitution and poverty. Then again, it's easy to denounce capitalism and its attendant sweatshops and financial fat cats. Palahniuk's Fight Club was made into a chic Hollywood blockbuster, as cool as a Che Guevera T-shirt.
Okay, I haven't explained why I was sympathetic to his worldview. It's late and I've to work tomorrow, definitely not the right time for a lengthy exposition of my opinions about the world. Besides, I had intended to talk about Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational. Dammit, where is my mind?
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