Well, it doesn't. The book does read like a book, and it does work. Much of the dialog you know from the movie is directly taken from the book, and the plot is mostly the same. Well, the plot is a bit different in how it starts and ends, and that leads me to my overall feeling of this book: The movie 'Fight Club' leaves quite a bit of the book 'Fight Club' out of it. What it leaves out, however, is all of the bad bits. There are some plot elements and side tracks that really add nothing to the story, and the movie left them out.

Palahniuk has a way for exploring humanity through its darker side. Viewed as that, this book is an interesting read, but I really suggest you just sit down and watch the movie. It's much more enjoyable.