ABSTRACT
In 2003 Chuck Palahniuk, best known for his novel Fight Club, declared transgressive fiction dead. He made his bold statement during an interview at a conference devoted to his work, where he also read his notorious short story “Guts”. Palahniuk envisions his own work as part of a tradition of literary “misbehaviour” that could possibly serve some kind of political goal as is the case in Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang – or simply describes people acting “badly” for its own sake. Palahniuk’s reference to The Monkey Wrench Gang, for example, suggests that his work should be read as part of a much older transgressive tradition. Novels written by authors such as Palahniuk are specific incarnations of transgressive fiction that emerged in response to the particular shape of American society at the time they were conceived.
