Helpful Score: 1
Chuck Palahnluk's Tell-All is a book that should be read for form instead of substance. Most of the plot is laid out in the blurb: Hazie Coogan narrates a tale of how Katherine "Miss Kathie" Kenton, an aging Hollywood legend with the stereotypical multiple marriages, career comebacks, cosmetic surgeries, and dysfunctional habits, has met a suitor with the intent of publishing a tell-all autobiography upon her death. Indeed, his story is already written, including her death scene. The story is formatted as a pseudo-script, with Acts and Scenes instead of chapters, and directions for how this looks on screen. Every name-dropped is in bold, which may become annoying after a while. Those who enjoy Palahniluk's subversive humor will enjoy the play on this genre, but others may find unsympathetic characters in a start-and-stop plot with lots of repetition.
Lillian Hellman, can you read this?
Chuck writes a winner with this all-star tribute to the glamour and glitz of the Golden Age of the entertainment industry. The story is simple--or is it? First let me start with the writing style. Chuck's last few books have been experimental, frustrating this reader, until I finally declare the experiment "brilliant." Chuck doesn't play with style in Tell-All, but he does do something pretty unique. He "name drops" every single A to D list star from the beginning of celebrity-dom in Hollywood. Hundreds of names. Names I thought were fictitious until I Googled them. And everything he writes about them--their dialogue, their actions--all lies. All Chuck's imagination. Lillian Hellman would be proud!
All of these names are intertwined into a brilliant tale of an aging movie star, struggling to hold on to her fame and name, whose vanity rivals that of Dorian Gray. Always present is her dedicated companion, the teller of this tale. Palahniuk weaves a delicious story of husbands, has-bands, deceased pets and orphans hoping. Brilliant!
Chuck writes a winner with this all-star tribute to the glamour and glitz of the Golden Age of the entertainment industry. The story is simple--or is it? First let me start with the writing style. Chuck's last few books have been experimental, frustrating this reader, until I finally declare the experiment "brilliant." Chuck doesn't play with style in Tell-All, but he does do something pretty unique. He "name drops" every single A to D list star from the beginning of celebrity-dom in Hollywood. Hundreds of names. Names I thought were fictitious until I Googled them. And everything he writes about them--their dialogue, their actions--all lies. All Chuck's imagination. Lillian Hellman would be proud!
All of these names are intertwined into a brilliant tale of an aging movie star, struggling to hold on to her fame and name, whose vanity rivals that of Dorian Gray. Always present is her dedicated companion, the teller of this tale. Palahniuk weaves a delicious story of husbands, has-bands, deceased pets and orphans hoping. Brilliant!
Way too confusing for my taste. I enjoyed his previous books, but this one did not hit the spot. It took 70 pages for the book to actually pick up. I was not only confused, but I was bored out of my mind. I'm sorry chuck, maybe next time.
