Review: Tell-All

Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I really enjoy Chuck Palahniuk's fiction. He's a truly creative, witty writer. He's in top form with Tell All. I would've given it 5 stars, but I didn't honestly find it "Amazing", although it ranks as one of the best fiction that I've read in a quite a while. So I would give it 4.5 stars if I could. On second thought, I've decided the story was in fact "amazing" and I've now given it 5 stars.

Tell All is Palahniuk's (successful) attempt to deconstruct Hollywood. The story takes place in Hollywood's golden years, circa 1940s, and focuses on an aging female actress, her protective assistant, and the actress' loves.

Every possible actor and actress, director, producer, musician, and studio head working in Hollywood is mentioned in this novel.I admit I was reduced to Googling quite a few of the mentioned actors and actresses, I didn't really have to do it, although doing so added a layer of meaning to the reading. There are simply too many references for one individual reader to be able to identify them all.

I loved everything about Tell All: the format is a screenplay, already conveniently broken down into acts and scenes for the reader; the premise is a love story; the prose is Fight Club raw.

I'm a fan of post-structuralist, self-referential art, and I enjoyed how Palahniuk literally rewrote the ending of the story five or six times. I truly liked how all the actors' names eventually refer to the same person, how Hollywood ultimately reduces everyone to the sameness of existence as it churns out one "star" after another and, finally, I appreciated Palahniuk's social commentary of the perceived role of women in movies. Readers will pick up on that blatant theme as they read Katherine Kenton's extensive list of starring roles. Using his not-so-subtle style, Mr. Palahniuk also brings up the trend of celebs buying ready-made families, a la Brad and Angelina.

I would recommend this novel to everyone, but especially to Chuck Palahniuk fans who might have missed it when it came out a couple of years ago. And if this is your first Palahniuk novel, bear in mind that it doesn't read like his more well-known novel, Fight Club, although there are stylistic similarities. Personally, I associated Tell All more with the feeling of nostalgia that Palahniuk evoked in the first part of Rant.

Tell All is definitely a fun read. I would actually like to see this novel made into a movie.

~JT~


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David N. Walker Guest Post

Today, I am posting on fellow author David N. Walker's blog, and he is guest-posting on mine.

A few months ago I was lucky enough to read David's devotional collection Heaven Sent. I truly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit within the pages. Some of the stories made me laugh, and others tear up, and they all made me pause and reflect on different aspects of humanity. I gave it a 5 Star review on Amazon. The following is David's post:

David N. Walker
As leader of my Sunday School class for the past eight years, I've made it a practice to read a short piece to the class each Sunday before bringing up the teacher. Sometimes it would be something funny or something to do with current events, but frequently it would be an inspirational or devotional piece I've received in an email. I've carefully saved all of these readings over the years.
 
A year or so ago it dawned on me that I had a treasure trove of Christian stories I could share with others. I went back through my files and selected 67 of the pieces I've read through the years. The selection includes some of my own thoughts and one piece written by my daughter. The rest are those I've received in emails.
 

My first step was to try to contact the authors of the pieces whenever I could find their names. Then I sent emails to each asking permission to include his or her piece in my book. Of course, I had to omit a number of them whose authors either were unlocatable or denied permission. The result was the stories I've included in the book, Heaven Sent. Many of them are anonymous, but I've attributed those authors I found who gave me permission to use their stories.
 
Once I selected the stories which would go into the book, I appended comments of my own to them, except, of course, for the ones I originally wrote. To eliminate confusion, I put the original stories in italics, with my comments following in plain text.
 
Please click here to read more about Heaven Sent on my website, including how to order it. Or click here to read about it on Goodreads. Or here to buy a copy while you're at it.
 
Here's one of the stories I wrote:
 

Anna Grace—a Picture of God’s Rest

Sitting in church one morning some years ago, I saw something so ordinary and simple and yet so beautiful that I was overwhelmed by it. I hope I can convey the power of what hit me.
A young couple sat in front of us with a baby in an infant seat between them turned so that the baby—who my wife discovered was named Anna Grace—faced us. Throughout the service—praise and worship, announcements and sermon—the mother sat with her hand lightly touching Anna Grace's cheek.
 
Anna Grace rested one of her little hands on the back of her mother's hand and the other on her arm and just smiled contentedly. A little later she fell asleep with her hands remaining on her mother's hand and arm.
 
The picture was one of unbounded love from the mother to the daughter and of unquestioning trust from the daughter toward the mother. Resting securely in her mother's touch, Anna Grace was totally at peace.
 
The church service and the crowd of people around me ceased to exist as I gazed at this picture. God reminded me that He loved me infinitely more than this human mother loved her daughter and that I needed Him infinitely more than Anna Grace needed her mother.
 
There was much going on around Anna Grace that she could not understand. Our sanctuary holds a couple of thousand people. Our music is pretty loud and lively. Strange people (us) were staring at her. Was Anna Grace daunted in any way by all of this? No! She was at peace, resting in her mother's touch, totally confident that her mother would bring about what was best for her despite anything going on around her.
 
This was the most powerful picture of God's rest I've ever seen. He promised us that He would take ANYTHING that happened in our lives and use it for our good—not some things, not most things, but ALL THINGS! He didn't promise there would never be pain or that all would always go the way WE wanted it to, but He did promise our ultimate good.
 
This infant, Anna Grace, was reminding me to rest in God and be anxious for NOTHING! Not to worry about circumstances around me, not to worry about what I was going to eat or how I would pay for it. Not to be bothered or troubled—period!
 
God has already let us see the end of the book. We know how it comes out. We win! But more than just winning in the end, He has promised that He is in control in the meantime if we'll just surrender ourselves to Him and rest in Him.
 
The contentment on Anna Grace's face spoke volumes more than I can hope to write here. I just hope I have given you a glimpse of what God showed me in this infant and her mother.

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David N. Walker

David N. Walker is a Christian husband, father and grandfather, a grounded pilot, a would-be Nashville star, and a near-scratch golfer who had to give up the game because of shoulder problems. A graduate of Duke University, he spent 42 years as a health insurance agent. Most of that career was spent in Texas, but for a few years he traveled many other states.

He started writing about 20 years ago and has been a member and leader in several writers' groups. Four of his books, the devotional Heaven Sent and the first four novellas in the Fancy series, are now available in paperback and in Kindle and Nook formats. Click here for more information and links to purchase these books.

David continues to work on the Fancy series, and expects to publish volume 5 in April.
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I wish to thank David for participating (and suggesting) this blog post switch today, and for sharing one of his wonderful stories. To read more of David's writing, please go to his blog: http://davidnwalker.com/heaven-sent.

~JT~