Chuck Palahniuk’s latest novel, “Tell-All”, is about a washed-up actress named Katherine “Miss Kathie” Kenton and her confidant, Hazie Coogan, who is not only her maid but also the force behind Katherine’s glamorous facade.
Palahniuk always seems to find new ways to tell his stories. Possibly his most famous work “Fight Club,” which was published in 1996 and made into a movie in 1999, was told by an unnamed narrator with two personalities.
“Tell-All” reads like a screenplay, which is quite clever of the author. Each chapter — or act — opens with a different camera angle. With the exception of voice-overs, the story is told by Hazie.
It is Hazie’s responsibility to hold Katherine’s life together because the actress is often too sedated and emotional to do much for herself.
When the often-married and divorced actress meets potential suitor Webster Carlton Westward III, Hazie steps in to prevent catastrophe. Katherine has encountered such men before who simply use her and leave her heartbroken. Hazie does her best to thwart Webster’s efforts by rescheduling dates and not giving Katherine her messages from Webster.
It’s vintage Palahniuk: dark, creative, vulgar and hilarious, and littered with little buzz words and coined phrases like “was-bands,” in reference to her ex-husbands; “projectile praise,” the overabundant compliments Katherine receives; and “funeral flirtation,” which is pretty self-explanatory.
Palahniuk name drops incessantly. Classic actors like Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis are printed in boldface for the reader’s viewing pleasure. This book could very likely inspire a night of renting old classic movies — especially if you don’t know who any of these people are.
He’s making some underlying commentary about Hollywood starlets as well. At one point in the novel, Katherine Kenton holds auditions for a baby she can adopt. However, the infants either don’t match her home decor or just simply cry too much and so her efforts to become a diva-mother are in vain. It’s hard to ignore the parallel with current celebrities who adopt children like it’s the greatest fad since skinny jeans.
My only qualm with the book is how difficult it is to relate to the characters. Their dialogue exchanges are hilarious and their quirky personalities entertaining, but I didn’t really connect with any of them; they’re just too extreme to be real people.
I think any member of the Chuck Palahniuk cult will love “Tell-All” just as much as his previous 12 novels.