Sign in with Facebook
Jeff's Reviews > Tell-All
Tell-All
by
by
Chuck's new book follows in the overly stylized vein used in Pygmy and Rant. I have to admit that while I love Chuck, I wasn't crazy about either Pygmy or Rant. Luckily, the uber-stylization works for not against Tell-All. I found this send-up of Hollywood insider biographies to be very funny, exceedingly clever, and downright witty. Sure it was overly repetitive at some points, but it was a fun ride nonetheless.
I'm curious to see how Tell-All goes over with typical Chuck fans. As a bookseller, most of the readers I meet who like Chuck are 20 and 30-somethings who like stories of disenfranchisement told with dark humor. While Tell-All is certainly dark and certainly about a disenfranchised character, it is ... well, let's just say it: it's a gay book. It is a campy book told in high camp style about vintage Hollywood camp. It is, as I stated before, exceedingly funny, but most of the humor will probably only appeal to gay men OF a certain age or gay men who understand things FROM a certain age (i.e., Hollywood's Golden Years). The Lillian Hellman leitmotif, for example, is hysterical. Will it be funny for someone who has no idea who Lillian Hellman is, though? Not sure.
I had a great time with Tell-All, but I don't know if it's for everyone.
I'm curious to see how Tell-All goes over with typical Chuck fans. As a bookseller, most of the readers I meet who like Chuck are 20 and 30-somethings who like stories of disenfranchisement told with dark humor. While Tell-All is certainly dark and certainly about a disenfranchised character, it is ... well, let's just say it: it's a gay book. It is a campy book told in high camp style about vintage Hollywood camp. It is, as I stated before, exceedingly funny, but most of the humor will probably only appeal to gay men OF a certain age or gay men who understand things FROM a certain age (i.e., Hollywood's Golden Years). The Lillian Hellman leitmotif, for example, is hysterical. Will it be funny for someone who has no idea who Lillian Hellman is, though? Not sure.
I had a great time with Tell-All, but I don't know if it's for everyone.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Tell-All.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
May 11, 2010
–
Finished Reading
May 13, 2010
– Shelved
Comments Showing 1-2 of 2 (2 new)
date
newest »
newest »
"but most of the humor will probably only appeal to gay men OF a certain age or gay men who understand things FROM a certain age" Not sure if I would agree with you there. Surely a great deal of the humour is poking enormously big holes in the cult of celebrity etc etc and all of us gay/straight etc can still see how ridiculous that is
i ordered a signed copy of 'tell-all' from a bookseller online. unfortunately, i'll have to wait until july to get that copy. i suppose that means that when i go to the bookstore later today i'll be buying a copy (unsigned) so i can read it right away.
thanks for the review.