Tell-All

by Chuck Palahniuk

[lisacee]

I wanted to like this book, but it may be my least favorite Palahnuik book that I've read.

The cover, both front and back, are what really piqued my attention when I saw this in the bookstore (though, I got my copy from the library). Beautiful cover design with glitter detail and the back cover with the anonymous quote of "Every word he writes about me is a lie, including "and" and "the." (I don't have the book in front of me to get the exact quote, but you get the idea.)

I just never got into this book. I understand what Palahnuik was trying to get at with the bold-type on all of the celebrity names and brands, but that sort of thing is just not my scene and maybe it's my fault for thinking that he could make it something that interested me.

The worst thing I can say about this book is that I guessed the twist early on. (It's not a spoiler to say that a Palahnuik book has a twist, is it?) I have only ever guessed the twist in one other of his books (Invisible Monsters) but that was much closer to the reveal and I cared so much about the characters that it excited me. Here it just seemed predictable.

Cult members, as Palahnuik fans call themselves, will surely love this book and call my review blasphemy but Tell All just didn't move me like his previous books. Palahnuik is excellent at writing books with highly unlikable characters and plots like a train wreck where you just can't look away, but this book failed to get any emotional response from me except maybe boredom.