First Details For Chuck Palahniuk's 2010 Novel, "Tell All"
In a recent audio interview Chuck did with KPBS, while on the road promoting his latest novel "Pygmy", Chuck openly talked about his next novel. In fact, Chuck revealed that, while caring for his mother last year, he actually wrote three novels! The one which is going to drop in 2010 is called "Tell All" and if you thought Chuck couldn't get anymore original and daring... think again.
The plot: The novel will feature Lillian Hellman, a real life playright. She is best known as Dashielle Hammet's lover and the writer of the controversial film "The Children's Hour" which featured Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McClain as lesbians. According to the interview, Chuck wants to reinvent her as a "larger than life Super Hero" and talk about her incredible life and exploits, as she wrote about them in her memoir "An Unfinished Woman".
You can listen to the full, 16 min audio interview with Chuck, where he discusses "Tell All" by clicking here. (Chuck begins talking about the novel around the 15:19 mark)
And here is some more information about Hellman from her Wikipedia page:
Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes. She was romantically involved for 30 years with mystery and crime writer Dashiell Hammett (and was the inspiration for his character Nora Charles), and was also a long-time friend and literary executor of author Dorothy Parker.
Comments
Word.
ok and I am kdding
QFT. Just because an artist goes through something traumatic that affects their writing does not mean that their writing is automatically better and you 'don't get it' if you're not more into Lullaby than Fight Club. There seems to be some sort of obligation to find something better because there's a backstory, and the more unpleasant the backstory, the more authentic the creation is supposed to be. I don't find this to be a law of nature. You can be negatively affected by negative experiences as well.
That said, I sympathize with Fight Club far more than Lullaby. Maybe if my father was murdered, I'd find more of an appreciation for it. But I'm not obligated to enjoy Lullaby more because it was written with the awareness of those emotions at mind. I'm young, Fight Club appeals to angsty young people. I'm not 'wrong' for finding a connection that others don't.
All this said, I intend no disrespect to The Palahniuk, and would think that he understands this cold truth. On the tour CDs he gave out with packages, the intro talks about a friend of his trying to read her work in bars, about a relative dying at a young age from a terminal illness. People were brutally honest to the level of disrespect in telling her to shut up so they could hear the football game or whatever. Chuck said he realized you can't get those sorts of people's attention with stories of children with terminal illnesses, but you can with stories about underground consensual fighting.
So yeah, my sympathy for your struggles does not mean I automatically enjoy your art. The sympathy can help you enjoy something more, but it's not the beginning and the end.
Citation, please.
Also, I can say Chuck sucks as a writer if I haven't read any of his books.
THIS IS AMERICA! BACK ME UP GIGGAN, HUH, HUH?!
Cool, I wrote the above before even realizing you posted that later.
Wow, I had no idea how old this thread was.
I have enjoyed every novel that Chuck has written, and I don't do it blindly or with a zealots sort of passion. I can definitely say there have been some I enjoyed much more than others. I find it humorous to see comments to Chuck requesting that his next novel not suck, or that it is more like Fight Club or Rant or whatever that person clings to most. As if he wrote the novel just for you.
Why do so many readers feel that they have a personal connection to an author? Is it because Chuck is such a genuine guy? I know I felt completely comfortable and at ease meeting him. I understand the feelings associated with reading a novel and feeling a part of it all too, but come on, would you expect a movie to cater to you personally as well? If you can step outside of your comfort box, accept the writing for what it is, and the author as well, and not create excuses or negativity for what you expected it to be you may find your reading experiences to be more fruitful.
If you don't enjoy the work, don't read it. If you want to see the author succeed, support him or her.
Because this is a forum, and that's what people do on forums: they complain about things.
I like it.