Opinion

A memoir according to Kathy Griffin

Kathy Griffin has the cojones for comedy. The Emmy-winning “My Life on the D-List” host, a hotshot who rocks comedy clubs and HBO specials, is a spitfire who lives to dish and her wisecracking style — aimed at creepy nuns and Hollywood elite alike — is an equal-opportunity destroyer.

But in “Official Book Club Selection,” Griffin one-ups Oprah — transforming a tart confessional into memoir gold. Griffin is matter of fact about everything: from her wife-beating pedophile brother Kenny (“the dominant male figure in my formative years”) to her battle with binge eating.

Amazingly, she’s as candid about being banned from talk shows, calling Regis’ executive producer “his bitch,” as her plastic-surgery nightmares. Griffin not only blasts the horrors of liposuction, she shows pictures! And if you’ve ever embarrassed her publicly, she’s naming names. Steve Martin, are you listening?

An Irish Catholic girl from the Midwest, Griffin claims to have slept with “millions of really gross, sleazy guys.” The no-names are grungy; the big names, like Jack Black, are, too.

But regret is for other people — this is a tell-all without tears. Griffin lives by a holier trinity: “TV, insomnia and delusion of grandeur.” This latchkey-kid-turned-driven-adult craved attention, so she bypassed college and headed for LA. That meant loads of crummy jobs, until, through hard work, she won a spot in the comic troupe The Groundlings. Later, she honed her craft in stand-up. “Book Club” recounts the acts, the bombs and the sitcoms: from a guest turn on “Seinfeld” to her four years on “Suddenly Susan.”

But it’s equally candid about the dry spells and transient friendships with fellow comics Lisa Kudrow and Janeane Garofalo. Griffin is devoid of self-pity. Despite her “Susan” success, she couldn’t get booked — or her agent to return her calls. Then, turned away from a VIP party, it hit her: “I was the insider as outsider. It was an A-list world, and my life was on the D-list.” Ka-ching. It’s show time!

Bravo’s award-winning “D-List” jump-started her career, but all that glittered wasn’t gold.

Husband Matt was a nice guy, but a compulsive liar. He couldn’t keep a job or manage money. When she discovered he had stolen $72,000 from her ATM account, she filed for divorce — and never looked back.

Part of her strength is her obsession — she lives to be funny — even if Anna Wintour doesn’t get the joke. (Wintour fired her from the VHI/Vogue Fashion Awards for a crack about cocaine and the Hilton sisters. Next!)

Whether she’s sharing a parental putdown, slamming a Lohan or recounting Andy Dick’s insane, drug-addled stunts, Griffin is a trash-talking comic machine.

The book’s epilogue — its reading group guide — is a scream. Question: “Do you consider yourself an inspiration to women?” Answer: “If by women you mean drag queens, then the answer is yes.”

“Book Club” is funny, honest and refreshingly unsentimental. Griffin embraces Michael Corleone’s mantra with a vengeance: All business is personal.

Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin

by Kathy Griffin

Ballantine Books





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