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I tried not to be negatively influenced when reading Plastic Jesus by the fact that it is, essentially, a piece of fan fiction about one of the most ridiculously hyped, and the single most overrated, band in music history. Unfortunately, I don't think I succeeded.
Plastic Jesus is the story of the two founding members of a sixties rock sensation called the Kydds. (Oh, let's drop it. It's John and Paul. I mean, even the illustrations are... you know.) The book jacket gives away the whole thing, but I'll just sketch here; the story opens with one of them being shot dead in New York in 1980. (Guess which?) It then goes back and traces the genesis of the band to that point, while attempting to explain why he got shot. The fictional part of it is that, pursuant to Brite's usual obsessions, he's shot because of homophobia, because the two of them are gay.
Well, little surprise there. And when I can divorce myself from the subject matter, it's workable, if workmanlike, Brite; quick, easy reading, pages turning at a decent pace. The characters are believable (though one tends to suspect that's because they're based on real people here, rather than any native authorial skill), the plot plausible. The theme less so, but then, this is a work of fantasy, so we'll allow a little leeway. On this level, at least.
And this is where it breaks down. The line between professional work and fan fiction is usually more a chasm than a line, but sometimes it gets blurry. Plastic Jesus is very much one of those times. While it's quite obviously the work of Poppy Z. Brite (and thus as polished and professional as anything she puts out), it still treads uncomfortably close to the slash line too many times.(Again, I cause myself to wonder if I'd have had this problem were it, say, X-Files fan fiction or John Lee Hooker fan fiction or... you get the idea.)
The bottom line is it's readable. Whether you will find its subject matter to your taste is likely a matter of personal choice. I can't stand the Beatles, never could, and that negatively affected my ability to read this. Your mileage, as they say, may vary. ***
The homosexual aspect is interesting in how Brite shows how attitudes change, however small, in people once they know or work with a gay male. The best thing about this novella is how Brite uses the backdrop of the Stonewall riots as the KYDDS' coming out party. In the end, the cliche "the more things change the more they stay the same" is all too painfully true.
The ending is smart and true to the theme of the whole piece. Poppy also illustrates the book using some very kidlike drawings...at first glance they are very simple, but upon further reflection they are charismatic and intuitive.
Overall a great piece of fiction from a favorite of mine. The artwork by the author herself is an added bonus that you can't pass up.
The premise isn't true, of course. John and Paul weren't lovers (as far as we know) and the Beatles split as much for financial as for personality reasons. But it makes a fascinating speculation all the same. What if John and Paul really had been lovers? Would it have made a difference to the music, a difference to their lives (and indirectly to ours)?
I vividly remember the day John Lennon was shot. I remember going into work that day feeling quite numb. And one of my work colleagues sat all day at her desk just sobbing quietly, but uncontrollably.
Poppy Z. Brite was only thirteen when John died. She was really a generation too young for the Beatles and their music. But that didn't stop her and she loved them dearly. She has a copy of a quirky little self portrait that John once drew tattooed on her left bicep.
Plastic Jesus is her intriguing speculation about what might have been and it is her homage to the ideas and ideals of a very great man. She's done a wonderful job and written a very moving story.
