Review by Petra1791 -- Call Me Pomeroy by James Hanna

[Petra1791]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Call Me Pomeroy" by James Hanna.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Call Me Pomeroy: A Novel of Satire and Political Dissent by James Hanna is a humorous, fictional novel about a man named Eddie Beasley who calls himself Pomeroy. Pomeroy is a narcissistic and delusional parolee in his late fifties who dreams of becoming a famous musician. The story is told from Pomeroy's point of view. His musical quest begins when he is released from San Quentin after being jailed for statutory rape. Upon reading about the Occupy movement demonstrations in Oakland, he entertains his musical delusion and decides to travel to the city in order to obtain exposure and a record deal.

However, in Oakland, he encounters a horde of intriguing but radical people and unwittingly gets involved with their protest. As a result, he is temporarily placed in jail after an altercation with the police. Throughout the story, all Pomeroy wants to do is play his music and become a star. Yet, he keeps meeting more revolutionaries who get him into trouble with the authorities. Regardless, nothing deters him from his dream to become famous with his song, "Ants in My Pants".

This is an extremely entertaining story. I am not a fan of crass and vulgar language which is used throughout the book; however, in this case, I believe it serves a two-fold purpose: to immerse the reader into the story setting and to communicate the inner workings of Pomeroy’s narcissistic and delusional mind. Without this style of language, I do not think Pomeroy’s fixations would be believable. This book captured my interest due to the shocking fantasy world in Pomeroy’s mind. As I continued reading, the language no longer irked me, and I was able to enjoy the story.

What I liked most was the intricate character development of Pomeroy. James Hanna created a character that set me on an emotional journey. In the beginning, Pomeroy angered me due to his unwavering belief that all women are lusting for him. However, in the middle of the story, I felt sorry for him because of this delusion. And finally, in the end, I rooted for him because, despite his fantasy about women, he has a persevering nature that is admirable as he strives to fulfill his dream. What I disliked most was the slow pace in the middle of the book. This was quite noticeable since the story takes off at such a fast speed in the beginning. However, this did not last long, and the story quickly regained momentum through to the end.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I see no reason to give it less than the highest rating. The story and characters were so engaging and amusing that I laughed out loud while reading. The book was very well edited which was quite impressive since the author uses so much slang dialogue. I recommend this book for an adult audience due to the language and subject matter.

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Call Me Pomeroy
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