Review by aacodreanu -- Call Me Pomeroy by James Hanna
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Review by aacodreanu -- Call Me Pomeroy by James Hanna
[Following is a volunteer review of "Call Me Pomeroy" by James Hanna.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Who can describe the behavior and language of ”wardens of the state” better than someone who had first-hand experience and contact with them? James Hanna, the author of Call me Pomeroy, was a counselor in the Indiana Department of Corrections and has retired from the San Francisco Probation Department.
Because this is what Eddie Beastley, (Head-ward as Jesica Jimenes, his "Latina" probation officer, calls him), the main character of the novel, has been, on and off, after having fought in the Nam war. At present, he is on his way to making it as a musician involved in sanitizing the political climate of the States and of the world at large.
The man who wants to be called Pomeroy starts his adventures when released from San Quentin on parole. While having strong political opinions that he airs whenever he has the chance, his main purpose is to get himself exposure, have his music published and collect lots of money. So he seeks any occasion to be in the public eye: he becomes involved in a movement in Oakland by ”strikers who do not have work to strike about”, among anarchists led by a well-to-do Brit whose father may help Pomeroy sign a contract with Apple Records; he saves a policewoman from rioters by using his guitar as a weapon to brain assailants; he kidnaps a ferryboat that he renames „”The Rights of Man” along with other order disturbers bound to Frisco on free, police provided tickets, causes more trouble in London, pees on Blarney castle in Ireland, after he had kissed, along with other visitors, its symbolic stone, disturbs order in Paris, among others. Most of the time, he is rescued by his parole officer, whom he repeatedly proposes to be his manager. And there is a surprise in the end.
I cannot name one thing that I did not like about Call me Pomeroy, this Novel of Satire and Political Dissent as the author calls it. Of course, it is not for prudes who have too sensitive a palate for strong swearing and innuendo. It reminds me of fifth grade, when boys were very inventive in telling sex-reference jokes, trying to impress us, girls. One woman character in the book confirms my impression when she tells ol’ Pomeroy ”...you do seem more manchild than man.” (Page 95). I like the main character, who narrates his exploits in the first person. This Nam vet, ”narcissistic disorder personality” trouble maker tells them as he sees them. He feels strongly about the policy of several presidents or presidential candidates of the US (Nixon, Clinton family, Obama), criticizes what is happening in banks and corporations, without being a socialist. He is a homeless person who begs just enough to treat himself to an exquisite breakfast and to leave a ten dollar tip, and who spends his days at the library where he reads the classics (Shakespeare, Jack London, but also Joyce’s Ulysses), preferring Yeats among the poets.
The tone of Pomeroy’s voice addressing the reader makes me think of Holden Caulfield of Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. At seventy years distance from that novel’s publication, a hero of such nature will have other wars to fight and win, like becoming a rock star. The present hero is also at another period in his life: while at my first reading I thought him to be in his thirties at most, at my second, I was surprised to learn that he is fifty-seven. This explains the experience and extensive reading he has covered and leaves the reader with the happy feeling that one can continue dreaming and acting towards fulfilling his dreams even at an older age.
I agree with Grady Harp, Hall of Fame Reviewer quoted by Amazon, who calls the book ”an instant classic” and cannot but award the book four out of four stars.
******
Call Me Pomeroy
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
4 out of 4 stars
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Who can describe the behavior and language of ”wardens of the state” better than someone who had first-hand experience and contact with them? James Hanna, the author of Call me Pomeroy, was a counselor in the Indiana Department of Corrections and has retired from the San Francisco Probation Department.
Because this is what Eddie Beastley, (Head-ward as Jesica Jimenes, his "Latina" probation officer, calls him), the main character of the novel, has been, on and off, after having fought in the Nam war. At present, he is on his way to making it as a musician involved in sanitizing the political climate of the States and of the world at large.
The man who wants to be called Pomeroy starts his adventures when released from San Quentin on parole. While having strong political opinions that he airs whenever he has the chance, his main purpose is to get himself exposure, have his music published and collect lots of money. So he seeks any occasion to be in the public eye: he becomes involved in a movement in Oakland by ”strikers who do not have work to strike about”, among anarchists led by a well-to-do Brit whose father may help Pomeroy sign a contract with Apple Records; he saves a policewoman from rioters by using his guitar as a weapon to brain assailants; he kidnaps a ferryboat that he renames „”The Rights of Man” along with other order disturbers bound to Frisco on free, police provided tickets, causes more trouble in London, pees on Blarney castle in Ireland, after he had kissed, along with other visitors, its symbolic stone, disturbs order in Paris, among others. Most of the time, he is rescued by his parole officer, whom he repeatedly proposes to be his manager. And there is a surprise in the end.
I cannot name one thing that I did not like about Call me Pomeroy, this Novel of Satire and Political Dissent as the author calls it. Of course, it is not for prudes who have too sensitive a palate for strong swearing and innuendo. It reminds me of fifth grade, when boys were very inventive in telling sex-reference jokes, trying to impress us, girls. One woman character in the book confirms my impression when she tells ol’ Pomeroy ”...you do seem more manchild than man.” (Page 95). I like the main character, who narrates his exploits in the first person. This Nam vet, ”narcissistic disorder personality” trouble maker tells them as he sees them. He feels strongly about the policy of several presidents or presidential candidates of the US (Nixon, Clinton family, Obama), criticizes what is happening in banks and corporations, without being a socialist. He is a homeless person who begs just enough to treat himself to an exquisite breakfast and to leave a ten dollar tip, and who spends his days at the library where he reads the classics (Shakespeare, Jack London, but also Joyce’s Ulysses), preferring Yeats among the poets.
The tone of Pomeroy’s voice addressing the reader makes me think of Holden Caulfield of Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. At seventy years distance from that novel’s publication, a hero of such nature will have other wars to fight and win, like becoming a rock star. The present hero is also at another period in his life: while at my first reading I thought him to be in his thirties at most, at my second, I was surprised to learn that he is fifty-seven. This explains the experience and extensive reading he has covered and leaves the reader with the happy feeling that one can continue dreaming and acting towards fulfilling his dreams even at an older age.
I agree with Grady Harp, Hall of Fame Reviewer quoted by Amazon, who calls the book ”an instant classic” and cannot but award the book four out of four stars.
******
Call Me Pomeroy
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Shifting Sands by Barry Litherland
