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Pretentious
James McAllen, Author
Pretentious is the story of Zack Miller, a budding superstar who was in the middle of recording his third album, when he decided to turn his back and walk away. For the better part of two decades, he has lived his life away from music and out of the spotlight. Now, 20 years later and long since relevant, he finds his world is once again turning upside down when a drunken TMZ moment lands him back in the public eye.
Plot/Idea: 4 out of 10
Originality: 4 out of 10
Prose: 6 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 5.50 out of 10
Assessment:
McAllen chronicles the life of a one-time celebrity in a solidly composed story of a midlife slump. Musician Zack Miller, whose fame peaked decades ago, has long-since retreated to rural upstate New York and into the bottle. McAllen’s narrative alternates between the present day aftermath of an embarrassing drunken mishap and Miller’s tumultuous years of fame. Though McAllen’s prose style tends to be on the nose, narrative nuance and texture come through his integration of an interview transcript with Miller as well as a section from Miller’s memoirs.
Date Submitted: August 07, 2016
