Sometimes the best stories are true. While fiction can take you to places where you’ve never been and can give you hope when you’re looking for it, there’s always that little voice reminding you it’s too good to be true.
The stories that stick with you are the ones that leave you thinking,“That really happened?!”
It’s difficult to connect a definite overarching theme to the collection called “Pulphead: Essays,” by John Jeremiah Sullivan.
Some essays are deeply personal. Sullivan describes his brother’s near death experience and recovery from electrical shock, his own apprenticeship under southern literary great Andrew Lytle, and his coverage of Creation, the biggest Christian Rock festival in the United States.
Other essays cover obscure blues musicians only known to the hardcore collectors that are “to one degree or another sociopathic,” Indian cave art in the numerous unnamed caves of the Cumberland Plateau, and Sullivan’s fear of the inevitable war between humans and animals.
What the essayist absolutely succeeds in doing is breaking down the reader’s preconceptions of an issue and approaching it from a more accepting understanding.
Sullivan is quick to suspend judgment on people; instead he chooses to provide deeper appreciation of other people’s motivations.
His ability to refrain from unduly critique of people no doubt stems from the fact that he carries the “fringe” status that many of the subjects hold.
Sullivan goes through what he calls a “Jesus phase” in high school, drops out of college and spends time working in Ireland before eventually returning to finish his degree.
The writer is at his best when he relates to others, offering a view into their minds’ inner machinations, beautifully capturing the attitude of Louisiana’s post-Katrina environment.
He works to juxtapose the kindhearted Bill Melton and Miss Jackie at the Red Cross shelter in Gulfport to the hostile air surrounding those in the expansive line for the only gas station open for miles.
Along with illustrating the suddenness of Katrina’s destruction, Sullivan also writes in his book that “the future had been ripped away and replaced with a massive blank.”
Less stirring are his pieces about the music culture. While offering insights into the world of obsessive folk blues enthusiasts, and a more personal look at the life of Michael Jackson, the author fails to capture personal elements that make some of his other essays so enthralling.
For instance, in “Getting Down To What Is Really Real,” Sullivan, who is a self-professed “Real World” aficionado, explores the world of reality television, and the lives of its participants.
While Sullivan throws back drinks with the Miz, from “Real World: Back to New York,” you get a sense of his giddiness and excitement that only a true fan holds. While in “Michael,” Sullivan’s voice seems less enthusiastic, less associated with the story, seeming more like he’s reporting a story than being involved in the telling of it.
“Pulphead” is a collection of essays that captures hidden and unrecognized parts of America. Sullivan brings these places to life with his energetic voice and delivers some insights into what it means to live in America.
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