A wacky book you’ll be talking about with your friends.
In what has to be the most random and unpredictable collection of stories ever conceived, all celebrating the ridiculous addiction that Americans have to celebrity, Ross Dreiblatt has penned a pop culture dream entitled I AM NOT BRAD PITT: And Other Stories. Three real person fiction tales satirize and poke fun at the inflated influence our idols have on all of us. The opening story highlights the downfall of an average man with an above-average talent, that of resembling Brad Pitt. Once Mr. Pitt gets wind of the veristic impersonations, an unwittingly Faustian bargain is unwillingly struck. The next tale veers off into the truly bizarre as we discover the dark secret behind the staying power of the Rolling Stones. The final story wanders into fantasy territory as the author pits D.C. grit against Hollywood glamour in a behind-the-scenes look at who really pulls the strings behind one of America’s most recognizable families, and to what end.
“There was no way I would ever resemble this guy who oozed sex on screen like that. I never oozed anything—well, not anything good.” Relatable, self-deprecating characters are only part of the charm in Dreiblatt’s delightfully convoluted collection of stories. Most impressive, however, are the well-defined plotlines tethering each oddball story to reality. Keith Richards as an immortal mentor with an enticing offer for fame? Yes, please. Fashion advice from Kim Kardashian with a huge expense account on the side? Who wouldn’t enjoy that? The stories, like the imagined private lives of Hollywood’s elite, are bold and outrageous, but with small reminders of their humanity scattered across the pages. Reminiscent of those sporadic reports of pet cats walking thousands of miles to get back to their house when their owners move far away, Dreiblatt’s shorts toe the line between barely plausible and just zany enough to almost be believable. Good for some hearty laughs and some insolent humor, I AM NOT BRAD PITT: And Other Stories is a wacky book you’ll be talking about with your friends.
