Inane from the grave

Michael A. Stusser's The Dead Guy Interviews digs itself into a hole of banality

By Alexa Weibel
Published: September 25th, 2007 | 6:26pm

After a chance encounter with a supposed Beethoven look-alike in his local Rite Aid, writer Michael A. Stusser apparently got to thinking about what he would ask famous deceased personages about their lives. Funny, because the deceased Kurt Vonnegut got around to the task back in 2001 in his book, God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian, with a more elaborate premise, which involved being strapped to a gurney by Kevorkian to serve as a "reporter of the afterlife" during his visit to the Pearly Gates. Vonnegut is, indubitably, a terrible act for an novice to attempt to follow.

In The Dead Guy Interviews, Stusser precedes each chapter with perfunctory informational intros about each subject. The research conducted by Harvard historian Anne Kaiser is, alas, disappointed by the casual-flippant, even-tone of the author, who approaches his subjects with slapstick humor, rather than wit, and absurdist conjectures in lieu of historical accuracy. Vonnegut would be rumbling in his grave to hear that Stusser had Jefferson admit to fathering slave Sally Hemmings' children-it's one thing to address taboo topics skirted by their subjects, but another thing entirely to have them admitting to things that defy their character according to historical records.

There's also something disconcerting about Beethoven using the phrase "the balls" or "trolling;" or hearing Alexander the Great say of his father, "the man got around." Even more mortifying is Stusser's bastardization of Thomas Jefferson, as he has the founding father repeating the "true, true" like an over-tanned sorority girl. The poor usage of modern phrases fails to help readers associate with the subjects; in fact it has the reverse effect of creating distance by portraying them as fools. As Houdini tells him, magic "takes mad skills, son," all credibility falls by the wayside.

Stusser's method of typecasting his subjects by colloquialisms -- Henry VIII says "right-e-oh," da Vinci finishes his words with a flourishing "a," while the French and Germans (who, according to Stusser's ear, sound interchangeable) throw around a sad abundance of "zer" and "zee" -- simply paint a comic-book portrait of the characters. Poor Coco Chanel speaks with a flurry of French cliches like "creme de la creme" or "imbecile" ad nauseum -- he even has her note, in an obvious example of pedantic stereotyping, "I am French. I smoke like zee chimney."

Ultimately, The Dead Guy Interviews is more suited to younger audiences who haven't yet discovered Vonnegut, who wrote his version with a revealingly irreverent tone that overshadows Stusser's mere irrelevance.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Dead Guy Interviews (Penguin)
By Michael A. Stusser
304 pages
List Price: $14.00