Plastic Jesus

by Poppy Z. Brite

Imagine yesterday as it should have been: if the two men who formed the world's greatest rock band had lost their hearts not to groupies or heiresses, but to each other.

Seth and Peyton were best friends, bandmates, and rivals. The success that lifted their four-man band from Leyborough, England changed the world and very nearly shattered their minds along the way.

At first it was one big party. Then it all went terribly wrong... and then, somehow, incredibly right. When Seth and Peyton announced their love against the backdrop of the 1969 Stonewall riots, the world had to decide whether to abandon two of its heroes or, just possibly, rethink its deeper prejudices.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, LGBT, Romance, Queer, M M Romance, Music

105 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Poppy Z. Brite (born Melissa Ann Brite, now going by Billy Martin) is an American author born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Born a biological female, Brite has written and talked much about his gender dysphoria/gender identity issues. He self-identifies almost completely as a homosexual male rather than female, and as of 2011 has started taking testosterone injections. His male name is Billy Martin.

He lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Athens, Georgia prior to returning to New Orleans in 1993. He loves UNC basketball and is a sometime season ticket holder for the NBA, but he saves his greatest affection for his hometown football team, the New Orleans Saints.

Brite and husband Chris DeBarr, a chef, run a de facto cat rescue and have, at any given time, between fifteen and twenty cats. Photos of the various felines are available on the "Cats" page of Brite's website. They have been known to have a few dogs and perhaps a snake as well in the menagerie. They are no longer together.

During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Brite at first opted to stay at home, but he eventually abandoned New Orleans and his cats and relocated 80 miles away to his mother's home in Mississippi. He used his blog to update his fans regarding the situation, including the unknown status of his house and many of his pets, and in October 2005 became one of the first 70,000 New Orleanians to begin repopulating the city.

In the following months, Brite has been an outspoken and sometimes harsh critic of those who are leaving New Orleans for good. He was quoted in the New York Times and elsewhere as saying, in reference to those considering leaving, "If you’re ever lucky enough to belong somewhere, if a place takes you in and you take it into yourself, you don't desert it just because it can kill you. There are things more valuable than life."

Reviews

[Danger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this book yesterday at the library. Didn’t even read the description. Just saw the author’s name, the title, and the psychedelic cover art and prepared to have my mind fucked proper.

But that’s not what was delivered here. This story is basically a reimagining of the story of The Beatles that posits what would’ve happened if John Lennon and Paul McCartney had been gay lovers as well as bandmates. Now, this isn’t to say this was LITERALLY The Beatles in the book, but rather a fictional proxy. The band was named Kydds and John and Paul became Seth and Peyton. But their journey from their working-class English beginnings to pop superstars who changed the face of music very much mirrors the general story of the Fab Four.

But where this story diverges, and what is the heart of the entire piece, is the love that blossoms, not just between two men (though they just happen to both be men) but between two souls so perfectly complimentary, to be anything BUT lovers would’ve been a travesty.

The book opens with Seth’s death by gunshot wound (ala John Lennon) at the hands of a crazy Christian extremist who disapproves of Seth and Peyton’s relationship. From there we leap backwards as Peyton recounts how these two men came together and reshaped the world around their love.

In Brite’s afterword, she minces no words in proclaiming her love for The Beatles, and basically says that was the inspiration for the book. I guess you can even say this is on the fringes of erotic fan fiction, except it’s not very erotic or sexually explicit – yet somehow the sense of LOVE and EMPATHY it is trying to convey shines through every paragraph like a lighthouse cutting through the fog.

This isn’t normally the kind of book I like to read. I like my fiction to be a bit…weirder. Or maybe not weirder, but full of more twists and turns and unexpected plot points. But it must’ve been her writing style that transfixed me, because I sat down with this book and read it straight through, start to finish, in one sitting.

Yeah, I enjoyed it.

[Mateo Dk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I talk a lot of shit about the Beatles for someone whose favorite gay novella is Beatles fanfic. A very intimate and honest look at the complexity in a relationship between flawed humans. It was sweeping over a whole career but I felt like I understood the characters and how they felt and acted because they felt honest. I loved it.

[Trin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will take Brite's weird, self-indulgent McLennon RPF over the latest thinly veiled Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance novel any day.

That said: this isn't very good. Brite admits that this novella is something of a failed novel and...yeah. He needed many, many more pages to fully develop these characters and this plot. But I still kind of applaud him for going for it -- and in 2000, not in the grim "year of the three Dramiones" we are currently living through.

[Zanny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Decided to read this out of morbid curiosity, because the very fact that this is Beatles RPF with the serial numbers filed off was so hilarious and baffling to me that I had to at least give it a chance in hopes that it might end up surprising me. And to be fair it did indeed surprise me. I had no clue John Lennon and Paul McCartney threw the first bricks at Stonewall.

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

So, here I am, enjoying this book and it doesn't take long before I get this feeling like I'm reading Beatles slash-fiction. Turns out, in a way, I kind of was! (Which is why it gets shelved as fanfiction even though it's sort of not.)

Anyway, I don't think there was any other choice in how to structure this book...but I wish there was less telling to the story. It opens with the assassination (including inner monologue from the dying character which was hella fucking creepy, just sayin') and then we get the previous 20+ years through intermittent flashbacks. Once the tale has caught up to the present (or whenever this is set) we get a little more linear story.

I read it without stopping, so it obviously engaged me. I'm not sure if a longer, more introspective novel would have. I'm not a Beatles fan (*gasp* I know, whatever. I am and always will be an Elvis-girl) so I think there are two ways a true fanatic would see this book: As a heretical travesty or as the homage it was meant to be. Something tells me that John would have loved it.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is poorly-written wish-fulfillment, far less interesting than the beatles actually were, and occasionally kind of offensive (brian epstein deserves better than to be murdered so the protagonists can be inspired to kiss) but otoh i do genuinely admire martin for publishing it, so you know what? sure.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 1 out of 5]

Badly written novella about how a Paul McCartney and John Lennon are twu lubs and save the world through their sparkly gayness. Basically just published Beatles fanfic.

[David Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transparency, I published the audio edition of this book. I had never read it, and listening to it was my first experience.

This book, a sort of parallel to some events in the lives of The Beatles, follows a band called The Kids. The story is a sort of altnernate world fantasy where the protagonists, Seth and Payton mirror McCartney and Lennon as if they were gay. I see a lot of polarized reviews, and honestly, that is the beauty of this book. Most of those reviews say more about the reader than the work.

This novella has a message of inclusion, a treatise on the type of love we all wish for, and an intriguing take on an old story. I enjoyed it very much. The narrator, Joshua Saxon, brought the various voices to life perfectly.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

ignorando as cuestións éticas de que isto sexa claramente fanfic dos beatles (porque por unha banda o da ficción en base a xente real síntese un pouco yikes por iso de tratar as persoas como seres ficticios, sobre todo cando algúns seguen vivos; mais pola outra banda non sei se consideralo a este punto como algo histórico. And I Darken está baseada na infancia do emperador Vlad, aí non pasa nada porque a protagonista é moza e está dentro do xénero fantástico? pasou suficiente tempo como para que este caso sexa aceptable? o que filmou o documental Let It Be dirixiu no 2000 un filme de ficción no que John e Paul se bican nunha escena. eu xa non sei que dicir), é unha novelette aceptable sobre a fama, o amor, a música e a identidade. quizais tería gostado de que profundizase nalgunhas escenas ou dinámicas, mais para o que é está ben.

quizais unha persoa que apenas saiba nada dos beatles é capaz de gozar máis desta obra, xa que eu non podía evitar relacionar personaxes e escenas cos seus equivalentes na vida real, cousa que saca bastante da experiencia de lectura.

[neil jortsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

fell down about 7 million rabbit holes yesterday that eventually led me to discover the existence of Plastic Jesus aka thinly disguised beatles rpf published in novella form in which john and paul “seth” and “payton” throw the first brick at stonewall . and by some miracle this was available to read through my library
this wasnt particularly good . and its kind of weird about brian . but fascinating that its out there nontheless . rpf is fine

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poppy Z. Brite, Plastic Jesus (Subterranean Press, 2000)

I tried not to be negatively influenced when reading Plastic Jesus by the fact that it is, essentially, a piece of fan fiction about one of the most ridiculously hyped, and the single most overrated, band in music history. Unfortunately, I don't think I succeeded.

Plastic Jesus is the story of the two founding members of a sixties rock sensation called the Kydds. (Oh, let's drop it. It's John and Paul. I mean, even the illustrations are... you know.) The book jacket gives away the whole thing, but I'll just sketch here; the story opens with one of them being shot dead in New York in 1980. (Guess which?) It then goes back and traces the genesis of the band to that point, while attempting to explain why he got shot. The fictional part of it is that, pursuant to Brite's usual obsessions, he's shot because of homophobia, because the two of them are gay.

Well, little surprise there. And when I can divorce myself from the subject matter, it's workable, if workmanlike, Brite; quick, easy reading, pages turning at a decent pace. The characters are believable (though one tends to suspect that's because they're based on real people here, rather than any native authorial skill), the plot plausible. The theme less so, but then, this is a work of fantasy, so we'll allow a little leeway. On this level, at least.

And this is where it breaks down. The line between professional work and fan fiction is usually more a chasm than a line, but sometimes it gets blurry. Plastic Jesus is very much one of those times. While it's quite obviously the work of Poppy Z. Brite (and thus as polished and professional as anything she puts out), it still treads uncomfortably close to the slash line too many times.(Again, I cause myself to wonder if I'd have had this problem were it, say, X-Files fan fiction or John Lee Hooker fan fiction or... you get the idea.)

The bottom line is it's readable. Whether you will find its subject matter to your taste is likely a matter of personal choice. I can't stand the Beatles, never could, and that negatively affected my ability to read this. Your mileage, as they say, may vary. ***

[Kastiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

just pure proof that nothing and no one can get in the way of an artist who draws comfort from reshaping their muse on paper (even if said muse is john lennon)

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a really nice and quick read. It's very refreshing to read in between other books. I enjoyed it!

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm probably bias, but my favorite author is Poppy, so anything by him gets 5 stars always.

[Yoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'avais déjà lu le travail de Poppy Z Brite avec Âmes perdues, et si j'avais aimé l'univers et l'imagination, je n'avais pas trouvé mon compte avec le côté gore/horrifique du roman. La couverture sombre était plus sobre que son contenu, contrairement à Plastic Jesus où c'est l'inverse.

La couverture psychédélique cache en fait une réflexion (ou une fiction de fan, comme l'auteur-e l'appelle iel-même dans la postface de l'édition française de 2002) sur les Beatles, et ce qui se serait passé dans la vie de l'époque si John et Paul étaient sortis ensemble. On part sur un truc un peu délirant, qui cache en fait un vrai côté sérieux; puisqu'ils étaient sortis ensemble, ils auraient offert de la visibilité et de la légitimité aux LGBT+ en profitant de leur notoriété incroyable.

C'est court, ça se lit presque d'une traite (lu entre ce matin et ce soir pour ma part), et la préface et la postface, de même que l'interview de l'auteur-e à la fin sont de bons compléments à la lecture du texte lui-même.

J'ai de nouveau envie de découvrir ce qu'iel a écrit d'autre, quand bien même je sais que c'est plus ressemblant à Âmes perdues qu'à Plastic Jesus.

[Fortune · Rating 3 out of 5]

i must preface this review by saying that im TOTALLY normal about the beatles.

this novella is just a published john lennon/paul mccartney fanfic, something of which i have read many others and much better but it doesn't make this novella any less valuable just because it exists.
this is a book that is often talked about in the beatles forums i used to frequent years ago and always was curious about. i think its good but not that good. i think i could write something better and i honestly think i will, just because i can and just to piss off yoko ono.

one thing i disliked about it is how after harold's death it is revealed that he had been "taking a little more than his fair share" from the 'kydds' winnings, which is something that Brian Epstein, the real person he was based on, would NEVER have done and as another reviewer pointed out; it's a little ugly how it's his death what brings Seth and Peyton together.

another thing i really need to mention is that the author is a trans man and no longer goes by the name of poppy z. brite but by the name of billy martin.

all in all this made me want to read more beatles fanfic.

[Ringo Starr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm getting a tattoo of ALL of The Beatles kissing on the lips because I hate this book that much.

The characterizations are bad. The lack of historical accuracy is understandable, but still upsetting, as John Lennon had an ungodly amount of both mommy and daddy issues due to being abandoned at a young age.
Lennon-McCartney did not have some crazy bonkers rivalry, they were just weirdos. They were not normal in the slightest, and this book does not reflect this properly or in any way at all really. The other Beatles are just as insane and gay as Lennon-McCartney and should've been featured more.
The treatment of teenage girls shows me that Brite is a pathetic nostalgia bitch boy and needs to shut the fuck up. Also, both John and Brian were bottoms, these are lies. Brite wants to get fucked by John Lennon, purely because of Jann Werner's influence. Mark and Dennis should've been gay with them too, I hate historical inaccuracy. Clearly Brite only knows The Beatles as their Help! and Hard Day's Night personas. Moderately Sucky Book.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The execution of this work falls very short of its inherently intriguing premise. As trite a criticism as this may be, the author has the tendency to tell, not show. The characters feel superficial as a result, and the story flat. This is all underscored by the fact that this is essentially a Beatles fanfiction.
The book follows The Beatles’ story almost point-by-point in its early stages, which only stands to highlight any of its deviations from reality. Without going into specifics, this begets an incredibly watered down and actually quite boring version of John Lennon’s (and Paul McCartney’s) story.

There are also a couple of dark storylines that feel uncomfortable when the book so openly mirrors reality.

Still 3 stars just for being brave enough to undermine “””Beatles historians”””.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this isn't the best book I've read, it's one that I have devoured. I grew up loving the Beatles, and to read a what-if of a love story this prolific and important was wonderful. There's a line towards the end of the novel where Seth and Peyton talk about using their celebrity status to make a real change in the world - and the Beatles did just that. It's beautiful to see this imagining of what kind of difference they may have made to the world, to lgbt+ acceptance and to love, had a band romance been true. I would have given it 4 stars had there been more of it. At times, it felt a little rushed and I wanted more description craved to see more of their relationship. But, that said, I adored it.

[oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok so I first came across this book when I was a very creepy 13 year old into mclennon which is something I absolutely DO NOT remember with fondness (avoid making rpf of anyone that hasn't been dead for less than 100 years otherwise it's kinda weird guys) which was also my introduction to Poppy Z. Brite which now I mostly read his books for the vampire emo gay shit but. anyways. when i first read this book i did kind of just read it as a fanfic, which it kind of is, but not technically since these are all "original characters". Re-reading this now, I have no idea if my judgement is clouded by 8th grade nostalgia or not, but I still really like it actually

[Ryley K · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novella about a gay musician killed by a homophobic zealot, that tracks back in the time and finally goes forward in the end. This story is firmly set in real life, referring the AIDS crisis and the 69' Stonewall riots.

The author explains at the afterward this story was his fantasy of John and Paul from The Beatles being lovers.

By the way, this author is a trans man and his name is now William Joseph Martin, but seems that he has to use his deadname since so much of his work was published under it.

[Abdul Alhazred · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just didn't get it. What if the not-Beatles were gay and part of key lgbt history?. Not-Lennon's murder (it's the opener so not really a spoiler) is recontextualized as a hate crime. Arguably in bad taste but the names have been changed around to minimize the rewriting of a real crime (which itself is kind of undone by stating the rewrite explicitly in the afterword?). Maybe there's some deeper commentary here if you're a fan of the Beatles.
As a love story it's more in the teen category, not explicit.

[Eamonn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The three main characters in this short novel are based on John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Brian Epstein. It re-imagines their relationships through a gay lens, in an unremarkable, unsensational way. It relies on the readers knowledge of the Beatles story. So it reads like Beatles gay fan fiction...or whatever the correct genre term is. While i can imagine its creation as a writing exercise, I can't understand why anyone would want to publish it (apart from the obvious). Unremarkable prose, silly dialogue. I found it dull and unengaging - but still short enough to be able to finish.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not prepared.

I assumed this would be gross erotic horror, like the few Brite stories I read. I kept waiting for the cannibal-bitch Lolita fans to literally appear, or for Seth to reanimate.

I was not prepared for this the be straightforward, sweet slashfic. NOT PREPARED.
By the end I was laughing, not at the story but at my own bafflement.

This was cute and sweet, a little fan fantasy. Not bad overall.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible Audiobook

I went into this book as a fan of Poppy’s horror. I couldn’t believe I had never read this-I own it. This is different. It’s more of a what-if story about the Beatles & it is beautiful! The love in this book is palpable. I was going to give it 4⭐️’s for the writing & story, but the ending just got me.

[Julie Bouchonville · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine, kinda cool, but I feel like it was some sort of an in-between phase for Brite : neither the uber-dark, incredibly atmospheric stuff of her youth, nor the more mature, excellent slices of life and fast paced simple plots of her later years. It feels like a transitionnal piece and while im glad i read it, i wouldnt call it great.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s alright. I’m glad that the author published something that was so meaningful to him. While it reads like fan fiction, it doesn’t bother me. The YA/fan fiction vibe feels a little nostalgic. I’m not in a rush to read the authors other books, but I will in the future because this was okay and quick.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very short book, probably more of a novella. It is a retelling of the story of the Beatles if John and Paul had been gay and lovers. Not really much to it.

[JZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Licca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beatles fanfic that recasts Paul and John as the heroes of Stonewall. Godawful, but entertaining, especially the ending.