Memoirs of the Messiah

The year is 2007, and DNA (playing the main character and the author), having declared himself the Messiah, is on tour—television, radio, magazines. He’s the latest self-manufactured celebrity to grab the 15-minute, super-bright, American-pop-icon spotlight, and he’s riding the fame wave with his entourage of trusty friends, known collectively as Messiah Inc. They include a P.R. guy extraordinaire, various drunks and DNA’s loyal girlfriend, upon whom he heaps praise, jealousy and tongue lashings of the “divine” sort, if he does say so himself. Get past the fits of juvenile humor and machismo in our leading Messiah-man, and you find the raging insecurities oft associated with middle-aged crises. Chico references abound, along with childhood anecdotes, pointless put-downs, name dropping and shameless self promotion, but eventually we get into some well-crafted prose and an almost likeable savior. There’s even a sex-tape scandal to thrill those with a penchant for trashy revelations. But where is DNA taking us? The next logical place: He’s running for president.