Robert Clay Allison (Nonfiction)
James S. Peters
Categories: Book Reviews
By: Chuck Lewis 04/01/2008
Sunstone Press, $24.95, Softcover.
This book is called a “work of creative nonfiction,” but I was not impressed. Clay Allison, certainly one of the more renown shootists of his day, deserves better fare than this talky narrative. The endless dialogue is distracting with its use of modern-day vernacular and street slang, and the historical events of Allison’s career are clouded by all the invented filler text. The book does contain several Allison-related photographs, but they do little to qualify the work for any serious consideration as authentic history.
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As a novelist himself, I would have thought the reviewer would recognize this book as such, given the dialogue. It has been my experience that non-fiction does not allow for dialogue except in cases of direct quotes.
I didn't like the venacular, either, even for a novel; it is hard reading. But if one is interested in the life of Clay Allison and is willing to ignore the "street slang," this book is a good map.
As one who has researched fellow Tennessean Clay Allison, I found that Mr. Stevens chronologically covered all the known aspects of Allison's life.
Sharon Cunningham