Elvis in the Morning

Rating:
Summary: Great Story, Great Writing. Should be a best seller!
Review: I proudly declare that I am a long time fan of William F. Buckley Jr. and that this is a very good book. This story is a very enjoyable read. The writing is fine, as one would expect from reading Mr. Buckley's forty books. But this story also has an emotional tone that is, if not sad, at least elegiac. Its nostalgic melancholy sounds a new chord in Mr. Buckley's compositions. There was a touch of it in Tucker's Last Stand and Brothers No More, but this is softer and even a bit, well, if not sweet at least sweeter. I loved it.

Elvis is treated with respect and honesty while the character Mr. Buckley creates, Orson Killere, stands in for the Baby Boomers who were and still are fans of the King. This isn't the place for an analysis of all the ways Orson embodies my generation, but he is wonderfully drawn. You will enjoy getting to know him for his strengths and even his all-too-human weaknesses.

Thanks, Mr. Buckley for another gem.

Rating:
Summary: And Interesting, but Odd and Disjointed Book
Review: It seems odd that Bill Buckley, who established his formidable reputation over nearly half a century writing as a political philosopher and polemicist, has made a kind of second career for himself as a novelist during the past couple of decades. And what's even odder is the thematic content of his novels, which often seems out of character with what one might anticipate knowing his political pre-occupations. The generosity of spirit with which he presents his characters, even those we expect him to be out of sympathy with, no doubt confounds Buckley's detractors, who like to characterize him as an unfeeling, intellectualizing zealot. Buckley's friends are in some cases probably troubled by the same trait, fretful that the old warrior may be harboring a soft spot. In this light, Elvis in the Morning is Buckley's most surprising book to date, at least among the ones that I 've read. In it, he fashions a relationship between a fictional character, one Orson Killere, and of all people, Elvis Presley. While I found it difficult to see exactly what Buckley was getting at in this novel, it seems to be about innocence, and the tendency of this most endearing of human qualities to turn to self-indulgence and, ultimately, self-destruction. Maybe there's supposed to be a metaphor for America there, but who knows? Orson, the 15-year-old son of a single mother working for the U.S. military in Germany in the mid 1950's, makes the local newspapers by stealing a batch of Elvis records form the PX to give away to the poor. Orson, you see, in addition to being an Elvis devotee, has under the influence of kindly Marxist teacher, become a young socialist. Elvis, who was also in Germany at the time for his stint in the Army, hears about the incident and as a sort of publicity stunt, visits the young fan. Improbably, the two of them become fast friends, with Orson introducing Elvis to Pricilla Beaulieu, the very same Pricilla Beaulieu who in real life will go on be become Elvis's famous child bride. Time passes and, back in the U.S., Elvis and Orson remain friends. Orson experiences a series of implausible life adventures, going to college, blossoming into an idealistic student protest leader, getting expelled, hitting the road as a penniless drifter, getting beat up by a hobo, marrying a kind and lovely girl who soon becomes mentally disabled in a car accident, going to work for a start-up technology venture, excelling at the job but getting fired for drug abuse. There's all this and more. Through it all, however, he stays in contact with Elvis, who is entering into his downward spiral and comes to value Orson as the one friend in his life whose sincerity and judgment he seems to trust. If all this sounds rather campish and weird in the re-telling, it reads that way too in the original. Several members of Elvis's real-life entourage, including his father Vernon and "Colonel" Tom Parker, appear as characters. The novel continues all the way up through Elvis's drug-induced death, with Col. Parker towards the end appealing to Orson to use his influence with Elvis to save him. I confess to enjoying this quirky book. Buckley's crisp and subtle prose is, as always, a delight to read, and the portrait of Elvis is interesting, showing him as a sincerely generous, talented and charismatic man, albeit childlike, doomed and half-crazy. However, Elvis in the Morning is not a good book, and I can't for the life of me fathom what inspired Buckley to write it, particularly at his stage of life. He seems to have no particular inside track on Elvis and apparently worked from nothing much more than the well-worn biographical material that's publicly available. The book will appeal to a limited segment of Buckley fans, among whom I include myself. Most others will probably want to avoid it.

Rating:
Summary: Buckley gets the downbeat!
Review: It's a lot of fun to see debonair and sophisticated William Buckley drop his erudite (often pedantic) airs and just write for the fun of it (or as one fan noted, "so the rest of us can understand what he's saying!"). In "Elvis in the Morning," Buckley, the noted politico pundit, takes an unlikely subject (for him) and develops/presents it in a fascinating, readable, and enjoyable manner.

To say his prose moves rapidly is an understatement, as this clever--yet in places ever so poignant--novel moves with a real rock 'n roll upbeat, although hardly taking time for the traditional chorus rounds! Orson Killere is the young son of a German mother who works for the US Army in Wiesbaden. A devout Presley fan, he gets caught stealing Elvis records at the local PX. Elvis, stationed nearby, hears about it and arranges for a meeting. They become lifelong friends and confidents.

This is not the story of Elvis, but of Orson, or "Killer," as Elvis playfully calls him. Elvis, of course, is the pivotal point of the book, as like a proper musical recitative (or even leitmotiv), we keep coming back to him, continually until the King's death. This relationship between the two--often symbiotic, often close--make a fascinating story, whether one is an Elvis fan or not.

While this is a work of fiction, Buckley exercises literary license here and there, but his research is thorough and can't be faulted (after all, remember, this is fiction). His ability to capture the landscape and atmosphere is unquestioned and Buckley shows once again that reading (and in his case,writing) is also a fun undertaking. "Elvis in the Morning" is an odyssey or sorts and that said, don't expect to find the proverbial Trojan horse; just think of Orson as Cassandra, knowing what lies ahead but powerless to stop the inevitable. ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: He got old.
Review: One day, little Orson decided that, since all property should be owned commonly (see: Karl Marx), it was right for him to take all of the Elvis records from a local store, and distribute them among the populace. Unfortunately, he was caught, and the judge's punishment declared that he was forbidden from listening to Elvis Presley on the radio for the next few months. Elvis, hearing of this, drives to meet little Orson and sing for him personally. Elvis in the Morning is the story of the relationship of Orson, Elvis, and Orson's friend (and Elvis' real-life future wife) Priscilla. It is, reportedly, the story of each one's development, and also about Orson's eventual repudiation of socialism.

I know this because I have read about Elvis in the Morning in newspapers and magazines. The book offers no such clues as to where these attributes may be hidden within it. The problem is that nothing in the novel seems connected. I was never quite sure as to what the point of it all was - not a political point, but I was looking for a final lesson learned, a theme, or a message. Orson, and everyone else, seem just the same at the end of the book as they do at the beginning. Maybe a little more world-weary, but they haven't changed in any definable way. And not only have the characters not changed, but the plot doesn't seem to be connected in any discernable way. Elvis and Orson fade in and out of each other's lives, with no real reason. In the end, you're left with a few sparkling scenes, but mainly pages upon pages of filler journalism, merely describing each character's actions.

That was what ended up being my main problem with the novel: the feeling of vacuousness I got reading it. Why was any particular scene happening? Who knows? It wasn't even entertaining, because you were left with a bunch of empty scenes describing characters you didn't care about. If Mr. Buckley was trying to advocate a message (though I don't think he was), he failed. If he was trying to tell a fun story (and I do think he was), he failed.

Now, I'm a huge fan of Bill Buckley. God & Man at Yale, his first novel, still rests only a few feet away. He was always interested in being cute - in including a funny turn on words or slightly off topic jab at a rival - but he always managed to also include substance in what he wrote. Unfortunately, in Elvis in the Morning, and his current columns, he's kept the desire to be cute and lost the ability to be substantive. It's too bad. Still, on the other hand, Mr. Buckley has, in his younger days, written many, many excellent books, both fiction and non-fiction. Go pick up one of those instead of Elvis in the Morning.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting book & it worked for me
Review: Overall, I truly enjoyed this boy-meets-pop-idol story. I, oddly, find this an interesting topic, and did long before this book. Here, a teenager meets Elvis Presley and becomes Elvis's friend. It's a rock and roll fantasy.

In this book, Orson is our Elvis fan who becomes the King's most trusted confidante. Their friendship spans 15 years and, for me, worked better for, approximately, the first half of the book than the latter. By the end of the book, which is very much about Elvis Presley--the real guy--it's hard to keep the focus on Orson while knowing, feeling, awaiting Elvis's fate. And I don't think Buckley pulled this element off; the real Elvis overshadowed the literary fantasy of their relationship.

Orson is a well-fleshed-out character, and he has a life and a wife who is also a solid, full character; they've got their own story and lives that work and are interesting. I would have enjoyed reading even more about them.

But, when we are in the 1970's (chapters are titled by date and place), it became, for me, nearly impossible not to dread and anticipate what would become of Elvis. Chapter headings 1971, '72, '73, etc. - I was thinking to myself: Elvis is going to be dead in five years; Elvis is going to die in four years... Elvis Presley is such a looming figure, and his real life well described in this book, that my focus--and the book's, to a great extent--became Elvis rather than Orson.

What began as boy-meets-hero turned into story of Elvis. And at that point, the fantasy element got lost in the largeness of Elvis Presley. This, then, created other flaws for me. Buckley went to great lengths to tell us Elvis's real life. Elvis's relationship with Orson, then, by the end, was nearly superfluous and, therfore, more "not-believable" than it was fantasy. Similarly for Priscilla's (and Lisa Marie's and others') relationships with both Orson and Orson's wife. Orson had become part of a real life that was vividly described, and the book beame so much about Elvis, that Orson got lost, as did the hero-fantasy (as well, Orson is now an adult with a very real Elvis Presley considering him the only person he can trust -- their friendship took on a far-fetched feel).

All that said, I liked it very much. I liked the beginning for the hero-fantasy, and I liked the latter part for the Elvis story. What I liked in the end is not, I think, what the book was "about," but what I took from it - what a sad, sad story, Elvis Presley. By then, I didn't need Orson - the book had become about Elvis Presley.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting book & it worked for me
Review: Overall, I truly enjoyed this boy-meets-pop-idol story. I, oddly, find this an interesting topic, and did long before this book. Here, a teenager meets Elvis Presley and becomes Elvis's friend. It's a rock and roll fantasy.

In this book, Orson is our Elvis fan who becomes the King's most trusted confidante. Their friendship spans 15 years and, for me, worked better for, approximately, the first half of the book than the latter. By the end of the book, which is very much about Elvis Presley--the real guy--it's hard to keep the focus on Orson while knowing, feeling, awaiting Elvis's fate. And I don't think Buckley pulled this element off; the real Elvis overshadowed the literary fantasy of their relationship.

Orson is a well-fleshed-out character, and he has a life and a wife who is also a solid, full character; they've got their own story and lives that work and are interesting. I would have enjoyed reading even more about them.

But, when we are in the 1970's (chapters are titled by date and place), it became, for me, nearly impossible not to dread and anticipate what would become of Elvis. Chapter headings 1971, '72, '73, etc. - I was thinking to myself: Elvis is going to be dead in five years; Elvis is going to die in four years... Elvis Presley is such a looming figure, and his real life well described in this book, that my focus--and the book's, to a great extent--became Elvis rather than Orson.

What began as boy-meets-hero turned into story of Elvis. And at that point, the fantasy element got lost in the largeness of Elvis Presley. This, then, created other flaws for me. Buckley went to great lengths to tell us Elvis's real life. Elvis's relationship with Orson, then, by the end, was nearly superfluous and, therfore, more "not-believable" than it was fantasy. Similarly for Priscilla's (and Lisa Marie's and others') relationships with both Orson and Orson's wife. Orson had become part of a real life that was vividly described, and the book beame so much about Elvis, that Orson got lost, as did the hero-fantasy (as well, Orson is now an adult with a very real Elvis Presley considering him the only person he can trust -- their friendship took on a far-fetched feel).

All that said, I liked it very much. I liked the beginning for the hero-fantasy, and I liked the latter part for the Elvis story. What I liked in the end is not, I think, what the book was "about," but what I took from it - what a sad, sad story, Elvis Presley. By then, I didn't need Orson - the book had become about Elvis Presley.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD WORK, GOOD READ
Review: Pretty good. Well-written (we expect that from Buckley), nicely even breezily plotted, fast-moving.

Not like reading Greil Marcus or Peter Guralnick, but then it's not intended to be; it's a novel, not an analysis. It's the story of a young man, Orson who is a dedicated Elvis fan and a socialist who believes in common property, who strikes up a relationship with Elvis while in his teens that lasts until the singer's death. The book is about their relationship, and other relationships in Orson's life; and while ideas enter into the book, it is not properly a book about ideas. There is an interesting twist on the notion of common property that comes forward with Elvis' death.

Buckley clearly believes in Presley's genius, knows and loves the songs, understands the career. Does he present new ideas about why or how Elvis decided to throw it all away into drugs at the end? Not really; Buckley's Elvis is a man who gets entangled in drugs and can't and doesn't seem to want to get out. The tragedy is presented as the tragedy of a man, and the waste of a genius, rather than as--for example--something that Elvis' genius pushed him into, or Elvis' way of coping with his misunderstood genius. Buckley's is a fair treatment, and may turn out in the end to be more correct than other more highfaulitin approaches to the Elvis tragedy.

The novel is good, highly recommended. The people are believable, most of the information correct. My one reservation: I wish that Buckley's treatment of Elvis was a little more earth-shattering.

Rating:
Summary: Weak writing from Buckley
Review: Since I was surprised to read such weak writing from such an experienced and knowledgeable author as William F. Buckley, I was even more surprised to read so many positive reviews at Amazon.com. Where am I missing the boat? Yes, it was rather clever of Buckley to follow Elvis's life from the unique perspective of Priscilla's childhood friend, Orson "Killer" Killare. But the facts of Orson's life were so contrived to relate to events of that era in a Forest-Gump-like copy cat fashion and so briefly and rotely dictated, that his character development was extremely weak leaving me feeling no attachment whatsoever to his character. Would I recommend this book to a friend?- -only if he/she was an avid Elvis fan like myself who might enjoy this unusual attempt at revealing the historical background surrounding Elvis's tragic life. I would certainly never recommend it as an example of good writing.

Rating:
Summary: Weak writing from Buckley
Review: Since I was surprised to read such weak writing from such an experienced and knowledgeable author as William F. Buckley, I was even more surprised to read so many positive reviews at Amazon.com. Where am I missing the boat? Yes, it was rather clever of Buckley to follow Elvis's life from the unique perspective of Priscilla's childhood friend, Orson "Killer" Killare. But the facts of Orson's life were so contrived to relate to events of that era in a Forest-Gump-like copy cat fashion and so briefly and rotely dictated, that his character development was extremely weak leaving me feeling no attachment whatsoever to his character. Would I recommend this book to a friend?- -only if he/she was an avid Elvis fan like myself who might enjoy this unusual attempt at revealing the historical background surrounding Elvis's tragic life. I would certainly never recommend it as an example of good writing.

Rating:
Summary: Decent Little Book Doesn't Need A Deep Analysis
Review: There are times when people take things too seriously. Buckley writing a novel about Elvis Presley! Must be some deep thinking going on here. According to my conservative local newspaper, this was quite an exceptional book that saluted Elvis' achievement but juxtaposed it with his demise in hedonistic behavior.

I don't think so.

A cute story that is imminently readable from page one. Most literate people will find this an easy book to read thanks to main character Orson. Orson's childhood friend eventually goes on to become Priscilla, however the main interest in the book is Elvis's friendship with Orson.

Far too many of the reviews have tried to find deep meaning in this book and have taken Buckley to task for not developing characters enough or having more meaning in the book and I think the criticism is unfair.

This is not a serious book that can be considered grand literature. It's an entertaining book with a cute story that is kind of tribute to Elvis while also lamenting what might have been if it wasn't for his excesses. Reading this book will not change your world or provide you with great inspiration or insight. On the other hand, it will make a cross country flight or a rainy day go by a lot easier.

In short, I don't recommend this as a must-read book, but if you like Buckley, or Elvis, or if you are looking for a quick, light read, go ahead and read it.