Tender, by Mark Childress, is the fictional account of the life of the one and only Elvis Presley from birth until he is drafted and is sent overseas. It is told as a flashback, as the first scene (a rather unflattering scene for The King) begins with him rushing onto his plane, being drugged up so he can relax after a show, and then getting stuck in the seat belt which secured him to his bed aboard the plane. As his long time friend and body guard tries to get him unfastened, he says to his friend that things weren't always like this. And so the story begins.
It is important to note that this is fiction and that Elvis is not Elvis in this story, but Leroy (and anyone familiar with the Romance Languages can quickly see Le Roy or Le Roi, The King). I was glued to this book from beginning to end and wished that there had been about 500 more pages to continue his story, but it does make sense to end the fictional account as he was boarding the plane to Germany, with a freshly shaved head that he despised. Really, who wants to read about that part of his life?
I am a HUGE fan of Elvis, being named as I almost was for his daughter, Lisa Marie, and living with my mother as I did who was an even bigger fan than me. I remember the day Elvis died. Mom closed all of the blinds, lit candles all over the house, and played all of his albums back to back. I was 5 and really thought my mother had lost her mind. When I was in my early 20's, Rob and I went to Nashville and Memphis and visited Graceland. I cried as we drive up the drive to the house and just so hoped that he was going to peek around a corner and say hello. No, I do not subscribe to the school of thought that he's still alive somewhere, but I duo get saddened when people die before their life is really over. And his was not over. He had a lot of living left to do.
So, for my reader friends out there, this is a book I think you will love if you have any interest in Elvis at all. If not, skip it.
Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie
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