 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's
notability guideline for books. (June 2023) |
 Book cover for P. F. Kluge's novel Biggest Elvis | |
| Author | P. F. Kluge |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Penguin |
Publication date | 1996 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 341 |
| ISBN | 0-14-025811-6 |
Biggest Elvis, also known as Biggest Elvis: A Novel, [1]is a novel [2] written by the American author P. F. Kluge, a former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Pacific region [3] and writer-in-residence at Kenyon College. [4] This 1996 literary piece started out as a journalistic writing for Playboy magazine, to illustrate the nightlife in brothels and nightclubs when fleets of American naval servicemen dock for sailors' shore-leave [2] in the port of Olongapo City. [4] It is also a portrayal of the entrapment of poverty-stricken residents of Olongapo within a "military economy" through the nightly and ritualistic on-stage rebirths, deaths and resurrections of Elvis Presley by three American copycats living and making a livelihood while in the Philippines. [5]
In general, Kluge’s Biggest Elvis is the story of a former college professor and of America itself. [6] The "part mystery" and "part love story" novel [7] is set in Olongapo City, a Philippine town closest to Subic Naval Base, a former U.S. naval installation in the Far East during the 1990s. As a narrative and a commentary [8] regarding American "cultural imperialism" [3] – including " pop-culturalism" [5] – in the Asian region, and the final years of militaristic presence of the United States in Subic Bay, Biggest Elvis protagonizes three American Elvis Presley impersonators and caricatures [3] who perform in a nightclub known as " Graceland", [7] a building that started out as a movie theater. [5]
The triad of reborn Elvises include the fictional persons of Ward Wiggins, Chester Lane and Albert Lane. They were a representation of the changing roles of Americans in the world stage of the time, as "vigorous pioneers" [5] and "lean innovators" turned extravagant and colossal superpowers. [1] [5] Wiggins was the eldest of the trio of impersonators and an unsuccessful English language professor. Chester Lane, known in the narrative as Baby Elvis, [1] was the imitator of the youthful Elvis Presley. His brother, Albert, revived the Elvis epitomized in American cinema, and called "Dude Elvis". [1] The most senior and an obese personification [1] of Elvis, Wiggins, came to be regarded as the "biggest Elvis" – a religious symbolic figure and savior – of the local people and bargirls of Olongapo City, [1] [3] Wiggins was the most serious entertainer among the three because he reached out to the bargirls in order to uproot and lift them up away from their current flesh-driven livelihood, while the Lane Brothers only regard their performances as a momentary engagement. [2] For Wiggins, his show business entanglement was a saintly and spiritual calling. He believed that he was indeed the real Elvis, not just a mimic of America's king of rock and roll music. [5] However, their popularity as performers was overtaken in the end, before Wiggins' final and greatest Elvis Presley entertainment act, by five bargirls, namely Whitney, Elvira, Dolly, Lucy Number Three and Malou. [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g Kluge, Paul Frederick (1996). Biggest Elvis: A Novel by P. F. Kluge. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-86974-9. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07.
- ^ a b c Pearl, Nancy (2003). Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason. Sasquatch Books. ISBN 1570613818 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d Kluge, P. F. (1997). Biggest Elvis by P. F. Kluge. Penguin. ISBN 0140258116.
- ^ a b Lobanov-Rostovsky, Sergei. "Guns, Drugs, and Elvis: A Guide to Research for Fiction Writers". Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01.
- ^ a b c d e f Ferguson, Sarah (September 1, 1996). "Graceland in the Philippines". The New York Times.
- ^ Eder, Richard (August 4, 1996). "Pretenders to the King's Throne, Biggest Elvis by P.F. Kluge". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b "Biggest Elvis: A Novel by P. F. Kluge". Flipkart.[ permanent dead link]
- ^ Inskeep, Steve; Nancy Pearl (July 23, 2004). "A Librarian Suggests Some Escapist Fare". NPR.
| The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's
notability guideline for books. (June 2023) |
|
Book cover for P. F. Kluge's novel Biggest Elvis | |
| Author | P. F. Kluge |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Penguin |
Publication date | 1996 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 341 |
| ISBN | 0-14-025811-6 |
Biggest Elvis, also known as Biggest Elvis: A Novel, [1]is a novel [2] written by the American author P. F. Kluge, a former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Pacific region [3] and writer-in-residence at Kenyon College. [4] This 1996 literary piece started out as a journalistic writing for Playboy magazine, to illustrate the nightlife in brothels and nightclubs when fleets of American naval servicemen dock for sailors' shore-leave [2] in the port of Olongapo City. [4] It is also a portrayal of the entrapment of poverty-stricken residents of Olongapo within a "military economy" through the nightly and ritualistic on-stage rebirths, deaths and resurrections of Elvis Presley by three American copycats living and making a livelihood while in the Philippines. [5]
In general, Kluge’s Biggest Elvis is the story of a former college professor and of America itself. [6] The "part mystery" and "part love story" novel [7] is set in Olongapo City, a Philippine town closest to Subic Naval Base, a former U.S. naval installation in the Far East during the 1990s. As a narrative and a commentary [8] regarding American "cultural imperialism" [3] – including " pop-culturalism" [5] – in the Asian region, and the final years of militaristic presence of the United States in Subic Bay, Biggest Elvis protagonizes three American Elvis Presley impersonators and caricatures [3] who perform in a nightclub known as " Graceland", [7] a building that started out as a movie theater. [5]
The triad of reborn Elvises include the fictional persons of Ward Wiggins, Chester Lane and Albert Lane. They were a representation of the changing roles of Americans in the world stage of the time, as "vigorous pioneers" [5] and "lean innovators" turned extravagant and colossal superpowers. [1] [5] Wiggins was the eldest of the trio of impersonators and an unsuccessful English language professor. Chester Lane, known in the narrative as Baby Elvis, [1] was the imitator of the youthful Elvis Presley. His brother, Albert, revived the Elvis epitomized in American cinema, and called "Dude Elvis". [1] The most senior and an obese personification [1] of Elvis, Wiggins, came to be regarded as the "biggest Elvis" – a religious symbolic figure and savior – of the local people and bargirls of Olongapo City, [1] [3] Wiggins was the most serious entertainer among the three because he reached out to the bargirls in order to uproot and lift them up away from their current flesh-driven livelihood, while the Lane Brothers only regard their performances as a momentary engagement. [2] For Wiggins, his show business entanglement was a saintly and spiritual calling. He believed that he was indeed the real Elvis, not just a mimic of America's king of rock and roll music. [5] However, their popularity as performers was overtaken in the end, before Wiggins' final and greatest Elvis Presley entertainment act, by five bargirls, namely Whitney, Elvira, Dolly, Lucy Number Three and Malou. [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g Kluge, Paul Frederick (1996). Biggest Elvis: A Novel by P. F. Kluge. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-86974-9. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07.
- ^ a b c Pearl, Nancy (2003). Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason. Sasquatch Books. ISBN 1570613818 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d Kluge, P. F. (1997). Biggest Elvis by P. F. Kluge. Penguin. ISBN 0140258116.
- ^ a b Lobanov-Rostovsky, Sergei. "Guns, Drugs, and Elvis: A Guide to Research for Fiction Writers". Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01.
- ^ a b c d e f Ferguson, Sarah (September 1, 1996). "Graceland in the Philippines". The New York Times.
- ^ Eder, Richard (August 4, 1996). "Pretenders to the King's Throne, Biggest Elvis by P.F. Kluge". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b "Biggest Elvis: A Novel by P. F. Kluge". Flipkart.[ permanent dead link]
- ^ Inskeep, Steve; Nancy Pearl (July 23, 2004). "A Librarian Suggests Some Escapist Fare". NPR.