Another Song About the King: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) [Paperback]

Kathryn Stern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2001 | Series: Ballantine Reader's Circle

"You were named for Elvis. . . .  Darlin', did you hear me? You were named for Elvis Presley. Not even your father knows that. Wouldn't you like to share a secret, just you and me?"                

Simone "Mimi" Page once dated Elvis--and will never let her daughter forget it. Though Silvie grew up in the shadow of the King, it was her mother's unfulfilled life that really darkened her childhood. Flamboyant and passionate, with a southerner's flair for colorful stories, Mimi could inspire Silvie like no one else. Nothing is worse than being ordinary were words she pounded daily into young Silvie's mind. But too much success, too much talent, too much Being Somebody--even when that Somebody was her own daughter--could stir up a torrent of envy that Silvie would come to know too well.

Determined to escape her mother's long reach, Silvie moves to New York to become an artist--something Mimi has always aspired to be. But even when her career takes off and she meets a wonderful man, Silvie finds her complicated relationship with her mother remains a forceful tide, pulling at her dreams and sense of self. Silvie has nearly given up on reconciling with her past. Then a family crisis draws her back home--and she discovers what Elvis was really all about. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this first novel, Silvie deals with a lifetime of her mother Mimi's overshadowing dramatics. The novel travels in time, with chapters alternating between Silvie's childhood and current adulthood. Mimi's defining moment--a teenage date with Elvis Presley--is constantly discussed and embellished, much to the embarrassment of her family. Mimi is jealous of her daughter and continuously annoys Silvie (an anagram of Elvis) with her dramatic clothing and nontraditional ways. Silvie gains strength by leaving home for college and a new life in New York City. But just as her life is falling into place and a serious relationship starts to blossom, Silvie must return home to help Mimi in a time of intense crisis. This is an insightful, well-written look at a difficult mother-daughter relationship. It also captures the interesting place of women in the Sixties, as Mimi struggles with her boredom and unfulfilled ambition. A solid purchase for all fiction collections.
-Beth Gibbs, P.L. of Charlotte & Mecklenburg Cty., NC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Silvie Page believes that she has finally escaped her mother. She has moved to New York, started working, and has even fallen in love. But when her mother Simone, whom she has called Mimi since childhood, is stricken with cancer, Silvie returns home to care for her. This brings back memories of the past: Mimi's outrageous behavior, her competition with Silvie, and her belief that the time she dated Elvis was her one moment of glory. Mimi's fixation with all things Elvis puts a strain on her relations with her family, especially Silvie, whose name is an anagram of Elvis. As Silvie and her mother plan her wedding, she begins to come to terms with and understand her mother's lost dreams and how they affected her. In her first novel, Stern handles the love/hate relationship between mothers and daughters with skill and understanding, making this more than just another novel on an often-explored theme. Indeed, the novel is at its best when focusing on Mimi and her obsession with Elvis and most important, her dreams of greatness that are never realized. Kristine Huntley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034543319X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345433190
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,545,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Song About the King: A new Voice that soars!, March 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Another Song About the King: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Another Song About the King" is a moving portrayal of the mother/daughter relationship at it's most poetic, heartfelt and compassionate. Simone, a Detroit housewife "who could have been somebody" had she stayed in her native South, is the mother of Silvie, a girl wise beyond her years who has lived her life in the fear that the more potential she shows, the more displeased her mother will be. When Silvie finally breaks free of her mother and moves to New York and her life begins to take off, Simone is struck down with cancer and Silvie must come to terms with a mother, as much larger than life as she is difficult. "Another Song About the King" moved me to tears with writing eloquent, passionate and poetic. The character of Simone reminded me of an Amanda Wingfield in "The Glass Menagerie" set aginst the backdrop of the sixties. Her credo of "Always order a large" is particularly poignant when the reader takes into account the simple background of the middle class suburb that Simone has found her self in. Author Stern has also shown how a woman of talent and audacity could get trapped, particularly in early sixties America. I loved this book and know that other readers will as well, particularly women. The final chapters are gorgeous. I can't wait to see what characters this young author of such tremendous skill and talent will invent next.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blue Suede Shoes, June 8, 2001

By 

K. Fromal "kristinof" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Another Song About the King: A Novel (Hardcover)

Her mother's blue suede shoes always caused a problem for young Silvie. She wants a traditional, conservative mother, but ended up with Mimi - a headstrong, independant woman whose claim to fame is her dates with Elvis. Silvie believes that she has finally gotten away from her mother's indominable clutches when she moves to New York, but when Mimi is diagnosed with terminal cancer she goes home to help her die.

Through this time together, Silvie embraces her mother. She comes to learn the important elements of her family history. Through this time, Silvie gives and recieves the important elements of her mother's life, and finally comes to accept both her childhood and her future. She learns how to move beyond her mother, yet how to more fully embrace her special qualities.

The book is an excellent read for women. It gives a remarkable portrayal of the mother-daughter bond, with all of its pain and promise. Overall, highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resolution of mother-daughter relationship, June 14, 2000

By 

M. Desoer (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Another Song About the King: A Novel (Hardcover)

Most mothers and daughters have bumps or strains in their relationships, but Silvie has grown up under the "guiding hand" of an extremely narcissistic mother, whose claim to fame is her purported date (or is it dates) with Elvis. In fact, she confides to her daughter that Silvie is meant to be an anagram of Elvis. The Elvis-date story, in its various permutations, surfaces at several points in the story, and provides the basis for Silvie's mother's ever-present discontent with her suburban life.

As Silvie grows up in her mother's bizarre household, she attempts to break away; ultimately, she moves to New York. When her mother is diagnosed with cancer, Silvie's world is turned upside down, as she tries to reconcile her relationship with her mother and find out the "truths" and "whys" about her and her mother's life.

I don't usually cry when I read books, but the tears flowed around the end.