Biggest Elvis [Paperback]

P. F. Kluge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

Life is good for three Elvis impersonators working together in the Philippines, but it is not long before the popularity of the acts becomes just too big for some, and they have to find a way to sort out their problems before they all are tossed out of town. Reprint."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

P. F. Kluge, author of The Edge of Paradise and a former Peace Corps volunteer in the Pacific, has written a many-layered novel set in the Philippines near the U.S. naval base of Subic Bay, in the debased beer-and-sex-soaked district of Olongapo. This entertaining and atmospheric story is also an oblique commentary on American cultural imperialism and the consequences for Americans. His protagonists are three guys who work together as Elvis impersonators in Olongapo; one portrays the young hip Elvis, one the tired movie idol, and the third the bloated caricature of his later years. These three come to represent the stages of America's own progression from lean innovator to overblown superpower. Inexorably, the local inhabitants come to regard the biggest Elvis as their savior. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Elvis lives again as symbol of the American character in this insightful, entertaining fable set in the Philippines of the early 1990s, the final years of the U.S. military presence at Subic Bay. Failed English professor Ward Wiggins finds his true calling as the senior of a trinity of Elvis impersonators that becomes the hottest act in Olongapo, the nearest town to the naval base. Chester Lane portrays the youthful Elvis, his brother Albert the more worldly "Dude" Elvis of the movie years and Wiggins the "Biggest Elvis," whose heartbreak and tragic fate are apparent in each mournful refrain and every gyration of his sweaty, bespangled bulk. Ward does not think of their act as imitation or shtick, but as an extrapolation to spiritual heights the original could never achieve. "We went way beyond him. We crossed borders he never traveled, lived in a time he never saw, played in places he couldn't picture." Indeed, Biggest Elvis becomes something of a religious figure among the local people and the vivacious bar girls of "Graceland." But while he has some success in improving these people's lives, there are powerful, destructive forces at work beyond Biggest Elvis's ken. Kluge (Eddie and the Cruisers) tells his story through revolving first-person narratives in the voices of the Elvises and others, providing a nuanced look at U.S. imperialism?Americans' good-natured exploitation and Filipinos' ambivalent responses?and at more transcendent issues of faith and destiny. Eschewing the empty kitsch of some other Elvis invocations, Kluge fashions a resonant, often poignant tale full of humor and, ultimately, hope.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140258116
• ISBN-13: 978-0140258110
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,255,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Incisive, insightful and amusing, February 19, 2003

By 

Uracas "Uracus" (Tamuning, Guam United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biggest Elvis (Paperback)

For the best reason to read this book, refer to "mlbasquiat"'s review and you will be rewarded by seeing just how incisive the book can be. Nothing triggers a response like that as well as truth. The thinly disguised narrative of that review speaks of the reverse racism peddled by a few with massive inferiority complexes, but is not representative of the many fine people who struggle daily to understand each other in Micronesia and the Philippine Islands. There are moments in the book which both flatter America and defame it, so if you have such biases you may miss the balance.

Yes "Biggest Elvis" is written from Kluge's perspective, but that is of course what the book is about: His struggle to understand the people around him. It did not impress me as a bible of Pacific culture any more than Kluge impressed me as a philanthropist of infinite wisdom. But it did strike me as a random slice of "in your face" reality with a few powerful messages... a solid read.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, melancholy, fascinating, November 17, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Biggest Elvis (Hardcover)

This is a hip, sad, funny, thoughtful, thoroughly well-written book about the Philippines, America in decline, true love, girly bars, midlife crises, capitalism at its most evil, colonialism in its final hour, and Elvis. Set mostly in Olangapo in 1990, just before the U.S. navy sailed away, it's (among other things) an unflinching look at what happens when you can walk across a bridge from the First World to the Third. The characters are real and fascinating, especially Ward Wiggins, overweight, down-and-out, third-rate college professor turned star performer, the "Biggest Elvis" of the title. Wiggins is a dreamer and more than a bit of a loser, but he gets a piece of something bigger than himself and he's determined not to let go. In a world of whores and hustlers, where "nothing stays new and nobody stays young", innocence and magic are put to the harshest of tests; Wiggins is no innocent, but he truly believes in magic, and the book lets us see why. I nicked a point or two for some unexplained mysteries (Colonel Parker, Baby, the final tour) and an appropriate but implausible dramatic climax. Overall, though, this was one of the best books I've read this year. The publisher doesn't seem to be pushing it real hard, which is a shame; "Biggest Elvis" is a minor classic. By the way, I live in a part of the world where part of the book is set, and can attest to the accuracy of the book's descriptions. The nameless island hellhole of the last few chapters is the island of Rota, in the Northern Marianas, and the book gives a dramatized but not grossly inaccurate description of workers' conditions there five or six years ago. Things have gotten better since then, somewhat

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars personally one of the most satisfying books I've ever read, December 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Biggest Elvis (Hardcover)

Biggest Elvis was passed to me from a coworker in Berkeley, CA. I lived for a year in Guam and have a fondness for Elvis lore and that combination made my colleague think of Biggest Elvis. I am so glad she did. Kluge does a wonderful job describing Guam, the Micronesian Islands (especially Palau) and the influence that the US has on that area. I worked in a nightclub in Guam that catered to mostly Japanese and korean tourists and included karaoke and hokey celebrity impersonators. The stuff Kluge puts into Biggest Elvis was like literary chocolate, yummy and delicious, to the point that I kind of got a buzz from reading it. I've been searching the used bookstores for my very own copy because I do not like to shop on-line or at chain bookstores--Unfortuantely its quite hard to find, despite the popular reactions the readers seem to have and its contemporary elements--anyway, its a great book.