Tender [Paperback]

Mark Childress (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 1998

East Tupelo was a sprinkling of poor houses at the scratched-out back edge of Mississippi--and the birthplace of a boy who would become the greatest rock legend of his time.

In Tender, novelist Mark Childress has redefined the American epic. He takes us on a wild ride through the last three decades as his fictional hero, Leroy Kirby, makes his meteoric rise to stardom, from the poverty-stricken child of an overprotective mother and absent father, to an icon who stands for everything American--a role that will ultimately consume him. After reading Tender, you will never think about the South, fame, or rock-and-roll the same way again.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Tupelo, Mississippi's Leroy Kirby spends his early years in poverty as his parents move from place to place, one step ahead of the landlord's wrath, in search of work. His only joy lies in a mutually adoring relationship with his mother and the music that feeds his soul. A county fair talent show, his own guitar, and a determination to be famous leads to a recording contract with an obscure local company; the subsequent refinement of his sexy bad boy image brings him a phenomenal success the likes of which the entertainment world may never see again. Few readers will miss the parallels with another guitar-playing truck driver whose military induction became a media event and spelled heartache for the country's female population, but this is no mere roman a clef . The author of A World Made of Fire ( LJ 10/15/84) and V for Victor ( LJ 12/1/88) has written a realistic, moving account of the early days of rock 'n' roll.
-Judith A. Gifford, Salve Regina Coll. Lib., Newport, R.I.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

East Tupelo was a sprinkling of poor houses at the scratched-out back edge of Mississippi--and the birthplace of a boy who would become the greatest rock legend of his time.

In Tender, novelist Mark Childress has redefined the American epic. He takes us on a wild ride through the last three decades as his fictional hero, Leroy Kirby, makes his meteoric rise to stardom, from the poverty-stricken child of an overprotective mother and absent father, to an icon who stands for everything American--a role that will ultimately consume him. After reading Tender, you will never think about the South, fame, or rock-and-roll the same way again.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345419030
• ISBN-13: 978-0345419033
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Childress gets it just right in Tender, January 15, 1999

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tender (Paperback)

Although I grew up in the 1950s, I was largely oblivious to the appeal of Elvis Presley, and I have never considered myself anywhere close to being a "fan" of his. However, Mark Childress completely absorbed my attention and sympathies in this immensely-readable narrative of a fictionalized Elvis. Permeating the initial parts of this novel is a sense of poverty, despair, and, ironically, hope. The young Elvis, disdained and forlorn, knows the solace of an overbearing, but loving, mother, and a sense of his own possibilities through his guitar. The rock star Elvis is overpowering..both in ability and character. I commented repeatedly to my wife that this book rolls at an incredible pace...and that a reader cannot help but be engrossed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You Ain't Nevah Been Good, Baa-bee!, January 17, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Takoma Park, maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tender (Paperback)

What a rocking ride of a book! I have never been particularly interested in Elvis Presley, but this book swept me along because it is such a great story, so well told. Childress does not miss a beat and there is a beat driving it along. The Leroy Kirby character is fresh and very sympathetic. Childress captures the hot, fast blooming of a new sound and star perfectly. I'm sure it helps that even those casually acquainted with Elvis like myself can conjure some of the real life sound and look of the performances that Childress renders so convincingly, but I was impressed nevertheless. The author's song titles and lyrics, which shadow the real ones, are spot-on, and in several cases seem an improvement on the original. Downside? The story lost some of it's oomph towards the end. Of course, the tale is a carbon copy of much of the first half of Elvis' life [as I have learned by refering to Peter Guralnick's Last Train To Memphis (biography)]. Many small incidents and even place names are reproduced, along with the general outline. So there's a nagging feeling that the book should somehow be discounted a bit, with Childress just redressing a heavily borrowed story. But what a job he has done in creating a full-developed, unique character. Reading Guralnick's fine book, I find Leroy Kirby far more interesting. The power of good fiction! I also don't recognize the writing/writer here from the other novel I've read by Childress (V is for Victor - good, but Tender is much better.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to know whence cometh Elvis? Read this book., February 16, 2005

By 

Moses (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tender (Paperback)

Mark Childress gets it. He gets the whole picture. He transports you into prewar, dirt-floor Mississippi with a gentle hand and guides you through the turbulent youth of The Man Who Would Become The King. Through the boy-king's eyes we see the incredible imprisonment of his father for allegedly altering a check for under $20.00, one wee-hours truck-loaded exodus after another to avoid landlords, to the coming of glory and fame as The Look and The Voice and The Shake coalesce, thanks in part to visits to churches on the more soulful side of the tracks. I notice the other reviewers are post-Elvis, yet still have affection for Childress's work in Tender. I saw him early and I saw him late and I am telling you, if you ever cared about Elvis, who he really was and what happened in his formative years, this is a story which you will really enjoy and one which will stay with you long after the reading is done, wishing for more.