Wings On A Guitar: August 16, 1977 -- If Elvis Hadn't Died!
Author: Glenda Ivey

Publisher: Southern Charm Press

ISBN: 0-9708537-6-9

Yes, indeed, if Elvis hadn't died!

Set for publication in August 2002, ready for the 25th anniversary of Elvis's death, "Wings On a Guitar" is a fantasy about what might have overcome the man, had the events of August 1977 not been so final. In fact, the title is a tad misleading in that the story deals largely with events that are imagined to take place about a year later.

The reader is invited to imagine that Elvis was able to be revived after he had been found on the morning of August 16, 1977, and that he had received plenty of medical advice about the necessity to change his way of life. The tale is told in two parts: an initial and fairly shocking look at the bloated, sad, mean and somewhat unpleasant Elvis, in which profanity is used to hammer home the message of a man who has lost his way, and a a second part in which Elvis's character is changed in every way and with rather surprising speed and consequences.

From the Elvis fan's standpoint, the idea is interesting, but is handled perhaps too swiftly and, for this non-American reviewer, with rather too much syrup, sentiment, and Christian fervour. Nevertheless, the tale will undoubtedly appeal to many Elvis fans, especially those in the USA and I am sure that some sobbing will accompany its reading. What is clear from the book is that the author knows her Elvisology -- numerous references are made to aspects of Elvis's life that are largely unknown to the non-fan.

From a purely literary point of view, the storyline seems to be taken straight from the sentimentality of a Dickens novel: moral and physical depravation, followed by almost miraculous reformation. Unfortunately, the resemblance with Dickens ends there. The characters in "Wings On A Guitar" are shallowly portrayed and the events too hastily. Dickens dealt with some extremely nasty characters and was able to demonstrate their unpleasantness without having to resort to profanity. Furthermore, he took the necessary time to develop his characters, so that his readers grew to know them almost intimately. As a result, and in spite of their often overblown sentimentality -- a feature of the times, of course -- Dickens' tales can even now be read and enjoyed by all generations. Sadly, this is not the case with "Wings On A Guitar." The profanity that is used in the first part of the book -- profanity that is defended by the author in her foreword -- precludes that the book be read by children and you certainly wouldn't wish to give it to your mother, either (and my eighty-year-old mother is an Elvis fan)! There is simply no excuse for profanity -- I've said it before in my reviews and I'm sure that I shall say it again: the English language is rich enough that any author worthy of the name should be able to indicate coarseness without having to resort to it.

With "Wings On A Guitar," the author seems to have been unable to decide between writing a hard, shocking tale or one suitable to be opened on Christmas morning and read by Boxing Day. Mixing lemon-juice and milk is a delicate operation and rarely succeeds except when performed by a skilful chef. An equally skilful author is required to mix vitriol and schmaltz, but such skill is insufficiently demonstrated in "Wings On A Guitar."

According to the the publisher's own web page, "This is the first known, seriously written fiction book, portrayed by a published author who has followed his life for many years." Well, not quite, given the large number of Elvis fiction books that have actually been published, not least the two "Elvis detective" novels by Daniel Klein, a long-time Elvis fan and a published author.^*

David Neale
copyright May 2002

^* Please note that since this review was written, the claim of being "the first known seriously written fictional book..." has been removed from the publisher's web page.