P.F. Kluge

Ward Wiggins is the biggest, oldest Elvis in a three man Elvis act. He had been a professor at the University of Guam who sometimes stopped by a local dive bar to sing Elvis songs, but after he's fired from the school, one of his former students, Chester, suggests forming an act. Chester becomes "Baby Elvis", performing the songs from Elvis' early rise to stardom. His older brother becomes "Dude Elvis", performing the songs from Elvis' movie career, while Ward becomes "Biggest Elvis" and sings from the final years. What was suppose to be maybe a month in a rundown bar in a Navy base town in the Philippines, turns into a long-term gig, with the three Elvises packing the club every night and becoming a tourist draw. Along the way, Chester and Ward start laying roots, planning their futures in the Philippines, with Ward becoming more convinced that he's living the extra years that Elvis didn't get, while Dude is looking for any way to get out.

I don't remember how I heard about this book, but what a find. Each chapter is narrated by a different character, often Ward, but each character has a turn to explain a situation and their view of it, making for a rich, layered story of gifted, yet flawed people who are each carrying the burden of their ethnicity in a town where the economy runs on American dollars.… (mais)