Deal or no deal? It is according to who you survey. However, there is now a
wonderful suppose-it-happened-this-way book of fiction that even us
less-caring Elvis fans can enjoy, as written by Bruce Lawrence Kearns.
It is called
The Resurrection of the King, $12.95, published by Forum
Communications Group, Ltd. This is Mr. Kearns' first novel.
The very concoction of the plot also owes itself to Bard-like properties of drama,
relying on twists, turns and tumbles in the telling of the happy-ending stories.
Although Mr. Kearns sites the movie
Finding Graceland as the provider of some
inspiring questions on the subect of an Elvis-is-alive scenario, the author's
approach to his scenario is more Shakespearean. On the surface, that similarity
arises due to the fact that the novel is more dialogue than prose, allowing all
of the action and philosophical levels of the story to emerge from character.
The very concoction of the plot also owes itself to Bard-like properties of
drama, especially in the master's strict comedies, that relied on twists, turns
and tumbles in the telling of the happy-ending stories.
This "talkie" style is not so popular in novels. Even Hemingway's sparce,
under-evolved dialogues could only complement his distinct prose. Mr. Kearns'
characters, however, take this dialogue-laden style to the edge of the stage
and spare no words getting their points to one another. Thankfully, the talking
adds to the author's mission, which is to hang a not-so-distracting mystery over
the head of the reader, leaving enough space between questions and answers to
hold one's interest.
For me to indulge in any of the story's actual content is for me to tell you the
butler did it, so to speak. You can only experience the ride with this piece by
reading and, of course, by listening to the characters as the plan unfolds and the
motivations are revealed. I will say this, however, about the Elvis who lives in
this novel: He is the Elvis we always wanted Elvis to be but could not, by the
very nature of "to be or not to be," which was never really the question, was
it? No, because the image of the man in the spangled white suit who assumed a
karate position in the final chord of a song, was the image of a man too big
to live longer than he did. It is the image that lives on, anyway, and that
image was never flesh and blood, never reality.
As far as reality goes, though, Mr. Kearns has taken great pains to research
the facts of the Elvis-death case and to add the real people involved to create
this docu-drama effect that leans into the Orson Welles approach to
War of the
Worlds radio adaptation. Without these properties,
The Resurrection of the King would be a farce.
He is the Elvis we always wanted Elvis to be but could not, by the very nature
of "to be or not to be," which was never really the question, was it?
Real or fictional, the characters are full-blown people who are totally into
the novel's action. The reader believes what is happening (a must for readers
of fiction) because the characters perform in the reality supposed with complete
loyalty. And there is never a moment a reader is driven into the territory where
taking this serious becomes an absurd proposition. It would be easy to make a
farce of this, considering the object of the story's affection; to pull it off
without a laugh, however, is a tightrope-walking act that does not end with a
prank fall and is certainly performed without a net.
Mr. Kearns' success in pulling off a serious scenario of this far-fetched idea
(Elvis is dead and always shall be, amen), adds to the credit of a first-time
novel-writer. In fact, Mr. Kearns may want to consider this approach his style
and take on a series of books about the questionable ends of celebrated persons,
planting the seeds of curiosity into anyone who cares to handicap the facts
history claims. For, after all, history is always on trial, no matter what the
truth insists we believe.
Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme
Cotolo
Chronicles, every Thursday starting at 9 pm on Network 1KX.
