Last Ride to Graceland
Fiction
Simon and Schuster
May 24, 2016
Paperback
352
Publisher via She Reads
Lauded for her “astute and engrossing” (People) writing style imbued with “originality galore” (RT Book Reviews), Kim Wright channels the best of Jennifer Weiner and Sarah Pekkanen in this delightful novel of self-discovery on the open road as one woman sets out for Graceland hoping to answer the question: Is Elvis Presley her father? Blues musician Cory Ainsworth is barely scraping by after her mother’s death when she discovers a priceless piece of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia hidden away in a shed out back of the family’s coastal South Carolina home: Elvis Presley’s Stutz Blackhawk, its interior a time capsule of the singer’s last day on earth. A backup singer for the King, Cory’s mother Honey was at Graceland the day Elvis died. She quickly returned home to Beaufort and married her high school sweetheart. Yearning to uncover the secrets of her mother’s past—and possibly her own identity—Cory decides to drive the car back to Memphis and turn it over to Elvis’s estate, retracing the exact route her mother took thirty-seven years earlier. As she winds her way through the sprawling deep south with its quaint towns and long stretches of open road, the burning question in Cory’s mind—who is my father?—takes a backseat to the truth she learns about her complicated mother, the minister's daughter who spent a lifetime struggling to conceal the consequences of a single year of rebellion.
My review:
This is my third book by Kim Wright, and she is fast becoming one of my favorite southern authors! This book was fabulous in so many ways! I love her characters. Her two previous books have had older women protagonists, of which I heartily approve because I don't think there are enough books (or movies) out there for us. This one however had two younger main characters who tell the story from two different time frames. The back-up singer for Elvis, traveling from Graceland back to her hometown in Beaufort SC shortly upon his death, and her daughter, taking the opposite route back three decades or so later. I love the way Kim writes her characters and how she portrays the south. Here is the opening paragraph to the novel:
"I was a premature baby who weighted nine pounds and nine ounces. Yeah, I know. Impossible. But you have to understand that this particular kind of medical miracle is common in the rural South. Jesus still looks down from billboards around here and people care what their neighbors think. We pray and we salute... and most of all, we lie. It's why we have so many good writers per capita, and so many bad writers too, because all of us learned to bend the truth before we could even half talk."
Now if that doesn't get a giggle out of you and make you want to read on, I don't know what will. There are lots of little snippets of humor thrown into the story along with many soul searching facets for both women on their respective journeys. Even though this is a work of fiction, I learned some facts about Elvis that I didn't know. I was never a huge fan, but I do remember the hullabaloo when he died. I appreciated the way the author incorporated such tidbits into the narrative.
A fantastic southern tale with fabulous characters and a bit of Elvis history to boot, I highly recommend this one. Also be sure to check out The Unexpected Waltz and The Canterbury Sisters by this author. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!
This book is one of the books of summer for the SheReads blog network.
I really want to read this book. I love the road trip and Elvis connections along with the mother-daughter relations. I guess I'll put a hold on it at the library because those books tend to take priority. Love the quote!
I think you would like this one Kathy. It's a good one to read after something heavier and emotionally taxing. A great story!