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Elvis 100%'s Magazine Highlight
I've decided to write an article on this controversial book on the life of Priscilla Presley. The first time I saw this book was in August 1997, during my first visit to Memphis, in one of the many shops that are there, being that this book was being sold right at the souvenir shop of the hotel where I was staying together with two other Elvis friends, Sandra Santos and Lu Maria. Unlike Sandra, when I saw the book, I noticed that it wasn't written by Priscilla and my first reaction was not to buy it. But after seeing the photos that the book contained through the copy that Sandra bought, I rethought my views and decided to buy it. I thought that I wouldn't like its contents and that it should be too "sensacionalistic". However, as Priscilla's photos were so beautiful (only two of them show Elvis) and there were also many family photos - namely of Priscilla's parents and of the time when she was little - I couldn't resist. If there's one thing that cannot be denied is that Priscilla was always very beautiful and she still could be beautiful today, if not for all the several plastic surgeries that are obvious and that almost completely changed her face. Child Bride was the big commotion everywhere and its author, Suzanne Finstad (Harmony Books publisher) was even present for an autograph session in a nearby hotel and everything. But all that didn't mean a thing to me. While I was storing all the books I bought for the return travel to Portugal (and also to see if there was still any space left for more shopping, since, in total, I bought 10 books!) and this was the only one that was left out (I didn't have more space, after all), I started to read it. And I was surprised for liking it so much. Priscilla's life and her parents' life (including the life of her real father, James Wagner) is, at the least, fascinating. I can honestly say, without a doubt, that Priscilla was and still is a very complex person - maybe even more complex that Elvis himself. The book is writen in a direct, raw and unredundant way, it goes straight to the point. Suzanne, who is a reporter, reported the events after having interviewed many people - including Priscilla herself, at her home, where she confronted her with Curry Grant - the person who introduced her to Elvis, in Germany, in 1959. And the whole book starts and gravitates around this event - how did Priscilla met Elvis. Priscilla tells that it happened in a way and Curry tells that it happened in another. At the end, everything points out for Curry's version to be the most valid one, but Priscilla keeps on denying, even during the interviews that Suzanne did to her and Curry, in May 1996. It is a controversial book on many of the things that I already knew, many of which I had never heard before and several others that shocked me. At the time I agreed with Sandra, when she, while reading the book, was shocked with some of the things she read about Priscilla. I heard her saying many times, "But how could she have done this?!" However, many other times I also thought, "How brave she was...!" Priscilla always was a woman of great determination, ever since she was a child. She always wanted to reach the goals she decided to accomplish. I think that nobody can criticize her for that, regardless of what those goals were. I am also like that. I don't give up the goals I've decided to reach and of what I want to accomplish. But Priscilla is a true winner and a surviver, in many ways. Her life story is moving (some things that happened were really a shame), fascinating and also revolting. Deep down, Priscilla is the product of a whole existence over which she never held much control. Priscilla only started to control her life and her own person from the moment she married Elvis. I would even dare to say that the first step for her release was the day she married Elvis, because it was from that day onwards that she started to do what she wanted to do and that her relationship with him started to crumble. But this didn't happen because either one of them didn't make any efforts. Each one of them tried in their own way and I honesly believe that Elvis really loved her and that Priscilla loved him. The irony of their relationship was that both of them were the most contradictory and incompatible persons trying to recreate a life that was completely impossible. Their tastes and their lifestyles were completely different. Their interests, too. But these things can only be better understood after reading this book. To make you understand, I would have to write another book...! In conversations that I had with Sandra on this book, she told me that she thought that whomever didn't like Priscilla, would hate her even more after reading this book, whereas whomever liked her, would like her even more. Speaking for myself, I read the book once and my opinion changed a little towards Priscilla. I never hated her and I never adored her either. What I can say is that I've hated some of the things she did and also admired some other things she did. I rather not hate her, since she never done anything to me for me to hate her. She did some very bad things to Elvis, but I also believe that she made him very happy. They continued to be friends right till the end and that also must mean something. The main problem between them was that both were wrong regarding the type of person that both of them thought the other was. Elvis never hid how he was and Priscilla knew too well what to expect. It's obvious that Elvis would never change just because he married her (the truth is, nobody changes and those who think this is true, are only deceiving themselves). But Priscilla changed a lot (or she didn't, but only started to show how she really was) after her marriage. And Elvis was surprised. This book also helps us to better understand Lisa Marie and some of her attitudes, like why did she got divorced in the first place, why did she marry Michael Jackson and then got divorced again. I ended up better understanding many of the people I already "knew", including Priscilla, even though she is the person most shrouded in mystery during the whole story, together with her mother and stepfather. But this also helps us to understand a little more the reason why Priscilla is so mysterious and kept to herself. One thing is for sure: after having read this book (that crumbles many of the "ill-told" stories by Priscilla in her own book), the persons seem more real to me, more authentic, more human. In this category I include Elvis himself and I even got to "know" new people of whom I had never heard before. It is always very good to read books because of this. I also made my mental list of the aspects I've decided to believe, others that I don't believe and even others that will always remain in the realms of doubt. Because the truth, only the intervenients know it and, the main of them all, Elvis, isn't even here to tell. And even if he were, I doubt that he would want to "stick his nose" in such intimate matters such as the ones that are exploited in this book. And even though he could have felt ashamed for some of the things that are revelead in this book because he was a true gentleman who seldom discussed intimate matters with anyone, Elvis is highlighted with almost a holy image, unlike Priscilla...! We can tell that the author isn't an admirer or fan of any members of the "cast", but she always treats Elvis with great respect, maybe due to the fact that all people she interviewd for this book treated him like that. And, regarding Priscilla, that was not always the case. I underline the advice: read this book. It was never put up for sale in Portugal, but if you are really interested, you can always order it from Amazon.com (its price is around 12 USD plus post and package expenses). It's well worth it. I was really surprised. And I bet this book also surprised Priscilla a lot...! |
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