Elvis Presley Book Reviews

-DISCLAIMER (AS ALWAYS): The point of someone writing a memoir is to share their side of the story. And everyone is entitled to their side of the story and their truth. When I rate a memoir, I am rating the structure in which it is written and the layout of the book. To add on to that, my rating is based on the words and sentences themselves and the use of the English language, or whichever language the novel is written in. In autobiographies, the only statements that can really be rated are the ones that can be proven true or false, not someone's personal outlook.

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-This is the first book written largely about Elvis I ever read, and I am glad I started my Elvis book journey here.

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-Wasn't extremely long and didn't drag on and on like I feel some other Elvis books do.

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-Loved how Priscilla completely stayed true to the purpose and format of a memoir and told her story based on her shared life and experiences with Elvis. She kept his career and public image on the back burner and consistently wrote about who he was around her and his core group of friends. Living up to the title, she wrote her entire memoir through the perspectives of two people: herself and Elvis. Naturally, mainly herself. There were barely any other secondary characters and the only ones she put energy into were her daughter and her parents.

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-What I loved most about Elvis and Me was that Priscilla didn't fail to share how generous Elvis was to everyone and how protective he was of her, but also most certainly didn't hold back on his darker side and the complex, difficult parts of his character that made her question her own position in his life. Similarly to Linda Thompson's book, Priscilla begins by writing about how blinded by love, in her own naiveté, she was with Elvis. But as the story progresses and she grows up and becomes her own person, she writes about how she was no longer willing to live on his own whims, within his rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

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-Some would probably argue that she focused too much on the bad and not enough on the good involving Elvis and the nature of their relationship, but ultimately I came away from it feeling that she was simply honest in her words and didn't hold back from depicting the full character that she lived with. She could've easily glamorized and romanticized parts of the story but she didn't. I felt that she told her side of things exactly as they were with no intention of defending his wrongs.

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-Definitely a book that divides the Elvis fan base, especially die-hard fans, though I've never really understood why. Several fans claim this book is full of untruths and that Priscilla fabricated parts of her story, yet I didn't pick up on any claims throughout that seemed wrong or exaggerated when put up against other accounts about Elvis, from those who knew him well. As far as facts about him, more specifically his career, everything she wrote seemed to check out.

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-I've also seen some comments on Reddit saying that since the initial release in '85, Priscilla has stated that the publisher pressured her into embellishing parts of her story for a more shocking, larger reaction from readers. I've yet to find any evidence of that being true, through a magazine, newspaper, or video recorded interview. Until I see a real quote from Priscilla, from a traceable source, regarding that claim, I will not believe it to be true.

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-In 2023, Sofia Coppola's Priscilla was released, which was a biopic about Priscilla's life and years with Elvis. The entire film was based on this book.

I've seen the film several times and rate it a 3.5/5. If you would like my full review on that, drop me a line through my "About" page!

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-And yes, I will probably read Child Bride at some point.