Elvis is Dead And I Dont Feel So Good Myself by Lewis Grizzard

Elvis is Dead And I Dont Feel So Good Myself Reviews

• 
  Fin

  this summer i was talking to my first boyfriend on facebook and he remembered that i'd long been a fan of lewis grizzard. i was amazed that josh recalled such a minute detail from when we were in junior high, but then again, grizzard is hard to forget. i think of him as the southern traditionalist's answer to erma bombeck in some ways. he started out as a sports editor but eventually switched to humor columnist, and the latter is what made him famous.
  
  his south - small-town georgia in the fifties and sixties - is not my south - suburban tennessee in the eighties and nineties, with all the accompanying conveniences and inconveniences of modern-ish life. and yet the two still have much in common. his book is about those conveniences and inconveniences, how the world changed and left him behind. he was a curmudgeon even in his thirties, and i am now in my thirties, and i am trying to keep my own premature old-person grumping at bay. but his world (elvis is dead was published in 1984) still had sweet tea and krystal burgers, and so does mine, and i think both worlds are better for it.
  
  i'm not sure grizzard would understand much about me; i'm a feminist, proficient with computers, a member of the queer community, and not given to making my own fries (although i share his opinion of crinkle-cut). on the other hand, i had season tickets to my town's minor-league ball club this summer, and if grizzard were still around, i'd have offered him a ticket. i'd even have bought the beer and crackerjack.
• 
  Sara Beth Wade

  Maybe in the 80s-90s I would have been more patient with this book, but geez--reading it now it just seems like a man who can't move past his high school glory days. I know it's tongue-in-cheek, but I got pretty mad by the time he explained how women physically can't understand baseball. *BASEBALL* of all sports! It's exactly this kind of humor that gives a pass to belittling anyone not male, straight, and white. It's appalling. All the same, I never quit reading it (more to "get through it" than anything else) and there were parts that made me laugh. But it's humor that does NOT age well.
• 
  Phillip

  This was one of Grizzard's first "narrative" books, i.e., not just a collection of his columns. It more or less tracks through his Baby Boomer experience of life and the changing culture. He talks music, culture, hair, women, food, and everything in between. Reading this as a young Gen X-er in the 21st Century, I'm afraid many of his views seem terribly out-dated, if not bordering on sexist, racist, and homophobic. He is on his third divorce this book, and his view on life in the early 80s just seems backward. He looks toward the mythical yesteryear of "better days" when he grew up in a rural tiny Georgia town and life was "simpler." I can appreciate his experience, but obviously this leaves out the many people for whom life was worse. So while I enjoyed re-visiting this book, I think it's too outdated to enjoy much any more.
• 
  Charles

  I don't often rate pure humor books very high but I enjoyed this one.
• 
  Elliott

  It is a bit unfair to read this book about how confusing the "modern" world is in 1984, and compare the language and values to 2021, when I read this. However, I still think Grizzard's content and values are still a little off for the time. I definitely believe that the vast majority of this book is satire, and that he doesn't actually think the way he showcases in the book. It seems that by the end, he's very honest with himself and the reader and goes into his actual feelings and struggles, but until then, I found myself scoffing at him and getting fairly annoyed with his backwards ways of thinking and explaining. It was very interesting for someone who is now the age he discusses in the book, but living in a completely different era to examine how a baby boomer grew up and viewed the world. Still, this book had its moments with some nostalgic and endearing stories.
• 
  Robin Riley

  I read this because it was on a list of books every Southerner should read. It was the only one available at my library without a hold, so I checked it out. It had funny parts, but also parts that made me cringe. It was a quick skim-through. I cannot say I really READ it past the first few chapters.
• 
  Babs M

  I have always found Lewis very funny. His humor is a bit dated (meaning SWJ would have a fit) in this because it was written in 1984. But for any Baby Boomer or older this book is a lot of fun. He was a funny guy who we lost too soon. He is always a fun read to lift your spirits although you may long for the good old days while reading it.
• 
  Ilena Holder

  I felt so sad for Grizzard when he had his heart problems and later died. Like Peter Sellers, if he had been born in a different decade they might have done corrective surgery on him. Grizzard was so original and funny.
• 
  Charles Lovelace, III

  I read this for the second time, though it's not as good as I remembered. Still there are some very funny stories. The line "she'd have to make two trips" is one of the all-time classics. It's in the early part of the book just before he hears about the death of Elvis, the king.
• 
  Michael Smith

  Lewis was hilarious.
• 
  EuroHackie

  This book really has not aged well, unfortunately.
• 
  Victoria

  Sometimes comedy becomes dated and stale. That would be a good description of this book.
  
  As a child of the 50's Lewis is befuddled and confused by the 80's and the new music on the radio. I read this book back in the 80's but I didn't realize how much of a grump/curmudgeon he could be.
  
  None of the stories really resignated with me since the music he was putting down was from my generation. Now the 80's are playing on the oldies stations and people are saying they wished music was more like that now. If he hated Boy George so much, wonder what he would have thought about Marilyn Manson or gangster rap?
  
  This is book for the 50's generation only (are they still around?) so my suggestion is to skip it. You won't be missing anything.
• 
  Ken

  Buku ini menceritakan kegalauan penulis dalam menghadapi perubahan jaman. Dia lahir di tahun 50an dan menyebut masa remajanya adalah masa keemasan, di mana semua masih sederhana dan relatif 'lurus'. Ia gamang menghadapi setelah periode Elvis meninggal (tahun 80an). Ia menyoroti perubahan ini dalam hal musik, pakaian, makanan, sampai teknologi. Lumayan enak dibaca dan menimbulkan pertanyaan kritis, apakah semua kemoderanan memang menuju arah yg lebih baik. Kelucuannya buku ini dituangkan dalam bentuk kesinisan yg ringan sekaligus menohok.
• 
  Linda

  I miss Lewis Grizzard. Since there is no longer a bench warrant out for my arrest and my driving privilege has been re-instated, I have listened to Mr. Grizzard's audio book, EIDAIDFSGM, as I drive. He was a proud southerner who wrote about the same South that I love. He wrote a syndicated column that I read regularly in a Memphis, TN, newspaper, but I do not know if he was popular outside the south. I would hope that humor transcends all boundaries and that everyone would sit back, pop a cold one and enjoy the 'mavalous' voice of Mr. Lewis Grizzard.
• 
  Travelin

  I can't remember it. I can't remember if this is the right book, honestly. Just edging into ridiculous completism as booklists go.
  
  I knew a man who quoted Grizzard fondly: "The next time I get married, I'm just going to find a woman in the street who I hate and give her a house".
  
  The man also died far too early.
• 
  Amy the book-bat

  I had trouble getting through this one. Grizzard came off as a crotchity old man and his humor got lost in all the griping about how times had changed since he was a kid. I much prefer his books that are collections of his newspaper columns.
• 
  Marty

  Loved it - funny - don't have to concentrate real hard so it's relaxing to read his work.
• 
  Michael

  Elvis is dead and, sadly, so is Lewis Grizzard. And, now, so is UGA VII. All the good ones die young. On a brighter side, I may live forever.
• 
  Kathleen

  Cassettes.
• 
  Kenneth Allen

  One of my favorite authors in that he can write about normal life in the most descriptive ways. It was just like him to take a life event such as this and weave it into his own life. Great read!
• 
  Arlenea Higginbotham

  Down home
  
  Reading this book made me feel down home and calm. It gave me a smile. In was a relaxing book , that made me think of my childhood, which was in a very rural area.