On a classic like "Heartbreak Hotel, " Chestnut reveals a haunting and melancholy side, using the song's words as inspiration.

NPR: Cyrus Chestnut: Reinventing Elvis

It's down at the end of Lonely Street at Heartbreak Hotel.

CNN: How and why Elvis has changed us all

The other books on this year's shortlist were Skios by Michael Frayn, England's Lane by Joseph Connolly, Heartbreak Hotel by Deborah Moggach, and Lightning Rods by Helen DeWitt.

BBC: Howard Jacobson