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Title: Things the Grandchildren Should Know
ISBN: 0316027871
Author:
Mark Oliver Everett
Publicate Date: 2007-11
Publish: 2007-11
List Price: $143.82
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $19.70
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $19.69
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1: Madness, music, and crazy girls
A musician like Mark Oliver Everett -- aka "E" of the Eels -- could only be expected to write a rock biography like no other. And "Things the Grandchildren Should Know" lives up to that challenge by being part musical journey, part contemplation of crazy love, and partly a bittersweet life story full of losses.
Everett's family was the typical nuclear family of the times, but with an undercurrent of tragedy -- his withdrawn father died early, his mother didn't truly involve herself in raising her kids, and his sister got a head start on her downward spiral.
Everett himself got into trouble, acquired a rotten reputation and dated some incredibly weird girls ("my sister Liz came back from an AA meeting one day and told me that my first girlfriend was now a suicidal, alcoholic lesbian"), even as making music in his closet became the private passion of his life. When he could think of no other way of getting somewhere else, he chose to turn his music into a career.
Unsurprisingly, he struggled during the days of hair-metal. But as more raw, real music became big, Everett's unique brand of rock began to force its way into alt-stardom. But this couldn't bring him love -- and it couldn't save his sister from her copious inner demons, or his mother from lung cancer.
Reading "Things the Grandchildren Should Know" is not much like reading a straight biography.It's more like having a long, rambling, multifaceted conversation with Everett in a coffee shop, where he attempts to tell you his life story, but sometimes he keeps getting sidetracked by his tales of crazy girlfriends and meditations on life in general.
And he comes across well here -- a guy who has known plenty of tragedy, but still has his wry sense of humour intact. There's little bitterness towards his "crazy girls" or his immature mother, and he's even willing to talk about his now-embarrassing adolescence (complete with humiliating incidents like the "bloody sweatshirt" incident).
But while the first half of the book is a bit fragmented, the second half snaps together into a quiet, meditative cruise through Everett's life. An artist's struggles to keep his work from being put into car commercials is smoothly wound together with his personal struggles, including the tragic loss of his sister and mother -- and how he immortalized them in his work.
Fortunately Everett never becomes maudlin or depressing. He has plenty of witty stories that speckle the text, whether it's the controversy over his "obscene" songs or a story about his mother's really, really old boyfriend ("The Wright brothers? Oh yeah! I used to know Orville"). Not to mention his hilarious kooky ex-wife, who first greeted him with the words, "You are not beautiful!"
"Things the Grandchildren Should Know" seamlessly mingles Mark Oliver Everett's life story with his musings on life (and crazy women), his witty prose, and his artistic journey.
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2: "I was given the gift of bone-crushing insecurity."
"Things the Grandchildren Should Know" caught my eye on the nonfiction new acquisitions shelf of my local library. Something about the title made me curious but when I picked up the book I had no idea it was a memoir and, for all I knew, it could have been some kind of self-help, advice book. Frankly, I had no idea who Mark Oliver Everett was and had never heard of a singer called "E" or a band called the Eels. It's only in the last few days, in fact, that I've sampled some of Everett's music and I'm still not sure what to think of most of it. I was not overwhelmed by what I heard, but I enjoyed enough of the music to ensure that I will revisit it soon to see if it sticks.
That's the music. The book, though, is definitely a keeper because it reads as one of the more honest family-story expos??s that I've read in years. Memoirs are beginning to lose favor with the reading public due to the large number of "pity parties" that have been published in recent years and the fact that several of them have been exposed as complete frauds. "Things the Grandchildren Should Know" is no pity party on the part of Everett. He does not come looking for sympathy or seeking to impress readers by the amount of tragedy he has endured. Rather, he recounts his family history in such a direct, in-your-face style, a style that makes great use of irony and humor when least expected, that the reader often ends up smiling through even the saddest events of Everett family history.
By the time the ride is over, Everett has managed to explain how he became the person he is, where he finds the creative spark for his music and how that music has probably saved his life, and where he plans to go from here.
It is easy to see that Mark Oliver Everett is an extremely talented man, a prolific songwriter with the vision and musical ability to produce recordings that turn his songs into award-winning hits. But Everett grew up in a Washington D.C. suburb as one-quarter of a dysfunctional family headed by a brilliant father, a man who spoke so little to his children and never touched them that he was little more than a physical presence in their home, and a mother who paid little attention to him or his sister. Everett and his sister, Liz, came to rely greatly upon each other but were still emotionally scarred by the seeming indifference of their parents. But, sadly, while Everett was able to save himself through his songs, Liz decided to seek her own relief in whatever drugs she could find.
"Things the Grandchildren Should Know" is the story of a musician who achieved the kind of success that he hardly dared dream might be possible as a kid. The remarkable thing is that he achieved that success while his family was going to pieces around him to such an extent that one day, still a young man, he was stunned to find himself its only survivor. Eels fans probably know much of Everett's background already through his autobiographical songs but casual fans, or readers unfamiliar with the music, likely will be surprised that so successful an entertainer can express such an unpretentious view of life - and make us believe him.
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3: Intense.
Mark Oliver Everett is the talented leader of the band The Eels, and I have been a massive fan ever since 2005, with the discovery of "Electro-Shock Blues". Years later, after having discovered all their amazing albums, I decided to buy and read this book.
I read it in about 2 or 3 readings, which should let you know about how rivetting the book is. It's an autobiography, it's well-written, direct, simple yet profound, and it's a pure treasure.
You won't believe the life Everett had and has: from his father corresponding with Einstein to the plane crash near his house, to being attacked by a psycho with a kitchen knife to losing his entire family to heart-attack, suicide, and cancer, to his cousin dying on 9/11, and much more.
The book is at once hilarious, heart-wrenching, and uplifting. It is an inspiring volume written by one of the best artists to have walked the earth; and even though Everett is rather modest, we know his true worth, and it's a big damn lot. I know people won't agree with me, but I think Everett is better than Bob Dylan. Yeah, I know. I like Dylan too, but I far prefer Everett's music.
The book is a pleasure to read, in spite of the really hard things it contains, but if you're an admirer of Everett, you already faced much hardship in his music, and some of them you will already be familiar with, such as the suicide of his sister, his mother's cancer, and other not too pleasant events.
Extremely highly recommended. In fact, even if you know nothing at all about Everett, you'd still adore this book.
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4: Best Book of 2008
I'm pretty surprised that this fantastic memoir isn't landing on more year-end lists. I figured it would top many, yet I'm not seeing it show up much. Whatever the reason(s), critics have missed the boat on this one. Everett has written one of the best memoirs in recent memory. This book is jam packed with great storylines, sadness, perspective and honestly. Just a wonderful read. And buy his records while you're at it.
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5: Great book
I bought this book because I saw Parallel Universes on PBS and Mark looks an interesting character. Also I have similar tragic history in my family, so I decide to see what Mark had to say about his life. He is really fun and the book has intense moments (at least for me) and it is easy to read. It is refreshing how Mark lives his life; it seems just simple. Now I`m Eels fan!! It was great to read this memoir and can`t wait for the next one.
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