Things the Grandchildren Should Know
Encyclopedia
Things the Grandchildren Should Know is an autobiographic
book by Mark Oliver Everett
who is the front man of the independent rock band Eels
. Everett spent a year composing the book between the release of the retrospectives Meet The Eels: Essential Eels, Vol. 1 (1996–2006) and Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996–2006 and the composition of 2009's Hombre Lobo
.
. In that song Everett takes on the persona
of an elderly grandfather sharing the wisdom he has learned about life shortly before his death. The parallels between the song and the book are loose, as the real Everett is much younger than his song persona. He remarks in the final chapter the paradox of the book's title given that he has no children, let alone grandchildren. The story concludes that despite the hardships in life, the good more than compensates for the bad.
Readings of portions of the text occurred during live sets during the 2008 Eels
tour. Eels guitarist The Chet
would later read the audio book
edition.
of Time
—as well as British press—including The Guardian
and The Independent
. Antonia Quirke, writing for The Times
claims that Everett "[P]icks the right stories to tell. A rare skill in the writers of memoirs," and sums up the book as "a subtle, touching thing." Pete Townshend
's cover blurb calls it "[O]ne of the best books ever written by a contemporary artist." Everett's hometown press considered it "intellectual, wry and unflinching as it conveys complex emotions with simple, graceful language." and "a heartbreaking story of staggering genius
." The book also received reviews from music publications, such as Spin
, who considered the author "a clear-eyed and emotionally affecting writer" and Q
, who gave it four out of five stars.
and St. Martin's Press
on October 14, 2008 (ISBN 978-0-312-38513-2). An audio edition of this book was released on cassette tape, CD-ROM
, and Compact Disc
by Blackstone Audio on November 30, 2008. It was also made available on the iTunes Store
. Editions would go on to be published in Belgium, Denmark, Cyprus, France, Germany, Iceland, India, The Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Italy.
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
book by Mark Oliver Everett
Mark Oliver Everett
Mark Oliver Everett is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist and sometime drummer of the independent rock band Eels...
who is the front man of the independent rock band Eels
Eels (band)
Eels is an American indie rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E...
. Everett spent a year composing the book between the release of the retrospectives Meet The Eels: Essential Eels, Vol. 1 (1996–2006) and Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996–2006 and the composition of 2009's Hombre Lobo
Hombre Lobo
Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire is the seventh studio album by American rock band Eels, released on June 2, 2009. Hombre Lobo is Spanish for "werewolf." On March 31, 2009, the band made the track "Fresh Blood" available on Spinner.com, explaining that the song would be the lead single for the album...
.
Title
The book shares its title with the closing track from the Eels' 2005 album Blinking Lights and Other RevelationsBlinking Lights and Other Revelations
Blinking Lights and Other Revelations is a 2005 double album by Eels. It was described by E on the official website as an album about "God and all the questions related to the subject of God...
. In that song Everett takes on the persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
of an elderly grandfather sharing the wisdom he has learned about life shortly before his death. The parallels between the song and the book are loose, as the real Everett is much younger than his song persona. He remarks in the final chapter the paradox of the book's title given that he has no children, let alone grandchildren. The story concludes that despite the hardships in life, the good more than compensates for the bad.
Marketing
Unusually for a modern autobiography, it includes no photos of the author, either inside the book or on the cover (first edition); likewise, the cover refers to Everett by his full name, rather than by the better-known moniker E, and the front and back cover never refer to his status as the frontman of the Eels.Readings of portions of the text occurred during live sets during the 2008 Eels
Eels (band)
Eels is an American indie rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E...
tour. Eels guitarist The Chet
Jeff Lyster
Jeff "The Chet" Lyster is a multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work with Eels, an alternative/experimental rock band based in California formed by Mark Oliver Everett . He has also toured with Lucinda Williams. -References:...
would later read the audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
edition.
Reception
Things the Grandchildren Should Know received generally positive reviews from critics from the United States—such as Joel SteinJoel Stein
Joel Stein is a journalist who wrote for the Los Angeles Times and is a regular contributor to Time.-Early life:Stein grew up in Edison, New Jersey and attended J. P. Stevens High School, where he was a writer and entertainment editor for Hawkeye, the student newspaper...
of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
—as well as British press—including The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
. Antonia Quirke, writing for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
claims that Everett "[P]icks the right stories to tell. A rare skill in the writers of memoirs," and sums up the book as "a subtle, touching thing." Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
's cover blurb calls it "[O]ne of the best books ever written by a contemporary artist." Everett's hometown press considered it "intellectual, wry and unflinching as it conveys complex emotions with simple, graceful language." and "a heartbreaking story of staggering genius
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is a memoir by Dave Eggers released in 2000. It chronicles his stewardship of younger brother Christopher "Toph" Eggers following the cancer-related deaths of his parents....
." The book also received reviews from music publications, such as Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, who considered the author "a clear-eyed and emotionally affecting writer" and Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, who gave it four out of five stars.
Publication history
After the initial British pressing, the book was released in the United States by Thomas Dunne BooksThomas Dunne Books
Thomas Dunne Books, a division of St. Martin's Press, publishes popular trade fiction and nonfiction. Established in 1986 and based in New York City, Thomas Dunne Books publishes approximately 175 titles each year, covering a range of genres including commercial and literary fiction, mysteries,...
and St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
on October 14, 2008 (ISBN 978-0-312-38513-2). An audio edition of this book was released on cassette tape, CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
, and Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by Blackstone Audio on November 30, 2008. It was also made available on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. Editions would go on to be published in Belgium, Denmark, Cyprus, France, Germany, Iceland, India, The Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Italy.