Product Description

How does one young man survive the deaths of his entire family and manage to make something worthwhile of his life? In Things The Grandchildren Should Know Mark Oliver Everett tells the story of what it's like to grow up the insecure son of a genius in a wacky Virginia Ice Storm-like family. Left to run wild with his sister, his father off in some parallel universe of his own invention, Everett's upbringing was 'ridiculous, sometimes tragic and always unsteady'. But somehow he manages to not only survive his crazy upbringing and ensuing tragedies; he makes something of his life, striking out on a journey to find himself by channelling his experiences into his, eventually, critically acclaimed music with the Eels. But it's not an easy path. Told with surprising candour, Things The Grandchildren Should Know is an inspiring and remarkable story, full of hope, humour and wry wisdom.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2631 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Mark Oliver Everett, lead singer with Eels, is one of the finest singer songwriters of his generation. This is his first book.

Customer Reviews

Incredible
Probably the most beautiful story I have ever read. As an Eels fan I've been fascinated by E for a long time, and his intriguing lyrics have left me with a lot of unanswered questions. This book answers them all. None of his lyrics are a mystery any longer and you can relate them to his own life experiences, which only serves to help you relate them to your own.

It's a miracle that this man remains so upbeat despite so much personal tragedy, and in fact is stronger because of it. It's a long time since I've read a book so quickly, with so much concentration. I've read autobiographies by many of my favourite music/comedy artists, but none of them come close to touching this. I consider myself unfortunate that I am not a close personal friend of Mark Oliver Everett.

I was not previously aware of the controversy surrounding "Daisies of the Galaxy" but I am so glad I know about it now! Pure insanity and makes for great stories.

Fascinating and uplifting account of one man's life...also good insight into rock n' roll
It's a story of one man, who doesn't quite fit in. He doesn't fit in because of his take on life which has been aided by his family's strange place in their community.
This is an honest account of growing up feeling different, having natural talents which don't really materialise until he's in his late teens. When he does realise that music is a road by which he wishes to travel, he struggles with balancing his creativity with the fact that death seems to be around the corner.
Clearly sensitive, Mark E writes with a flawless passion where he tries to clearly assess quite horrific incidents through a natural distance - and this throws up his emotional and intellectual dilemma.
He is an outsider who writes some quite amazing music. In the context of his music it's great to have this personal account of his life rather than read interviews or record reviews. It brings even more to his records.
Good autobiographies bring images into your minds eye about the writer - this is a very evocative account of "E's" life and well done to him for writing it.

Great even without the music
I don't agree with reviewers who say you need to be an Eels fan to enjoy this book. I barely knew Eels at all, and I came to the book because of my interest in quantum physics and Mark Everett's father (see, for example, In Search of Schrodinger's Cat). I found it to be a terrific read full of insights about growing up in America. And THEN I bought a couple of Eels albums, which are also great.