Things the Grandchildren Should Know

Everett, Mark Oliver

ISBN 10: 0312385137 / ISBN 13: 9780312385132

Published by Thomas Dunne Books, 2008

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Synopsis:

Growing up in the Virginia suburbs, Mark Oliver Everett was to roam unsupervised with his sister, Liz, while his mother combated depression and his father, the eccentric and acclaimed quantum physicist Hugh Everett, remained distant and obsessed by parallel universes of his own creation.  (Everett writes, "As a little kid, I had a hard time with the realization that inanimate objects didn't have feelings or thoughts. I remember being on the verge of tears, standing there in the bathroom, as my mom tried to make me understand that the bathroom cabinet wasn't going to be hurt if I closed it too hard. I thought of the bathroom cabinet as one of my friends. Maybe I was confused because I thought of my father as a piece of furniture.") First, the author lost his father to heart failure, and then—in a staggeringly short period of time—his sister to schizophrenia and suicide and his mother to cancer. The author drew upon the relentless tragedies in his life for inspiration in writing highly acclaimed music with his indie rock group, the Eels.  Yet this is much more than a musician's tale. A true gem of a memoir, Everett’s story is a rich and poignant narrative on coming of age, love, death, and the creative vision.

About the Author:

Mark Oliver Everett is the lead singer, guitarist, and keyboardist of indie rock band The Eels. Rolling Stone magazine called Everett "the Kurt Vonnegut of the rock world." The author is the son of physicist Hugh Everett III, originator of the "Many Worlds" theory of quantum physics. While coping with the deaths of every member of his immediate family, Everett turned tragedy into the impetus for recording such acclaimed albums Electro-Shock Blues and Blinking Lights and Other Revelations.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Things the Grandchildren Should Know
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: 2008
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good