Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (book)

This article is about Sly Stone's autobiography. For the 1969 single by Sly and the Family Stone, see Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
AuthorSly Stone
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutobiography
PublisherAuwa Books
Publication date
October 17, 2023

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) is the autobiography of American musician Sly Stone, written with Ben Greenman. It was published in October 2023 by Auwa Books and included a forward from Questlove.

Announced in May 2023, the book was the first to be published by new US imprint Auwa Books, and was published in the UK by White Rabbit.[1][2]

Reception

In their review for The Los Angeles Times, Marc Weingarten wrote that "Stone provides tantalizing crumbs of insight into his oeuvre...[but] never really digs too deep into his life or art; he’s content to skim over the surface."[3]

Christopher Weber, writing for The Associated Press, said the book "overflows with wit and wordplay befitting a maestro"[4] and contained "no shortage of occasionally humorous — but mostly bleak — backstage tales of debauchery and drug abuse." But Weber felt fans interested in gaining personal insight into the life of Sly Stone would be left disappointed.[4] Similarly, Rob Doyle for The Guardian felt it was "light on revelations" but that Stone's fans would enjoy the details of tours and annecdotes on other pop stars.[2]

Alan Light for The New York Times wrote Stone's book had impossible expectations to fulfil given its subject, but "gives a strong sense of this giant’s voice and sensibility".[5] He felt the inclusion of transcripts from Stone's TV appearances served as padding for a book that "sprints too quickly through his experiences".[5]

Jem Aswad for Variety, praised Stone's wordplay, and especially enjoyed the "electric and exciting" early chapters, but found the second half of the book tough as Stone detailed his addiction and time in jail with "matter-of-fact, unemotional descriptions of truly horrifying events", but that it still finished "on an thankful and thoughtful note".[6] Writing for Slate, Jack Hamilton also found it sometimes a difficult read as it "becomes more of a memoir of addiction than of music-making", but still found it "fascinating, revealing...[and] an unusual, fitfully beautiful, and surprisingly emotional reading experience".[7]

References

  1. ^ Minsker, Evan (2023-03-22). "Sly Stone Announces Memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  2. ^ a b Doyle, Rob (2023-10-09). "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) by Sly Stone review – euphoric expression and drug-crazed chaos". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  3. ^ Weingarten, Marc (2023-10-12). "Sly Stone lives to tell the tale of his lifelong journey to heaven, hell and back". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  4. ^ a b Weber, Christopher (2023-10-17). "Book Review: Sly Stone wants to take you higher in memoir with tales of funk, drugs and survival". AP News. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  5. ^ a b Light, Alan (2023-11-03). "Rock 'n' Soul: The Amazing Story of Sly & the Family Stone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  6. ^ Aswad, Jem (2023-10-17). "Sly Stone Returns With Alternately Riveting and Horrifying Memoir, 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)': Book Review". Variety. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  7. ^ Hamilton, Jack (2023-10-18). "Sly Stone's Memoir Is Almost As Fascinating As the Fact That It Exists at All". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-11-25.