Please Step Back

by Ben Greenman

The rise and fall of a true American A rock star, inspired by genre-busting musicians of the sixties like Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and Marvin Gaye.

A swirling sixties saga of the rise and fall of a true American A rock star. But not just any rock Rock Foxx is an outrageous showman whose unprecedented mixed-race, mixed-gender band made a new kind of socially conscious music that was infectious and tribal and scaled the heights of sixties rock stardom, all the way to Woodstock and beyond. But Foxx seemed to disappear at the height of his fame, his contagious, upbeat music darkening, then ending ubruptly amidst rumors of drugs and violence, as the culture itself exploded into massive riots and assassinations.

In the hands of New Yorker editor Ben Greenman, it's a story that is both highly literary and simply entertaining, a tale about rock and roll and about a complicated but key moment in our history. Exciting, funny, disturbing and uplifting, with some of the most deft and absorbing writing about music ever to appear in American fiction, this pseudo-bio of a fascinating character is an amazing creation in itself, and sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2009

About the author

Ben Greenman is an editor at The New Yorker whose short fiction, journalism, and essays have appeared there, The New York Times, McSweeneys, The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All Story. He is the author of several acclaimed books of fiction, including Superbad, Superworse, A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both, Correspondences, and the novel Please Step Back. HIs new book of stories What He's Poised To Do: Stories was published in June of 2010.

Reviews

[Levi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had heard some very positive things about the book (not the least being the glowing blurbs on the book itself from some excellent writers), but it just never clicked for me. The writing style felt contrived, the characters never lived and breathed for me (despite the constant infusion of rhyming dialogue), and the story was pretty much like every VH1 Behind the Music you've ever seen. I found myself struggling to keep engaged, which is a bad sign for a relatively short book filled with punchy dialogue (did I mention the rhyming?).

One additional note: It's a very risky thing to present a character as an ingenious writer, and then to actually incorporate examples of 'his writing' in your text (in this case, the main character's lyrics, which are scattered throughout the book, and have the last word in the book itself). It's risky because you, the writer, are the one creating this supposedly genius work, and if the work falls flat (which it does in this case - has Greenman ever written a song? Hint: It's not like writing a story or novel), you have no one to blame but yourself.

[Grainne Rhuad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that I wish I could give half stars to. If it were possible I would have given it 2 1/2 stars. The reason being it was well written and enjoyable enough, there was good deal nice poetry/songwriting crafted within this book. However the subject matter is way over-played. We have had a deluge in the last couple of years of washed-up drugged out rock star tragedy stories. This story does not even vary from the formula. Big dreams, drugs, hard work, drugs, kinda makes it, drugs, falls in love, drugs, makes it big, drugs, fucks groupies, drugs, gets divorced, drugs, falls into a creative tailspin, drugs, drugs, drugs...death.

See now you know the story. However it may be a nice book for future generations to pick up.

[Mk100 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly unusual novel about the rise and fall of a sixties musician who seems to have a lot in common with Sly Stone. Greenman is sensitive to the nuance of great creativity dogged by great demons, and how easy it must be for someone blessed with great success to lose perspective on what made his life worth living before that success. That the record industry is a brutal jungle is not exactly a premise requiring much suspension of disbelief, nor is the premise of a rock star wrecked by ego and drugs. But the protaganist is genuinely interesting, and you really hope that he surmounts every temptation toward disaster.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this was decidedly... okay. I feel like I've read this story-- of the rise and fall of the sixties rocker-type a dozen times before, in fiction and non-fiction, and that this version of the story didn't have much new to tell me or to add to that story.

The way in which this book did excel and impress was on the level of craft, though-- Robert's interior monologue, the rhyming and the references to other lyrics, the punning and etc was really impressive, but also kind of showed up how little else was going on.

A decent read, but not enough to really elevate it.

[Marci Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to agree with some of the other posters, when they criticize the book for it's less than surprising subject matter. But for me, the great joy of this book is the narrative voice. Just when I'd be getting bored with the plot, Greenman would drop another lyrical gem, and I'd be sucked right back in. I was in deep smit with Robert/Rock Foxx and, at the same time, grateful I don't have personal dealings with anyone like him.

[Christine Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Read full review here:

Read this engrossing interview with author Ben Greenman here:

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the scene of Rock Foxx holding onto his last song, thinking that making it real will make it unreal -- a man holding onto his last hope. I kept waiting for this book to be bigger than it is. Perhaps his other books are.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heck of a piece of writing.

[Drew Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately entertaining riff on the 60's and 70's music scene through the eyes of a Sly Stone figure..The best parts for me were the ones that had to do with the music business.