Go the F--k to Sleep

By: Adam Mansbach, Ricardo Cortes (cover illustration)

Narrated by: Samuel L. Jackson

Length: 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) rocks this mock bedtime story, capturing a hilarious range of emotions as the voice of a father struggling to get his child to sleep.

Go the F--k to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don’t always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach’s profane, affectionate, and radically honest verses perfectly capture the familiar - and unspoken - tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, he opens up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations and laugh at their absurdity.

Beautiful, subversive, and pants-wettingly funny, Go the F**k to Sleep is a book for parents new, old, and expectant. Due to its explicit language, you probably should not play it for your children.

Feel free to share the link to this page with tired parents and other people who could use a good swear and a laugh.

©2011 Adam Mansbach. Cover Illustration © 2011 Ricardo Cortes. (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Total genius." (Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn, father of two)

"A children's book for grown-ups! I really did laugh out loud - hilarious!" (David Byrne, musician, father of one)

"Finally, someone tells it like it really is. This is no-guilt funny and a godsend!" (Cristina Garcia, author of The Lady Matador's Hotel, mother of one)

"The viral phenomenon comes to audio in this clever adaptation of Mansbach's "children's book for adults." NOT a family-friendly listen, this audio will have you giggling and looking around to see if anyone else heard what just came through the speakers. Samuel L. Jackson, known for his foul-mouthed onscreen characters to begin with, is a perfect choice for such a lovingly irreverent audiobook. The desperation in his voice rises as the child, who is the object of the parental pleading, refuses to cooperate. By the end, both seasoned and expectant parents will be alternating between laughing and cringing at the exasperation in Jackson's tongue-in-cheek narration. The production begins with a casual introduction from Jackson, which appears to act as an apology for what's to come, as if Jackson (and author, producers, etc.) wants to assure the listener not to worry—despite everything, we DO love our children very much. Even when they refuse to go the f--k to sleep." ( AudioFile)

Read the F--king REVIEW!

Before I heard Samuel L. Jackson read this post-modern self-help book in his deep, authoritative, GOD-like voice, I had: restless leg syndrome, sleep apnoea, delayed sleep phase syndrome, parasomnias, night terrors, nocturia, caffeine induced insomnia and somniphobia. After listening to this self-help book, I turned over, told my leg to "chill out motherf--ker" and went the f--k to sleep.

No Brainer

Come on! Why are you reading a review! It's narrated by Samuel L. Jackson! Just buy the thing!

Hilarious

Any parent with a shred of a sense of humor will find this book to be a veritable hoot. Being narrated by Sam Jackson; priceless.

The perfect narrator for this book!

I don't think there could be a better narrator for this book, and Samuel L. Jackson does an excellent job!

If you've ever read a child to sleep - beautiful!

OMG. My son is 23 now, and I just played this for him ... can't wait until he has one of his own! I just about wet myself when Samuel got to the movie & popcorn bit ... can't believe how many times that actually happened. And, admit it or not, this is EXACTLY what goes thru your head while you're reading (and reading, and reading, and reading...) your child -- the f@%k to sleep. Couldn't have chosen better than Samuel Jackson! (Love you Sam!)This if f%$king BEAUTIFUL!

Perfect for anyone who has ever had children.

I always knew about Audible and thought "someday I would get an account". The idea of this book read by this narrator pushed me over the edge. And it was everything I had expected.

Jackson's exasperated style expressing Mansbach's frustration could not more perfectly, or more humorously, capture that delicate, priceless moment in a parent's life when one fully grasps the phrase "parental responsibility".

I'm STILL Laughing!

As a mother of 3, this was absolutely one of the funniest and most honest "bedtime stories" I've ever heard! My husband listened, and almost shot his drink through his nose! Samuel L. Jackson was the perfect narrator... I'm telling everyone I know about it.

Explicit!! Could Only Be Done By Mr. Jackson.

Samuel L. Jackson is probably the only actor (possibly besides Eddie Murphy in his early years) who could get away with this. Mr. Jackson has a great voice for narration. I hope to hear his clean stuff. If profanity offends you, this short listen is NOT for you. The F-word is throughout as well as other swear words. This would be recommended for parents who can relate to reading a story at bedtime with a kid who just won't go to sleep.

From Facebook joke to No. 1 bestseller!

Go the F--k to Sleep proves that social media can make or break a book. One night, after growing frustrated with his daughter's antics at bed time, author Adam Mansbach posted on Facebook, "Look out for my forthcoming children's book - Go the F--k to Sleep." The response was overwhelming, and Mansbach began working on the book. But social media wasn't finished with this story yet. Before its official publication date, PDF advance copies of the book went viral and Go the F--k to Sleep ended up in the No. 1 spot on the bestseller list.

So does the story live up to all the hype?

Yes and no. Samuel L. Jackson's reading of the book is fantastic. He does a wonderful job of portraying the weary parent who no longer cares if he is a "sh--ty" parent, he just wants his kid to go the f--k to sleep. The narrative, however, quickly gets old. It's like a book of jokes that all have the same punchline.

Honestly, I am probably not in a position to review this book. Not having children myself, and never having experienced the struggle to get a child to go to sleep, I laughed at this book but was unable to relate. If you are a parent, you should definitely buy this book and listen for yourself. At under $2 and only 6 minutes of listening time, you just can't go wrong.

Instant Classic!

Great fun for anyone who has kids. They couldn't have picked a better narrator!!