This Thing Called Life: Prince’s Odyssey, On and Off the Record

Karlen’s grandparents lived in the same Minneapolis neighborhood as a young Prince Rogers Nelson, leading to a chance meeting between the two boys outside a Dairy Queen. Years later, that encounter led Prince to pick Karlen to profile him for several Rolling Stone cover stories. For decades, Prince continued to confide in Karlen over late-night phone calls as the superstar retreated further into his Paisley Park fortress. The result of those confidences is a meandering biography and an account of what it was like to be Prince’s almost friend. Karlen admits that Prince’s mercurial personality and penchant for myth-making made him unknowable. Unfortunately, he does little to reveal much else about the provocative musician, filling this void with obscure references and cringe-worthy language, such as “Instead, let me tell you about where I felt aspects of his spirit.”