Helpful Score: 2
I highly recommend this book. It's an important piece of John Lennon's history of which Yoko Ono attempts to erase anyone but herself. John's relationship with his first wife, Cynthia, was not merely one of obligation and this book chronicles their lives together. Although Cynthia became pregnant with John's child leading him to propose marriage, their relationship was a close one that started while they were both students in art school and it lasted for 10 years.
Cynthia dated John Lennon during the early days of The Beatles, waiting in Liverpool while the band honed their skills playing hours-long sets in Hamburg, Germany. She lived with John's aunt Mimi for a time. She became good friends with Maurine Starkey (before she married Ringo), Astrid Kirchherr (the German photographer who dated Stu Sutcliffe), Patti Boyd (eventual wife of George Harrison), and Dot Rhone (an early girlfriend of Paul McCartney's). She mentions these friendships in the context of the stories, rather than simply name dropping.
Compared to other books authored by friends & family members of The Beatles, this one is well written, told mostly in chronological order with very little meandering. You get a sense of John and "Cyn" as a unit - a true couple - which is not how John's first marriage has been portrayed with images of Cynthia as the clingy, conventional wife and John as the disinterested rocker forced into marriage by an unplanned pregnancy. However, the book sheds light on their relationship, showing that they truly loved one another. Unfortunately, fame, time apart, drugs, & adultery took a toll, leaving their son Julian as the biggest victim of John's insensitive & erratic behavior.
Cynthia dated John Lennon during the early days of The Beatles, waiting in Liverpool while the band honed their skills playing hours-long sets in Hamburg, Germany. She lived with John's aunt Mimi for a time. She became good friends with Maurine Starkey (before she married Ringo), Astrid Kirchherr (the German photographer who dated Stu Sutcliffe), Patti Boyd (eventual wife of George Harrison), and Dot Rhone (an early girlfriend of Paul McCartney's). She mentions these friendships in the context of the stories, rather than simply name dropping.
Compared to other books authored by friends & family members of The Beatles, this one is well written, told mostly in chronological order with very little meandering. You get a sense of John and "Cyn" as a unit - a true couple - which is not how John's first marriage has been portrayed with images of Cynthia as the clingy, conventional wife and John as the disinterested rocker forced into marriage by an unplanned pregnancy. However, the book sheds light on their relationship, showing that they truly loved one another. Unfortunately, fame, time apart, drugs, & adultery took a toll, leaving their son Julian as the biggest victim of John's insensitive & erratic behavior.
It's always heart wrenching to hear about a partner being left behind, of watching the other half change into something beyond recognition, and not for the better. As with any person dealing with an addict, Cynthia had a hard road to travel. I've often wondered, too, about Yoko's role in John's life, but I didn't know about her domineering control over him and circumstances after his death. By Cynthia's account, it's plain to see how John, although talented, was a weak and passive-aggressive man. Loved learning about the early history of the Beatles. 3.5 stars.
I highly recommend this book. It's an important piece of John Lennon's history of which Yoko Ono attempts to erase anyone but herself. John's relationship with his first wife, Cynthia, was not merely one of obligation and this book chronicles their lives together. Although Cynthia became pregnant with John's child leading him to propose marriage, their relationship was a close one that started while they were both students in art school and it lasted for 10 years.
Cynthia dated John Lennon during the early days of The Beatles, waiting in Liverpool while the band honed their skills playing hours-long sets in Hamburg, Germany. She lived with John's aunt Mimi for a time. She became good friends with Maurine Starkey (before she married Ringo), Astrid Kirchherr (the German photographer who dated Stu Sutcliffe), Patti Boyd (eventual wife of George Harrison), and Dot Rhone (an early girlfriend of Paul McCartney's). She mentions these friendships in the context of the stories, rather than simply name dropping.
Compared to other books authored by friends & family members of The Beatles, this one is well written, told mostly in chronological order with very little meandering. You get a sense of John and "Cyn" as a unit - a true couple - which is not how John's first marriage has been portrayed with images of Cynthia as the clingy, conventional wife and John as the disinterested rocker forced into marriage by an unplanned pregnancy. However, the book sheds light on their relationship, showing that they truly loved one another. Unfortunately, fame, time apart, drugs, & adultery took a toll, leaving their son Julian as the biggest victim of John's insensitive & erratic behavior.
Cynthia dated John Lennon during the early days of The Beatles, waiting in Liverpool while the band honed their skills playing hours-long sets in Hamburg, Germany. She lived with John's aunt Mimi for a time. She became good friends with Maurine Starkey (before she married Ringo), Astrid Kirchherr (the German photographer who dated Stu Sutcliffe), Patti Boyd (eventual wife of George Harrison), and Dot Rhone (an early girlfriend of Paul McCartney's). She mentions these friendships in the context of the stories, rather than simply name dropping.
Compared to other books authored by friends & family members of The Beatles, this one is well written, told mostly in chronological order with very little meandering. You get a sense of John and "Cyn" as a unit - a true couple - which is not how John's first marriage has been portrayed with images of Cynthia as the clingy, conventional wife and John as the disinterested rocker forced into marriage by an unplanned pregnancy. However, the book sheds light on their relationship, showing that they truly loved one another. Unfortunately, fame, time apart, drugs, & adultery took a toll, leaving their son Julian as the biggest victim of John's insensitive & erratic behavior.
I was skeptical of this book at first; while biographies and first hand accounts such as these are riveting, the reader must always keep in mind who the author is. I found this book to be a poignant and sincere portrait of John Lennon, while remaining a page turner.
What a fascinating look at the life of an American icon. It's nice to read about a famous person from someone who really knew them and loved them. I cannot imagine living that kind of life or how incredibly difficult it must have been. Cynthia Lennon seems like she was an incredible woman who loved her husband with all her heart and soul and did her best to make him happy while trying so desparately to keep her sanity and give Julian a real home.
Most "Beatle" books were written by people who weren't along for the ride or were peripherally connected. Cynthia certainly lived through every moment. This is an updated book, written after John's death, unlike her earlier work. Having said this, she still doesn't yield the kind of depth into John's life that you would expect. Maybe he was too inscrutable or she isn't willing to reveal but so much. Again, she reveals the two things that took John away before an idiot's final insane act: drugs, and what's-her-name. Cynthia certainly experienced the greatest 10 years of John's life. I think the real John only appeared in glimpses during the last 10 years of his life. By all accounts, he was on the threshold of coming out of a dark 10 year period, but we'll never know the proper end to the story. A good read for Lennon fans.
