gretelchen's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating, Incredible, Entertaining, touching, and heartbreaking all at once!
kricketa's review against another edition
3.0
last night i saw "nowhere boy" and this book conveniently picks up about where the film leaves off. it was also the only bio on just john i had lying around the house ($1 at john k. king!) so that was convenient too.
my early impression is that we have a lot of cynthia lennon saying "i'm important too, dammit!" which is fair enough.
**post reading: well, this was pretty interesting. cynthia powell lennon apparently got screwed by both her husband and the media. she frequently saw herself portrayed as a naive smalltown girl who tricked john into marriage, and wanted to set the record straight by writing this book.
the writing is fairly dreadful- full of errors, cliches and unimportant details (do we really need to know that cynthia once lent a feminine product to mick jagger's girlfriend?) but the story is intriguing. it's fascinating (and heartbreaking) to hear what john lennon was like as a husband and father.
my early impression is that we have a lot of cynthia lennon saying "i'm important too, dammit!" which is fair enough.
**post reading: well, this was pretty interesting. cynthia powell lennon apparently got screwed by both her husband and the media. she frequently saw herself portrayed as a naive smalltown girl who tricked john into marriage, and wanted to set the record straight by writing this book.
the writing is fairly dreadful- full of errors, cliches and unimportant details (do we really need to know that cynthia once lent a feminine product to mick jagger's girlfriend?) but the story is intriguing. it's fascinating (and heartbreaking) to hear what john lennon was like as a husband and father.
tschmitty's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Cynthia Lennon shares her story and her truth. Her perspective and place in Beatle history is unique. She fell in love young, supported John from the beginning, knew her place, played her part, jostling Beatlemania and a baby. She started over when John broke her heart. She mourned him when he died. She raised her son. She did well.
antonia_koscak's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
bbyaga1928's review against another edition
3.0
There are so many liberties taken by the writer who worked with Cynthia, and while I love her to bits, also a few too many exaggerations and one or two downright lies. I'm giving it a 3.7 though because her understanding of John is important and the book is still gripping. If you want to read a book though about Lennon - by a lover - that is NOT without error, read May Pang's "Loving John". Not as highly reviewed on here, and much more crude, but FAR more accurate. (Ignore the corny cover, too.) This book genuinely is kind of disappointing.
giftofbooks's review against another edition
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
More people should read this. I mean it. All the legends we think of when it comes to John and even Yoko can be debunked through Cynthia and Julian’s story. A story that isn’t told enough in Beatles history
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Infidelity
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion