John Lennon - The Life
I just finished an 800+ page epic biography on John Lennon, written by Philip Norman. It took me almost a month to plow through it, but it was a decent read. I've read a lot about Lennon and the Beatles over the past 20 years, but it seems I always learn something new. It is amazing that there are always new facts and new stories to be told more than four decades after the split of the band.
Lennon was a very complicated guy. He had a traumatic childhood, which affected him for the rest of his life. He had a wayward father who he barely knew and a mother who was incapable of raising him, so he was raised by an aunt.
He was a contradiction in so many ways - he could be unpredictably mean and aggressive while being kind and generous at other times. He was funny and witty, as well as cynical and naive. He was moody - I have no doubt he was "bipolar" before there ever was such a diagnosis - and was a violent drunk.
Surprisingly, he had little-to-no self confidence, despite being such an influential pop culture figure. During his lifetime, I think he genuinely did not know how revered he was.
The funny part is as I read the book, I didn't like him at first, even though I had long admired his music. He really was kind of a jerk. He was a lousy father to his first child and an even worse husband to his first wife. I kept thinking that if I knew him personally, I would not like him. But as the pages turned, I began to understand him more and I really started to like this complicated, contradictory character.
Sadly, just as he started to figure out what life really was all about and he began to settle down, enjoying a second chance at fatherhood and finding peace within himself - and just as he started to write great music again after giving it up for five years - he was taken away in the blink of an eye.
And that was the way the book ended, which I know the author purposely did for effect. Instead of wrapping up the story with a chapter or two of reflection, his violent death was described in the last two paragraphs of the book, after 800 pages of in-depth character study.
He was pronounced dead at 11:07 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 1980. He was 40 years old. End of story.
As a reader, you just weren't ready for it.
My first reaction was "No way. You gotta be kidding me! He's not ready yet! He's too young!" even though I (obviously) knew how Lennon died. It just seemed so unfair it ended that quickly and that abruptly.
But that's exactly how it happened. Very sad.
Lennon was a very complicated guy. He had a traumatic childhood, which affected him for the rest of his life. He had a wayward father who he barely knew and a mother who was incapable of raising him, so he was raised by an aunt.
He was a contradiction in so many ways - he could be unpredictably mean and aggressive while being kind and generous at other times. He was funny and witty, as well as cynical and naive. He was moody - I have no doubt he was "bipolar" before there ever was such a diagnosis - and was a violent drunk.
Surprisingly, he had little-to-no self confidence, despite being such an influential pop culture figure. During his lifetime, I think he genuinely did not know how revered he was.
The funny part is as I read the book, I didn't like him at first, even though I had long admired his music. He really was kind of a jerk. He was a lousy father to his first child and an even worse husband to his first wife. I kept thinking that if I knew him personally, I would not like him. But as the pages turned, I began to understand him more and I really started to like this complicated, contradictory character.
Sadly, just as he started to figure out what life really was all about and he began to settle down, enjoying a second chance at fatherhood and finding peace within himself - and just as he started to write great music again after giving it up for five years - he was taken away in the blink of an eye.
And that was the way the book ended, which I know the author purposely did for effect. Instead of wrapping up the story with a chapter or two of reflection, his violent death was described in the last two paragraphs of the book, after 800 pages of in-depth character study.
He was pronounced dead at 11:07 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 1980. He was 40 years old. End of story.
As a reader, you just weren't ready for it.
My first reaction was "No way. You gotta be kidding me! He's not ready yet! He's too young!" even though I (obviously) knew how Lennon died. It just seemed so unfair it ended that quickly and that abruptly.
But that's exactly how it happened. Very sad.
