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adayin_thelife8's review
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
A must read for the Beatle/John Lennon fan! Cynthia did a wonderful job in portraying her time with John. The good and the bad. She did not sound like the jealous ex wide, as one would expect. But as someone who truly loved and cared about her first love. Even after all he put her through.
jessicaistired's review
4.0
I’ve never really read much about Cynthia or her and John’s relationship. Being a bigger Macca fan, I only knew the basics of John cheating on Cynthia with Yoko, and then leaving her and finally neglecting his son and family completely afterward. This was an interesting read. I liked reading a different viewpoint on the Beatle Mania days and John’s life.
I knew John was very flawed and often a total asshole, so seeing him in a negative light throughout wasn’t surprising at all. I found it extremely hard to believe that Cynthia didn’t worry more about John sleeping around while he was on tour in the Hamburg days and later in the height of Beatle fame. She had to have known he was doing so, but in this book she seems totally oblivious and naive. Then she made it seem like she was blindsided when John finally told her later in her marriage.
I was also bewildered to learn about how her other unsuccessful marriages happened—or at least how she described them. She knew the men weren’t great for her and Julian in the long run, but would end to marrying them anyways. They had huge noticeable red flags. But it’s also surprising that she didn’t leave John after the first time he hit her when they were still teenagers and his erratic behavior was already apparent.
I’ve always been indifferent towards Yoko. Again, I’ve never heavily researched her or their relationship. After learning about other things this past year and then reading this book, I really don’t like her. She really ruined John’s life and in turn, Cynthia’s.
I always felt badly for Cynthia and Julian, but I felt even worse for them while reading this. Reading how Cynthia readily admits now that she wouldn’t do it over again despite always loving John is very sad. It’s a heartbreaking read despite a few occasional instances of maybe not the most reliable narrating.
I knew John was very flawed and often a total asshole, so seeing him in a negative light throughout wasn’t surprising at all. I found it extremely hard to believe that Cynthia didn’t worry more about John sleeping around while he was on tour in the Hamburg days and later in the height of Beatle fame. She had to have known he was doing so, but in this book she seems totally oblivious and naive. Then she made it seem like she was blindsided when John finally told her later in her marriage.
I was also bewildered to learn about how her other unsuccessful marriages happened—or at least how she described them. She knew the men weren’t great for her and Julian in the long run, but would end to marrying them anyways. They had huge noticeable red flags. But it’s also surprising that she didn’t leave John after the first time he hit her when they were still teenagers and his erratic behavior was already apparent.
I’ve always been indifferent towards Yoko. Again, I’ve never heavily researched her or their relationship. After learning about other things this past year and then reading this book, I really don’t like her. She really ruined John’s life and in turn, Cynthia’s.
I always felt badly for Cynthia and Julian, but I felt even worse for them while reading this. Reading how Cynthia readily admits now that she wouldn’t do it over again despite always loving John is very sad. It’s a heartbreaking read despite a few occasional instances of maybe not the most reliable narrating.
gretelchen's review
5.0
Fascinating, Incredible, Entertaining, touching, and heartbreaking all at once!
kricketa's review
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.