Reviews

In His Own Write by John Lennon

mollybonovskyanderson's review against another edition

2.0

If you don’t like wordplay, silliness, absurdity or poking fun at the “upper-class-twit” ala Monty-Python-esque British wit, you might not like this book. Even if you do like those things, you might not like it. I myself find the wordplay to become tedious over time, and have thusly never read it cover-to-cover. But I come back to it when I need a little sprinkling of John’s early cheeky persona in my life. And it can be fun to read out-loud.

margztgz's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

this was a crazy vibe. i read this in one sitting in my backyard with my beatles bestie (shout out quyn) and cackling at the humor and stories. this is just doodles and silly stories but they're somehow obscene, profound, sad and hilarious in the biting wit style that john lennon had and it reminds me so much of monty python. it's not that good but the fact that it made us cackle earns it over 4 stars. this is prime a hard days night/help era silliness and i loved playing the characters, playing with words. he has an incredibly knack for storytelling and character building, even when it's crass. also the intro by paul was hilariously sweet!

he was an incredibly complicated and incendiary person, and i find his art a revealing facet of understanding art and legacy because of it. some of the language is super outdated, crass and feeds into stereotypes because of the time it was written. definitely not all funny and lighthearted but dark and wrestling with such themes.

overall this was super interesting & it's funny that i've only read this now after like 8 years as a beatles fan!

koki_siringo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

sbeerens's review against another edition

2.0

Although I love The Beatles, this book was slightly disappointing. Lennon is trying too hard, overdoes everything and I didn't find it as funny as I should have found it.
Two stars for the creativity, but I didn't enjoy it all that much.

alexander_smirzitz's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

2.5

toasterposter15's review against another edition

0.5

Some of the worst poetry I’ve ever read 

fatimasiddiqui's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

i guess this has value in the sense that its SO john lennon to release a bullshit book like this but at the same time its basically useless and unreadable

ashsara's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

paula338's review against another edition

5.0

the drawings were nice.
my favourite was randolf's party, it made me laugh (just like the others)

jordana's review against another edition

1.0

some of the most grating prose i've read in my entire life lol