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A review by nobodyspoet
The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz
3.5
Woefully lopsided, it feels disingenuous to label this as a Beatles biography when in reality it's "John and, by proximity, Paul" with Ringo forever as the comic relief and George as a static portrait, if he's remembered at all. Seriously, it's amazing to me how much I had to learn about John Lennon when, in a book so focused on deconstructing the archetypes of early Beatlemania, George was relegated to the quiet one who either mooned (quietly) or lost his temper (quickly), with a mere footnote at the end to essentially say he lived and he died, and Ringo just sort of floating in and out of the frame, with his seemingly largest contribution being how many times he got physically picked up and swung around (I got to three before I stopped counting).
That said, I especially found the beginning, pre-fame telling to be intriguing, but I wish anything that came after Help! got even half that long-winded treatment. It's as if the editor came through and realized just how big this book was and started lopping off the end. Honestly, with a book this long, I think you just have to commit, so if it needs to crack 900 or more pages of actual book, not including notes and attributions, then do it. I never thought I'd be implying I wish this book was longer, but I'd have been all for it.
The thing is, though, I still read all 857 pages, and was genuinely engaged for my entire three week read time. I've previously read Spitz's Julia Child biography and adored it, and it's all due to how downright accessible his writing feels. Not too dry, not too many glaring liberties taken; it's comprehensive without pandering and moves along really well. I looked forward to picking this book up each day, and can see myself reading more of Spitz's work in the future. I honestly think it just comes down to the fact that, for figures with such large legends looming overhead, there's so much to tell, and Spitz, better suited to focus on just one subject, falters in balancing a large primary cast of characters.
That said, I especially found the beginning, pre-fame telling to be intriguing, but I wish anything that came after Help! got even half that long-winded treatment. It's as if the editor came through and realized just how big this book was and started lopping off the end. Honestly, with a book this long, I think you just have to commit, so if it needs to crack 900 or more pages of actual book, not including notes and attributions, then do it. I never thought I'd be implying I wish this book was longer, but I'd have been all for it.
The thing is, though, I still read all 857 pages, and was genuinely engaged for my entire three week read time. I've previously read Spitz's Julia Child biography and adored it, and it's all due to how downright accessible his writing feels. Not too dry, not too many glaring liberties taken; it's comprehensive without pandering and moves along really well. I looked forward to picking this book up each day, and can see myself reading more of Spitz's work in the future. I honestly think it just comes down to the fact that, for figures with such large legends looming overhead, there's so much to tell, and Spitz, better suited to focus on just one subject, falters in balancing a large primary cast of characters.