John

They say that no-one knows a man better than his wife...but I believe that to be a terrible assumption. In Cynthia Lennon's case, it's patently true. She and Lennon were worlds apart...and this simple girl who was dragged into the very vortex of Swinging London during the Sixties didn't realise that, and still hasn't.

Her basic schtick in John is:

"...Oh woe is me
Oh woe is me
I'm such a nice person
I deserve better
Oh woe is me..."

...which may even be true...but she does go on a bit. Cynthia Lennon's John is her second stab at writing the story of her marriage (the first was 1978's A Twist Of Lennon) to what had once been the most famous man in the world and it's probably a good read if you're:

• female
• a pie-in-the-sky boomer who believes in unconditional love & 
• are at ease with accepting a very basic Freudian analysis of the unhappy love of your life

Cynthia Lennon montage

...but for males, it's particularly difficult. All that emotion and simmering rage disguised as frustrated Love doesn't sit easily with most men. So, the basic scenario is:

Two teenagers are attracted to each other, both:

• short sighted
• having parents who died when they were 17

...and Cynthia interprets that as believing that they have a lot in common! Hmmm. John wants regular sex, Cynthia interprets that sex as love and guess what?:

• she gets pregnant
• they get married
• he has a succesful job whuch keeps him away from home a lot
• when he sees her, he has erratic emotional responses to her

You'll find little in John about The Beatles' music, or the fount of Lennon's Art (Cynthia was virtually excluded from that...and much of Beatlemania because it wasn't considered wise for Lennon to appear married)...but you will hear a simple, sometimes bitter girl who is doormattishly dull. That's not to say she doesn't appear quite pleasant or even deserved better but Cynthia and John are so ill-matched, it's frustratingly ridiculous that she still believes that they ever had anything in common.

Once Lennon decided to obliterate his mind via drugs, Cynthia began to see her husband, Beatle John, suddenly start to mutate from somebody who was occasionally lovable, sometimes normal and writing such sensitive songs as In My Life & Nowhere Man on Rubber Soul in 1965, to the drugged out freak on Revolver writing Tomorrow Never Knows. 

She doesn't know what to do about John, he's changed...but she l-o-v-e-s him and he must l-o-v-e her because they have a son, Julian together.

Huh?

Even when Lennon's seriously abusive to Julian e.g. once, when Julian, still a child,  giggled...and Lennon screamed with rage:

"I can't stand the way you f******g laugh! Never let me hear your f*****g horrible laugh again!"

...and to this day, Julian, apparently rarely laughs...but Cynthia is such a goggle-eyed romantic that somehow her feminine intuition tells her that, deep down, John loved her...and them.

Huh?

As a reader, and I hate to say it, you can't wait until Yoko, turns up. Even though The Dragon Lady effortlessly outmanoeuvers our heroine, the Liverpool lass, at every turn, Yoko is, at least, dynamic! Cynthia could be in a personality contest with moss growing on a rock and still strike out.

Fully encouraged by Lennon, who sees her as a fellow-artist...though he had really only found his dominatrix, Yoko sets about transforming their lives, dragging John into Bed-ins, encouraging him to hypocritically lecture the world's media about Peace...and generally turning the well-loved Beatle into the big-mouthed beatnik. 

Cynthia is, of course, appalled, never seeming (even now) to realise that Yoko helped Lennon achieve exactly what he wanted. John wanted outrage, he wanted unpredictability, he certainly didn't want to sit at home in suburbia...and be normal!

Actually, away from her "love" for Lennon, Cynthia is reasonably astute:

• she respects Paul McCartney as John's friend & partner
• accepts the four Beatles' contributions as important, not just John's
• is rightfully indignant of how Yoko as trustee of the Lennon estate refuses to let her & John's son Julian have access to a penny

I'm not a woman. I don't think like a woman...but I do feel that Cynthia's "love" is a tragic waste of a life. Perhaps you feel differently, in which case you may love John.

Cynthia Lennon: John

"...There are plenty of Beatle stories here, retold from the vantage of an active participant. Some of it is familiar territory to any fan of the Fab Four. Because of the Beatles' well-documented history, the context is easy to follow, from:

• John's first time hitting on Cynthia while she was still engaged to someone else
• to her description of how she processed John's death and George's deadly cancer and
• what happened to all those who were part of the John Lennon story...

...I fully recommend "John" by Cynthia Lennon. It may not be the whole, unadulterated truth, but it should help hardcore fans sort through the mass of rumor, hogwash and facts residing about Lennon in popular culture..." Amazon reviewer A. Trendl "HungarianBookstore.com"

"...In the beginning the book is wonderful...(showing) a John Lennon that we haven't seen before. Reading about their college years and younger days was fascinating. To see John more human was refreshing....(but)...the chilling way in which he dumps Cynthia is almost hard to read. John goes from wanting to repair the marriage to coldly cutting both Julian and her off completely...(and) John...seems to be suffering from mental problems in some way..." Amazon reviewer Beatles fan

Arrogant Swine With a Heart of Gold: Be warned, if you see Lennon as "Martin Luther Lennon" prepare to be disillusioned...I don't find John's behavior in this situation mysterious at all - he was an addict/alchoholic who discovered drugs. He begged his then-wife Cynthia to do drugs with him but she declined (described in the book).

Then, in behavior identical to every other alchoholic (this is oh-so typical) he went out and found himself someone who would do drugs with him, the wonderful Yoko Ono. She not only joined him in drugging but introduced him to heroin. (She once referred to their heroin use as "a celebration of of us as artists.")

Sure, Yoko Ono, whatever you say..." Amazon reviewer rain cloud

It's a good read, there's not a lot that's new but it is imperitave reading for those who want to understand what Lennon was running from...and found in Yoko. What comes strongest to me from John...is how little a wife can understand her husband.

For more information, see:

• wikipedia: Cynthia Lennon