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作者:Cynthia Lennon 著出版社:Random House US出版时间:2006年08月
- 版 次:1
- 页 数:306
- 字 数:
- 印刷时间:2006年08月01日
- 开 本:32开
- 纸 张:胶版纸
- 包 装:平装
- 是否套装:否
- 国际标准书号ISBN:9780307338563
Amazon.com Review
This isn't Cynthia Lennon's first book about her legendary
ex-husband. A Twist of Lennon--a slim volume that John tried to
suppress on grounds of libel--came out in 1978. But now, 25 years
after his death, she finally feels ready to tell the "full and
truthful story" of their life together. Why? In his foreword, son
Julian writes of their being "dismissed or at best treated as
insignificant bit players" in the story of John's life; it's
Cynthia's goal, with John, to set the record straight. She does
make a case for being more than just "the impressionable young girl
who fell for him, then trapped him into marriage," and it's moving
to read, in his own words, of John's love for his son. And while
there's nothing new in her account of the Fab Four's rise to fame,
as the greatest success story of the rock era, it's a legend that
bears retelling. But most salient of all are Cynthia's sketches of
pain, regret, and intimidation. John was indeed a brilliant, loving
man, but he was also "passionately jealous," "verbally cutting,"
sometimes abusive, and often neglectful. (It is hinted that his
behavior may have paralleled that of the woman who raised him, his
Aunt Mimi.) Unfortunately, Cynthia's "response to John's
provocative and cruel behavior was to stick by him more solidly
than ever...[feeling] that if he could trust me and believe that I
loved him he might soften."
It's not this dysfunction, however, but rather John's use of LSD,
on which she blames the emotional "chasm" that led to the failure
of their marriage. And though the Lennons' divorce comes relatively
late in the book, the pages that follow are by far the saddest, as
they chronicle John's increasing distance from and neglect of his
former family--especially Julian, who would only see his father
three times after he moved to New York in 1971. It's no surprise
that Cynthia lays much of the blame for this at the feet of Yoko
Ono, who is described as controlling and insensitive, especially in
the wake of John's murder. But even though there's a lot of
bitterness and resentment in these pages, it's not overwhelming,
being offset by Cynthia's fierce love for her son and her
continuing affection for her ex-husband. A full picture of John
Lennon's life will never exist as long as Ono judges herself unable
to write about their time together, but John goes a long way toward
improving the situation. --Benjamin Lukoff --This text refers to
the Hardcover edition.