John

By: Cynthia Lennon, Julian Lennon

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor, Julian Lennon, Cynthia Lennon

Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

The extraordinary story of a man, a legend and a marriage

When she was 18-years-old, a girl named Cynthia Powell met a boy named John Lennon, and they fell in love. Their 10-year relationship coincided with the start of the Beatles phenomenon—from Liverpool's dockside clubs to the dizzying worldwide fame that followed. And Cynthia Lennon, John's first wife, was an integral part of the swirl of events that are now an indelible part of the history of rock and roll.

In John, Cynthia recalls those times with the loving honesty of an insider, offering new and fascinating insights into the life of John Lennon and the early days of the Beatles. And with the perspective only years can provide, she also tells the compelling story of her marriage to a man who was to become a music legend, a cultural hero, and a defining figure of the 20th century.

Cynthia has seldom talked in any detail about her marriage and the painful events that followed John's tragic assassination in 1980. Now she candidly reveals the good and the bad, the loving and the cruel sides of John. She tells of the breakdown of their marriage and the beginning of his relationship with Yoko Ono in more detail than has ever been disclosed before and documents the difficulties estrangement from John - and his subsequent death—brought for herself and their son, Julian.

In John, Cynthia Lennon has created a vivid portrait of the 1960s, the Beatles, and the man she never stopped loving.

"The time has come when I feel ready to tell the truth about John and me, our years together and the years since his death. There is so much that I have never said, so many incidents I have never spoken of and so many feelings I have never expressed: great love on one hand; pain, torment and humiliation on the other. Only I know what really happened between us, why we stayed together, why we parted and the price I have paid for being John’s wife.I want to tell the real story of the real John—the infuriating, lovable, sometimes cruel, funny, talented and needy man who made such an impact on the world." (From the Introduction)

©2005 Cynthia Lennon (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Lennon’s eyewitness testimony vividly captures the time and place and the characters...her portrait of John is loving but candid.” (Washington Post)

“[Cynthia Lennon’s] portrait reveals an immensely talented and driven man who was capable of great passion, affection, and loyalty, but whose inability to handle confrontation and tendency toward flight from painful realities led him to abandon his family when the going got tough.” (Buffalo News)

“A welcome window into a period that’s typically narrated at breakneck pace, [providing] a gentle reminder that John Lennon was a human being...before he was a piece of history.” (Detroit Free Press)

Good but biased

I come at this book from a life-long Beatles fan and someone with an extensive collection on books about the Beatles. It's always interesting when you can read what someone as close to the group as Cynthia Lennon was during the days of "Beatlemania."

I found this to be a somewhat knew look at John, but at the same time I couldn't help but be aware of how biased the writng was, since it's quite obvious that Cynthia still loves John very much.

I also wasn't crazy about the reader, although I never did figure out if it was because of the way the book was read or the way it was written. I just felt like it was read in a way that made Cynthia Lennon sound like a martyr.

That being said, I did enjoy the book and found it a different perspective of the story of the Beatles as has been told hundreds of times.

The hard & glorious truths

Cynthia Lennon clearly wrote from the heart. A delightful, happy love story between John & Cynthia illustrated the backdrop for a tour through their lives together, their son Julian & the heartbreak of losses, betrayals & deaths. Cynthia stayed even hand

thoroughly captivating great read !!!

This book really shed light on John Lennon's life and all the real problems that came with fame. It was really enlightening but sad.

Bless Cynthia Lennon

Cynthia is a class act in every way. Forthcoming and candid. Narration was lovely as well.

Intimate View of John Lennon's Early-Adult Years

Where does John rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is among my favorite audiobooks. I'm a Beatles fan and really enjoyed this honest, intimate view of John's early adult years from the perspective of his first wife. It wasn't particularly well-written and I don't think it bared any details that we didn't know already, or that we couldn't have easily surmised. But fans of the Beatles will probably enjoy the intimate perspective of a woman who loved John.

Any additional comments?

It's no surprise that there is no love lost between Cynthia Lennon and Yoko Ono -- understandably so. The fact that Yoko is still alive at all means Cynthia handled that situation better than I would've! But you can tell from the final three chapters of this book that Cynthia definitely had an agenda that wasn't JUST to remember John. After John's death, there maybe should've been one final chapter, discussing his children (specifically Julian) and John's legend and lasting cultural impact. But we got two additional chapters, discussing conflicts with Yoko even years after John's death. Now, I'm no fan of Yoko Ono, but this just seemed a little out of place with the rest of the book being portrait of John. I feel like she maybe should've just stuck with that. And then she should write a separate book about Yoko, that man-stealing cow. :)

Fascinating

I have to admit that prior to listening to this, I did not have much interest in Cynthia Lennon, or any wives of The Beatles. I assumed it would contain criticism and nothing more. However, this book was not like that at all. John does an excellent job of putting The Beatles' fame in context and detailed all the events leading up to their fame. The reality is that Cynthia witnessed some pretty crucial times in the history of the band, something I was previously unaware of. I didn't know that John and Cynthia had known each other for so long, or other details if their relationship.

While I do question the truthfulness of some statements, this book was enlightening and surprisingly well written. I admired Cynthia and felt sympathetic toward her, but also understand how their marriage fell apart. Cynthia, although a pleasant, caring person, was simple and really wanted a traditional lifestyle. I believe that this was too overwhelming for the wild and adventurous John. They were simply too different in their expectations of marriage. After digging a little, I am unsure about her being the chaste housewife she claimed to be. Still, that does not make this book any less wonderful.

Cynthia added many details I found silly, like what coat she wore where as well as going into detail about her shopping sprees. I wish she had gone into detail about certain issues and shared some more interesting stories that could not be found elsewhere. In the end, I am very happy I took the time to listen to this because I learned a lot. I have a whole new respect for Julian and Cynthia and have increased my knowledge of The Fab Four. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves The Beatles and wants to hear their story from an interesting perspective.

Well done you

I am so glad she finally told her story. The Yoko-ized version of John's life is clearly not complete nor the whole truth. I did want to know more about why Cynthia had to sell some of John's things - she did kind of gloss over that - seemed to be a continuity issue. Before they were anyone important they were the lads from Liverpool and Cynthia was there for it all.

Great

What a great listen. Definitely gives you a different insider’s view about the life of John Lennon.

Great read!! You

I was born in the early 70's but I was heavily influenced by my parents and become a huge Beatles fan. I was mostly drawn to John and read many books on him. When I downloaded this I was intrigued by all the positive reviews and plug my headphones in an began listening.
My heart ached the entire story for Cyn, Julian and John. Cynthia has ever reason on earth to throw John and Yoko under the bus but she doesn't and that's what makes me believe that this book to be the most factual book published on John.
It moved me so much that it literally hurt my heart listening to it because of what a kind soul Cynthia was and her love for John and her devout dedication to caring for Julian. I guess what makes me most sad is that both John and Cyn are not with us anymore.
I highly recommend this book and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. She was there with John from pre Beatles to the height of Beatlemania and beyond. I couldn't take my headphones off and couldn't wait to put them back in again!!

Best John Lennon bio!

Would you listen to John again? Why?

Maybe, but there's so many other good books out there

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cynthia

What does Rosalyn Landor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Easy to understand British accent, pleasant narration.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The comments about Yoko, how sad!

Any additional comments?

Even if you've read every Beatles book out there, this one is a must-- a personal and compassionate account of their journey.