Being John Lennon: A Restless Life

In this dramatic, insightful biography of John Lennon, Connolly argues that the musician was “a labyrinth of contradictions.” The Lennon remembered by British music journalist Connolly (Being Elvis) is part rocker and part eager-to-impress wannabe avant-garde artist. Connolly details Lennon’s working-class childhood in 1950s Liverpool, depicting Lennon as a low-degree hell-raiser; he then quickly moves on to the formation of the Beatles and Lennon’s role as a bossy and misanthropic brooder. The band honed their aggressive, crowd-pleasing sound in Hamburg in 1960 before they were introduced to an ambitious young manager named Brian Epstein and polished producer George Martin, who turned the Beatles into the superstar group that stormed the world in 1963. Over the next seven years, Lennon’s fruitful songwriting rivalry with Paul McCartney grew more tense, as did his relations with the other band members. The narrative digs into interpersonal drama as Connolly describes the band’s collapse in the face of drugs, big egos, Lennon’s increasing intransigence, and Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono (“I’ve finally found someone as barmy as I am,” Lennon told a friend). Connolly’s history is a colorful and balanced portrait of an immensely creative artist. (Dec.)