John Lennon bought an island off the coast of Western Ireland but never spent much time there. This fictionalized account of Lennon, circa 1978, sets the legendary artist in restless motion toward his island for "3 days of solitude" to get his head together, get away from the Dakota & the press, and find some peace. Cornelius O'Grady, his appointed driver, helps Lennon dodge the press, maintain a level of anonymity, and passes along a healthy dose of cosmic Irish Zen wisdom along the way.

Along the way, there are encounters with a number of colorful characters, but it's John's reliance on the guidance (both literal and emotional/spiritual) of Cornelius that anchors this book.

Kevin Barry has a keen ear for language, both the rhythms of his native Irish characters and the turn of a phrase so that it lands with a stark, visual, always honest punch. In some ways, he reminds me of a cross between Tom Robbins (in spirit) and Cormac McCarthy (the terseness of some of his better sentences). More than anything, I am reminded of a more whimsical version of "Coming into Slaugther", the Michael Odjante's book about pioneer jazzman Buddy Bolden.

It's a challenging book to follow in terms of shifting narrative, the lack of quotation marks, and a bit of a jarring third act which shifts to the author's account of his research for the book before taking us back into the final days of Lennon's adventure. Does it help to be a Beatles fan? Yes. Do you need to be? Possibly, but if you aren't, really, what are you fishing around this book title for, anyway? Some readers might get frustrated and give up. It's not your typical narrative approach, but I found it to be inventive much of the time.

It's a fun and revealing ride, stronger at the start than at the end for me, but worth getting inside John's presumptive head for a few days. I'll likely seek out more from Barry. ( )

Not my standard kettle of fish, writing-wise, but, being about John Lennon, of course I had to give it a go, didn't I?

And to be honest, while it took a bit to get dialed into Barry's semi-existentialist style, once I did, I actually found myself quite enjoying the book. And it was on its way to at least a four, and more than likely five-star rating.

But then Barry did three inexplicable things.

The first was at the exact two-thirds point where he stopped all forward momentum and gave us, instead, a bit of a memoir of the author coming to write the book. As I said, it took a bit of time and effort for me to get invested in this story, so the last thing I needed was what could have just as effectively served as an afterward or author's note shoehorned into the narrative. Pulled me right out and I found it hard to get back to the story afterward.

The second was profoundly terrible section about the "lost Beatlebone tapes" ...yes, I believe it was him tying back to the ranting (I'll leave it to you to read the book to understand this bit), but it was horrible, and once again, mere pages from the end, yanked me forcibly from the narrative.

The third and final piece? All I'll say is, the author robbed us of the island adventure John was to go on.

So, a five-star book becomes a generous three-star. Maybe I'm too old to fully grasp this semi-experimental style, but I just felt like the author ruined what could have been a classic story. ( )

I wanted to love this book but, in the end, only liked it. The author read the book for Audible and if at times the story lagged for me, Barry’s voice and the poetry of his writing impelled me onward. The story is based on some scraps from John Lennon’s biography, including his purchase in the 60s of a more or less barren island, 20 acres in size, in Clew Bay west of Ireland. Primal scream therapy, another biographical scrap, also figures. Interesting, but I’m not sure what it all adds up to and I found I was done with the book about two hours before it ended. That said, there was a lot of beautiful and imaginative writing, some funny bits. Barry is good with conversation and the ones between John and his fixer/chauffeur Cornelius were my favorite parts. I am not sure who would most enjoy this book, but I do want to read more by the author. ( )

A trippy and poetic journey into the myth of John Lennon. Drugs, self, identity, muse and rage. Lots of wierd shit, but it's quite enjoyable. Really nicely mixes in lots of lyrical references to Lennon's music. ( )

moving and immersive at times. not really for me, but maybe for someone else. i liked the more dialogue-heavy sections where we get to listen to the characters, especially john of course who is a magnetic literary creation. ( )