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John Lennon

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In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works Hardcover – October 5, 2010

by John Lennon (Author)

4.6 651 ratings

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An omnibus edition of two works of John Lennon’s “fascinating…whimsy” (The Sunday Times, London) poetry, prose, and drawings that will “jolt [you] into gusts of laughter” (The Guardian).

A humorous compilation of poetry, prose, and artwork from two of John Lennon’s classic works, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works. Known as the Beatles’s Renaissance man, Lennon is widely regarded as one of the most impactful musicians in history. Originally published in 1964, this “quirky, funny collection of stories, poems, and drawings” (The New York Times) is a must-have for John Lennon and Beatles fans everywhere.

Review

“In His Own Write features the same sort of surreal turns of phrase that insinuated themselves into late-period Beatles classics such as ‘Come Together’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“Worth the attention of anyone who fears for the impoverishment of the English language and the British imagination.”
—The Times Literary Supplement

“[Features] a wit and love of words that recall[s] Joyce and fanciful drawings some compare to Thurber.”
—Hartford Courant (Connecticut)

“A quirky, funny collection of stories, poems and drawings.”
—The New York Times

“Lunatic humor. . . Zany, offbeat, and illustrated by his grotesque and spidery pen. It jolts the reader into gusts of laughter.”
—The Guardian

“Fascinating. . . It goes down like pure whimsy and then back-kicks like a sick mule.”
—The Sunday Times

“Bewitching.”
—USA Today

“Lennon's marvelously clever In His Own Write was the surprise literary sensation of 1964....you get Lennon's biting humor and brilliant puns: Lewis Carroll as rock star.”
—Tampa Tribune

About the Author

Best known as singer-songwriter for the legendary Beatles, John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. In 1969, Lennon married Yoko Ono and the two formed the Plastic Ono Band. Lennon was killed by a deranged fan outside his apartment building in New York on December 8, 1980.

Print length

176 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster
Publication date

October 5, 2010
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.6 x 7 inches
ISBN-10

1451611013
ISBN-13

978-1451611014
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (October 5, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1451611013
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1451611014
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #374,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #284 in British & Irish Humor & Satire
- #356 in British & Irish Poetry
- #3,648 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.6 651 ratings

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John Lennon

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John Lennon born Houston, Texas, 10.27.88 growing up in a military family I learned early years of the hardship of being a father, a husband, and ladies man.

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4.6 out of 5

651 global ratings

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Anne

Quirky wordplay…

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2020

Verified Purchase

I decided to reread this book when a certain fly gained fame by interjecting himself into a recent political debate. “There were no flies on Frank that morning” was all I could think as this fly made his statement on every channel on national TV. That motivated me to read this book again.

This is such a quirky book, maybe a peek inside John Lennon’s mind. Many stories are very dark and twisted but the delight of the book is his use of wordplay. The way he exchanges one word for another and still conveys the meaning without missing a beat is like magic. I was a teen when this was first published and we devoured it, reading and rereading on so many afternoons after school. I had not even recalled the dark and twisted nature of his stories, all I remembered was his use and manipulation of language. My friends and I appropriated some of his tag lines and use them to this day. Several of the phrases we use are just part of our language and I had forgotten the source until I reread the book.

This book isn’t for everyone. You have to like quirky and wordplay. But, if you can open your mind to alternate use of language you may enjoy this book.

6 people found this helpful

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Lord of Karma

A brilliant work of "literary nonsense"

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2011

Verified Purchase

John Lennon was, of course, an amazing musician and songwriter, but these books show that he was tremendously talented as an author, too. I read this entire compilation (which includes both "In His Own Write" and "A Spaniard in the Works") in one sitting, I enjoyed it so much!

The layout and artwork are rather reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's books (e.g. "Where the Sidewalk Ends"), while the nonsense, puns, and wordplay remind me a lot of Alice in Wonderland. Throw in the twisted sense of humor of Edward Gorey, and you have a fairly good idea of what John Lennon's writing style is like.

A good portion of each book consists of John playing around with word replacement - case in point, "Snore Wife and some Several Dwarts", or the detective story about "Shamrock Womlbs" (who makes quips such as "Ellifitzgerald my dear Whopper"). Strangely, it's not as hard to follow as it might sound!

This is definitely a odd book, but very fun to read. If you're a fan of literary nonsense, I'm sure you'll love this. I laughed out loud quite a bit while reading this book, and it's tremendous fun to try and read it aloud. I highly recommend it to lovers of quirky, fun poetry and prose, especially if you're a Lennon fan already.

The 70th anniversary edition is very nicely presented, as well. Definitely one of the highlights of my book collection!

9 people found this helpful

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LJCB

Lennon Loves Lear

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

It's for anyone who likes Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. John Lennon's word play is extraordinary and he lets one

One person found this helpful

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Randy McCall

Witty Lennon at his funniest

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2023

Verified Purchase

Enjoyable read that displays Lennon's wry sense of humor.

One person found this helpful

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Kit Disney Ballantyne

Beatle John With a Free Pen

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

John Lennon as a Beatle wrote a lot of cutesy pop tunes that topped the charts. As a solo act, he got a little deeper. These two books were first published at the height of Beatlemania. They are a shock because they are nothing like the lyrics of the songs he wrote from the same era. Most are short funny pieces. Others may strike a more personal chord. He was a great writer. Here we see him not trying to appeal to any particular audience, at least that's what I get when I read it. This is free-form John Lennon writing down the things that were in his mind on the days he chose to put them on paper. I find them fascinating. Don't expect me to explain them. Just because I enjoy the read doesn't mean I know what he was trying to say. Like some great art, there may not be anyone else on earth that sees the same thing in these books that I do. That's okay. They are worth your own journey.

4 people found this helpful

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Noseface

4 Stars

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2016

Verified Purchase

The book came ahead of schedule and in perfect condition. Very well made too. As far as content goes, the stories are pretty hit and miss. Even for the less humorous stories, the language and accompanying doodles make them worth the read. On this note, they are written in a kind of dialect or gibberish, making some stories a little hard to read, at least from an American perspective. The dark humor and silliness has kept my group of friends and I (and even some teachers) entertained despite not all of them being fans of his music.

8 people found this helpful

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Hoponjaz

HADDY GRIMBLE! (And Other Hearty)

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

At small gatherings, when I was growing up, friends and I often passed this classic around and took turns reading it aloud. I still have that old, very worn-out paperback. Glad that it is finally being offered in this quality hardcover. Bought one for myself and a bunch more for old friends. Makes a great coffee table book (for very small coffee tables).

2 people found this helpful

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