Happy New Year, Beatles fans! Welcome to the first Wednesday Review of 2016! For those of you new to this little blog, you should know that on Wednesday, I review a Beatles book, concert, video, event, etc.
Today's book review is on an e-book called
At John' Lennon's House by Rosura Lopez Lorenzo. This book was written by the woman who was the housekeeper for John and Yoko at the Dakota from 1976-1979. She spent a lot of time taking care of Sean, cleaning John and Yoko's bedroom and most importantly, teaching John how to bake bread.
John's househusband years have always been clouded in mystery. The few books on the subject portrayed John often as a depressed and abusive man who never picked up a guitar. Rosura's story shows John in a much happier light--a man who loved his sons and was pleasant to be around. She says that she often heard John playing the guitar in his bedroom. She also stated that she never saw John take drugs, nor did she ever feel that he was high on any substance when she was around him. The John Lennon she worked for was a happy man who enjoyed talking to her and learning about her life growing up in Spain.
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| This photo is from John and Sean's birthday party in 1978. Rosura is in the background. She is wearing a polka-dotted top with a sweater over it, and a balloon is right above her head. |
I found it very interesting that one of the "insiders" who wrote a very trashy book about John was called a liar by Rosura. She said that Lennon even fired this man because they discovered he was a liar (his book sure didn't say anything about that!).
She does not bash Yoko as many others have done. While it is obvious that she found Yoko's astrology and numerology beliefs to be odd, she learned to accept them as part of who Yoko is. She had much respect for Yoko and even asked for her blessing before publishing the book.
Rosura really loved Sean. She found much pleasure in watching the young child grow and learn. She became Sean's housekeeper in the 1990s in two different apartments. It was obvious that Sean bonded with her. When Sean moved into a new home, he gave Rosura some of his father's clothing.
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| Sean playing with Rosura's son inside of the Dakota |
This book did not have any major revelations. I did learn that John slept on the right side of the bed. She also gave a detailed description of the inside of the Dakota while she worked there, which was fascinating.
The book was originally published in 2005 in Rosura's native language, Spanish, and then translated into English for an e-book. It isn't the best translation and reads sort of "choppy" at times. There were a few glaring mistakes (e.g., Saying that John and Yoko met in the late '70s and that John's birthday was October 8), but not enough to discredit the author.
At the end of the book are some amazing artifacts from Rosura's personal collection. She kept everything from her time with the Lennon family, including postcards John sent her from his travels. I never knew that John went to Hawaii in 1979! Sadly, these are reproduced very small, and I could not make them larger.
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| John sent this postcard from Hawaii sometime in 1979 (too bad the postmark is smudged) |
Insiders don't always write books, and this one is very short. Even though it wasn't well written, it is worth your time if you like to read about John Lennon's life. It would be a great book to download and read on a cold, snowy (or rainy) day.
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