Customer Reviews

Liverpool Fantasy: A Novel

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Larry Kirwan knows his way through the minds of the Beatles. Anyone with doubts shoud read this and then read Hunter Davies' or another of the multitude of available texts or biographies of the group. The voices are as much representative of the alternate John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they are indicative of Kirwan's skills as an author.
The idea of this world struck home-(one of my earliest memories is my dad telling me that one day I would realize and appreciate the importance of Sgt. Peppers'--he was right, of course). While causing a mixture of other emotions-maybe without the enormous success of the Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison would still be with us. Would the trade off be worth the loss? Is it really possible four individuals can make that much of a difference to society? These questions are present within the story-but the reader is left to his or her own devices when it comes to making decisions.
Liverpool Fantasy is just that. A fantasy. Although not a very comforting one. Larry Kirwan is a story teller who has often told stories that lead the listener (or reader) to learn more about a known subject-and this book continues that tradition.
A good inspiration for a fresh listen to your Beatles collection-which comes as a rare and welcome event.

A fictional story about the Beatles breaking up before the band actually became what they are today, conjured up thoughts of a book about the music industry and the changes that we would expect.
That is just a small part of it.
Mr. Kirwan explores what would happen to an entire generation of people worldwide without the release of Rock and Roll and the theraputic nature of music on this generation.
Political ramifications, musical ramifications, personal ramifacations, and much, much, more.
The amazing part about this whole complex fantasy that he lays out for us, is it remains an easy read and a book that you will find hard to put down. The book also goes deeply into the band mates and what it meant to be one of the Liverpool Lads. The writings about them playing has to be as close to being on a stage than any of us will ever get. I am a guitar player, to a degree, and was sweating along with the lads when the band strikes up a chord. I sold my old guitar at 25 and this book made me buy another at 38.
Just by chance I started this book on the grounds of the Hemmingway house while on vacation and I know the musings of Kirwan would make Papa smile.

Thank you Mr. Larry Kirwan, I just picked up your latest work and am just as impressed early on.

Daniel C. Laursen

For those who have a hard time understanding the backdrop for this alter universe, one should do a little research on British Parliament and, in particular, Enoch Powell. The book even has a bit of his infamous speech that led to his ousting from a higher position in the parliament to a much lower level of power. Just do a bit of research on this right wing racist and you will begin to understand the Liverpool that John lives in and despises circa 1987. It is a world, that because of The Beatles not having had the influence on the youth movement and because there never was a Swinging London, Enoch Powell and his facist views are in full bloom. Beatle fans might be familiar with the the catalog of songs or titled improvisational jams that were to make up alot of the Let It Be sessions. Paul was very in tune with the political backlash at the time regarding Enoch Powell's speech and titled one of his improvisations after the man. Paul and John continued on the same theme with "Commonwealth". The lyrics for "Get Back" were also a comment on the immigration situation into Great Britain.

For most of us, to paraphrase John Lennon: "Imagine there's no Beatles, is not easy if we try." But in this beautifully conceived and written novel, Larry Kirwan gives us an Alternative World. It's a world that not only personalizes what happened to John, Paul, George and Ringo, but what happens to the world of politics, culture and music without them.

The novel is very hard to put down, and hard not to hope for certain outcomes as one reads on; forgetting of course that The Beatles did not indeed break up in 1962. Thanks to Larry Kirwan for making my mind wander, explore and remember the days that thankfully did happen; the days of Revolver, Sgt Peppers, White Album, Abbey Road, Something New, Rubber Soul, etc etc etc

The Beatles changed the world. Where other societies owe great changes to political leaders, scientists, or philosophers the West was changed completely both culturally and politically by the Fab Four from Liverpool, England. No work of fiction or non-fiction brings this truth more to light than Larry Kirwan's wildly entertaining novel "Liverpool Fantasy."

The story is set in 1987, twenty-five years after the Beatles broke-up prior to the release of their groundbreaking single "Please Please Me." The four, never achieving their "fab" status, have taken different paths following the break-up: Paul the Vegas lounge superstar, John the local town [clown], Ringo still backing bands in his native Liverpool and George the Catholic priest recovering from a nervous breakdown.
We follow the four as they get back together for the first time in twenty-five years.

Kirwan's vivid language and descriptions bring the story alive. The excitement I felt when "seeing" the Beatles perform on stage (in 1987 no less!) was palpable. The story is at once humorous and heart-breaking while all the while making the reader anxious to turn the next page.

As thought provoking as it is entertaining, Kirwan delves into all of the possibilities of this "what if" alternate world politically, socially, and culturally. Throughout this sort of magical mystery tour, we come to a new understanding of these four individuals' personas, and a deeper appreciation of just how much of an impact The Beatles have had on everything since.

As an ardent fan of both the Beatles and the alternate history genre, I couldn't pass this up. I wasn't disappointed. This is an amazing exploration of what the Beatles meant to themselves, to each other, and to the world. I'm not surprised the Publishers Weekly reviewer found it depressing; on the surface, it's a tale of four lives gone wrong, and a world left poorer; but ultimately, I see it as a story about the reedeming power of friendship and of love.

The premise is simple: Imagine a world in which the Beatles never developed into the musical and cultural force the world knows so well. In this alternate universe, the band breaks up after the modest success of their first single, "Love Me Do." Paul McCartney, under the stage name Paul Montana, still makes it big...but it's a different story for the other three.

Kirwan is a musician himself, which means he gets a lot of the small but essential details right; and his knowledge of the Liverpool music scene of the early 60's adds depth to his portrait of the city and its people. (Are you ready for Ringo sitting on on drums for Gerry and the Pacemakers? It's not as jarring as Paul Montana (a.k.a. McCartney) married to....Cher?!)

So read this book, think about the transformative power of Beatles music, and give thanks for all they gave us. And thank Larry Kirwan for a great reminder of how precious that gift is.

MAJOR SPOILERS!

The theme of this novel is what the world would be like if the Beatles had never made it, not what the Beatles would be like. Some reviewers here miss the point, I think. The idea is that the Beatles changed world history, but some of it seems a big stretch, although still interesting to contemplate. It's not just England that has changed - it's the entire world, in particular the United States. No Beatles, no 1960s rock revival. Cultural icons like Chuck Berry would be forgotten by the public at large and relegated to cult hero status. Las Vegas would be the musical entertainment capital of the world, not San Francisco or Los Angeles and certainly not England. Without the Beatles, England would never have emerged as a grand competitor to the United States in the cultural high stakes world of entertainment and would have been much poorer for it. The success of the Beatles led to other successes as well, such as the entire James Bond franchise. It's not surprising that Kirwan would imagine a crumbled England that didn't have the ability to complete financially with the rest of the world. Without the Beatles there would have ultimately been no Punk movement in England and therefore nothing for the disenfranchised youth to do but join a Fascist movement - maybe. Even more telling is that without the influence of the Beatles the United States wouldn't have had the Watergate scandal which forced Nixon out of office. In fact, in the time period this book is set, Spiro Agnew is the popular president of the US. How did this come to be? Not explained, but I imagine the idea is that without the Beatles there would have been no counter-culture in the US. The folk/topical song movement of the early 1960s would have faded very quickly and never morphed into the folk-rock of Bob Dylan and others who spread the art of protest which eventually forced Nixon and others of his kind from office. The entire culture of both the United States would have taken on a different look and feel, and it would not have been for the better.

Where the story falls apart, I believe, is in the very concept of the breakup. It's said that Lennon so objected to recording "Till There Was You" for a single that he walked out in a huff. In fact, they had been playing that song live before they got a record contract, and besides they had performed and recorded much worse. They even recorded the awful "How Do You Do It" as an alternative to "Please Please Me", and they didn't seem to have any problem with that. I'm pretty sure the entire group, including Lennon, would have done practically any sort of commercial rubbish they had to do to make it. Fortunately, they didn't have to because of their very astute producer George Martin who saw the potential in their excellent original material. So the entire premise of their breakup didn't ring true. Also, the image of McCartney selling out so quickly struck me as false. McCartney was never that cheap and I doubt he would have gone the Vegas route, just because a lot of people hate his post-Beatles music and consider him a lightweight. A big mistake. George and Ringo, without the Beatles, would have been very successful sidemen for any group and would have made excellent session musicians, so I doubt they would have faded from the music scene so quickly. There are lots of other things that rang false, but overall the premise is promising enough that it kept me reading until the end, actually hoping that they would find belated fame by the end of the book. I had even hoped that, somehow, John would have wound up meeting Yoko and the two would fall in love and get married :)

For those who have a hard time understanding the backdrop for this alter universe, one should do a little research on British Parliament and, in particular, Enoch Powell. The book even has a bit of his infamous speech that led to his ousting from a higher position in the parliament to a much lower level of power. Just do a bit of research on this right wing racist and you will begin to understand the Liverpool that John lives in and despises circa 1987. It is a world, that because of The Beatles not having had the influence on the youth movement and because there never was a Swinging London, Enoch Powell and his facist views are in full bloom. Beatle fans might be familiar with the the catalog of songs or titled improvisational jams that were to make up alot of the Let It Be sessions. Paul was very in tune with the political backlash at the time regarding Enoch Powell's speech and titled one of his improvisations after the man. Paul and John continued on the same theme with "Commonwealth". The lyrics for "Get Back" were also a comment on the immigration situation into Great Britain.

No, Larry Kirwan's just released first novel, Liverpool Fantasy, isn't James Joyce, and it isn't intended to be, but as Kirwan wished for in a Black 47 song it appears that the bandleader and songwriter has finally gotten laid on Joyce's grave, hoping the author's genius would rub off on him. But Kirwan doesn't need Joyce's genius because his talents as a writer of fiction are apparent in their own right.

Liverpool Fantasy is an adaptation of Kirwan's stage play of the same name. The book answers an intriguing question: How would The Beatles lives turned out if they never made it, never turned popular music, a decade, and the world upside down? It is something I frankly never thought about until I first heard about Kirwan's play three years ago. But those thoughts have obviously crossed his fertile mind and I am glad they did.

The book begins at Abbey Road studios in 1962 when John Lennon walks out of a Beatles recording session over a dispute with the record company. George Harrison and Ringo Starr walk out with him, thereby ending The Beatles forever.

Flash ahead twenty-five years. World famous Las Vegas singer Paul Montana, formerly Paul McCartney, whose long TV and singing careers have hit the skids, pines for the old days with his former mates and he returns to Liverpool for a reunion. Montana finds that John has lived for many years on the dole, George has become a Catholic Priest and Ringo's real first wife, Maureen Cox, supports him. Many real life characters from The Beatles Liverpool days have supporting and cameo roles. We are introduced to numerous fictitious friends, lovers, acquaintances and business associates the former band members met throughout the last quarter century.

The story seems so real at times that I forgot the book was not a true account of the lives of these four men, but a fictionalized what-might-have-been. Even though Kirwan's non-fab four have very different lives from the ones they really lived, The Beatles personalities make their alternate existences seem vividly possible, perhaps even probable. Kirwan's knowledge of his subjects, his familiarity with English culture and society, and his usage of Liverpudlian dialect make the book seem very real.

Of course I?m glad things didn't turn out Kirwan?s way for either the mop tops or us. I would hate to live in a musical world where we had to listen to Montana croon in casinos in lieu of McCartney screaming "Long Tall Sally," Harrison playing magnificent weeping slide guitar, and Lennon revealing his deepest thoughts in songs like "In My Life." But after reading Liverpool Fantasy you easily can imagine there?s no Beatles. It's easy if you try.

For most of us, to paraphrase John Lennon: "Imagine there's no Beatles, is not easy if we try." But in this beautifully conceived and written novel, Larry Kirwan gives us an Alternative World. It's a world that not only personalizes what happened to John, Paul, George and Ringo, but what happens to the world of politics, culture and music without them.

The novel is very hard to put down, and hard not to hope for certain outcomes as one reads on; forgetting of course that The Beatles did not indeed break up in 1962. Thanks to Larry Kirwan for making my mind wander, explore and remember the days that thankfully did happen; the days of Revolver, Sgt Peppers, White Album, Abbey Road, Something New, Rubber Soul, etc etc etc