Customer Reviews

Paperback Writer: The Life and Times of the Beatles, the Spurious Chronicle of Their Rise to Stardom, Their Triumphs and Disasters, Plus the Amazing

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As Mark Shipper writes in his introduction, don't take the book too seriously, because when all is said and done, rock and roll should never be taken all that seriously.

With that in mind, Shipper "reconstructs" (or deconstructs) the Beatles mythology in an absolutely brilliant and humorous way. His inventive melding of what Beatles fans know as fact with an ever-so-slightly skewing of other incidents in their lives makes for a terrific read.

Re-reading this after the Anthology releases and George's passing, it makes this long-time Beatles fan wonder, yet again, just what would've happened if all four of them could've been part of a true reunion. But as Shipper presciently realized in 1978, our expectations may never reconcile themselves with the reality. And as a result we should remain thankful, more than 40 years later, for a damn fine body of work and countless countless hours of enjoyment.

In the irony of ironies, I first read this book the day after John Lennon was murdered. Though of course the tragedy that had just occurred blunted some of my enjoyment at the time, it's nonetheless a hilariously-skewed rewrite of common-knowledge Beatle history. Shipper sends up everybody with the kind of no-holds barred irreverence Lennon was known for, and if you know your Beatle trivia, the in-jokes that abound here will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. This doesn't blunt the end of the book, which essentially holds the same moral as Ricky Nelson's song, "Garden Party." (You youngsters go look that one up!). A terrific book; hope it's soon available again!

I was 13 when I first bought Paperback Writer, after furtively glancing at it in a New Orleans bookstore. I was just going through my Beatles nut phase, and I -- like Scobo -- wondered why the album covers in the book didn't look like the real thing, and why Brian Epstein was a plumber when I knew he wasn't. (You have to read it.) Every so often, I'll take it off my shelf and re-read a chapter or two. It has gotten a little sillier, but it also seems, strangely, to have gotten closer to the truth. And it still has more laughs than almost any other book I've read in the 21 years since I bought it. I can't believe it's out of print -- heck, it even has a blurb from rockcrit high priest Greil Marcus on the back cover. Mark Shipper, where are you now?

As a British reader I have to disagree with reviewer "Boz" who can imagine the real Beatles saying the dialogue in this book. The problem is that the author really does *not* capture the lads' Scouse wit at all, and in fact betrays his own American origins in some of the language he puts in their mouths ("faucet" for "tap" for example).

That aside, the book is fun - although now in the 2000s, rather overtaken by events. Probably one for Beatles obsessives only.

I read about this book in an old Beatles A-Z encyclopedia, and it was listed as a work of fiction, chronicling the Beatles' past and "future." Written in 1978. The author, Shipper, has tried to make the book semi-fiction, mostly with comedy and wrong album titles and stuff that really isn't that funny at all. For example, John meets Yoko through her boyfriend, Mick Jagger. Then the story picks up in 1979 when the remaining Beatles get together and make a new album. One interesting thing is that the public doesn't want to hear this new record; they much prefer the memmories of their youth. Actually, if the Beatles had reformed, there is a good possibility that would have happend, so it was smart of Shipper to add this little "plot twist." But he has the four of them at a creative low, unable to write new material. (Meanwhile Paul McCartney has been putting out a steady stream of good work in these past 20 years since the book was written.) Other strange things is that Shipper chose to write that David Bowie was dead, killed in a plane crash in 1978. And, saddest of all, the Beatles reformation he has placed in Dec 1979. In real history it was one year after this that John Lennon was murdered, in December 1980.

I read this book many years ago, and I have read many books about the Beatles but this book has the distinction of being the funniest by far.

I think it would help if you had some knowledge of The Beatles before reading it, if only to give you a further appreciation of the humour. For example, did you know that Roll over Beethoven was inspired by McCartney trying to teach his English sheepdog some new tricks.

I echo the author's sentiments, this book really should be out there.

One of the few books I wish I'd written, Paperback Writer is the fab tale of the Beatles' reunion (circa 1979) and its hilarious consequences.

It's reminiscent of Eric Idle's The Rutles TV movie and records, but I daresay Mark Shipper's book is more accessible, and is therefore funnier, building with great precision and care on the Beatles' well-known characteristics and story, then bending and twisting it all with astonishingly consistent hilarity, while making many bright, but affectionate, comments on the sillier aspects of the Rock Biz in general.

As much as Mark Shipper clearly loves both the Beatles and rock music, there is a playful and therefore healthy cynicism in his writing that suggests he finds it all a bit ridiculous.

That, ultimately, is how his book won my heart, as I detected a kindred spirit; I hope you do too (In fact I hope Shipper won't mind my saying he was a major influence on my own comic writing, as I deal in a sort of pop-culture fascination in a literary-slapstick-comedy kinda way).

Back to Paperback Writer, and why it's so wonderful. There are many extremely funny running jokes throughout the novel, delivered in a sort of Dave Barry boisterousness; literate and hilarious. Even the Beatles album covers are parodied in a series of uproarious graphics.

Shipper sustains the story and jokes all the way through, he even moves us by the end of it, and that is pretty damn sensational in a comic novel. So few hold together as well as this; it's truly brilliant.

Since Beatlemania is showing no sign of ever really going away...since sounds and images of the Fab Four continue to batter at our consciousness with every single new invention that can play a song...I urge every Beatles fan in the world to buy this book.

Thanks to the Beatles' staying power, Mark Shipper, too, is always in style, and he's guaranteed to make you LAUGH.

I think I'll even buy another copy!

Read this when I was on a Med cruise in '85 on board the Saipan and found it an utterly hilarious look at the Beatles and the myth surrounding them as well as some of the toungue and cheek jokes that were run in it. And have been looking for another copy lately as it was a treat that I found and like to partake of it again

This is a must read for any Beatles fan. In a word - terrific. Mark's wit is one-of-a-kind and worth the price of the book alone. He tells a great story.

I read this book when I was around 14. It was new then. And I was new to the Beatles. Consequently, when I began reading it I took it as truth and was confused about why the details in it differed from other books I had read on the Beatles. However, I'm happy to say it didn't take me long to realize it was supposed to be humorous. I still laugh about the beatles not necassarily being bigger than Christ rather they were taller than Christ. And since no one could disprove that the controversy was dropped. Like the Anthology albums, a person has to be knowledgeable about the Beatles to fully appreciate this book as a satire. This is a book that should never have gone out of print and the author should have been set for life just for giving Beatles fans so much to laugh at.