Customer Reviews

Skywriting by Word of Mouth & Other Writings Including the Ballad of John & Yoko

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book really leaves an impression. When I first started reading it, I at once knew that it was completely eclectic. Very different from any other written work. I'd love to review the story, but the plotline literally spirals into totally different ideas every chapter (more frequently than that, actually...). Skywriting is completely lovely, witty, hilarious, and charmingly sarcastic. Puns galore. After you are finished reading it, you'll be completely cheered up, guaranteed! (And I also recommend the drawings. They range from laughter-enducing to beautiful, and the "apple pie bed" one is by far the cutest drawing that I have ever seen of Mr. Lennon's...!)

Clever. This book is clever (which is little wonder because John Lennon can be criticized for many things but never for his lack of wit). If you are a fan of the great Mr. Lennon, This is a must read. I would venture to say that there are more puns in this book than in any other piece of literature. It truly helps one understand the man behind all the hype - in very much the same way as the John Lennon Anthology does (which, by the way, is priceless). It's a thing of beauty, and as funny and entertaining as they come.

Anyone who enjoys Edward Lear will love Lennon's book of nonsense. He masterfully crafts the English language to suit his desires and needs, giving the reader a non-sensical trip into his before-his-time mind. Filled with classic Lennon-isms, Skywriting is a must for any fan of John's. There is something new to be seen every time you pick it up!

I love this book, his writings about him and Yoko, the Beatles breakup, Peace, his battle with the US government are very revealing.
But the book is a treasure because of the many "Lennonisms", such as:

"why did the chicken cross himself"

"always a bridesmaid, never a couplet"

"if you can manicure a cat, can you caticure a man?"

"Maurice finished his donut, tipped over the waitress and headed for the door."

"this is my story both humble and true
take is to pieces and mend it with glue"

There's so much more, if you love Lennon, you'll love this book.

Skywriting by word of mouth. A very interesting book filled with very unique passages of writings and prose. I have read of all of John Lennon's works, and this one stands out to me. Like his other writings (In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works), there is a style that incorporates wit, charm, humour, with a whole pile of puns: "He was very attached to his dog" takes a literal turn.
Unlike his other writings, Skywriting is a culmination of many short stories with several resurfacing characters that can be understood, to a point. All-in-all, this is a book that is sure to provide amusement.

A scintillating collection of prose which proves Mr. Lennon's very unique and fascinating ability to play with words and the way we read them. Sharply witty, often exploring more abstract techniques of writing, "Skywriting by Word of Mouth" shows that writing is an art for everyone to enjoy and interpret for herself.

This is a glorious book - very witty and punny - often quite funny! You will love it.

This was the first of John's books that I had read (over 17 years ago when I was 15) and I thoroughly enjoyed the images and twisted humor that was one of his trademarks. In order to totally understand the content, you've got to be 1) familiar with Beatle humor, 2) John Lennon's humor, 3) Goon-Show humor, and 4) especially the work of Lewis Carol. This is by far one of the best works of writing that I have ever had the pleasure to read. Far more entertaining than TV and movies: each short story or Lennonism has, in Yoko's words, " a cinematic quality". This book was written over the 5 year period when John walked away from public life; his wit and perspective is as sharp as ever as he pokes fun and reflects on the trials he (and Yoko) endured at the hands of the US Government. No one from those days are safe as he creates stories based on these real-life characters. He even has stories and passages which are linked (vaguely) to his 2 previous books, (in particular, "In His Own Write"). John takes no pains in poking fun at himself and reflecting on his life as a Beatle and his own existence. It really is a frank look at how he viewed his life and how others perceived him. Oh, and don't forget about the drawings that are spinkled throughout the book because they're not rated "PG".

This is a very interesting book, a great insight into the mind of John Lennon. However, if you're looking for a quick read and are not someone who likes to reread passages in search for odd and deeper meaning/perceptions then this book might not be for you. His writing can often come off sounding a little gibberish, or childlike. The short story like poems read more like spoken word with a slight cultural difference in UK English and US English. Also, don't expect this book to be anything like his lyrics from his work with The Beatles, or even most of his solo work; it's not all lovey dovey or give peace a chance.

Over all, this is a must have for any true John Lennon fan. "The Ballad for John and Yoko" is a beautiful piece of work that shows what the two of them went through to be together, and gives a little insight on how and why The Beatles might have broken up. This book also holds a lot of wonderful drawings done by Lennon.

I am a major Lennon fan and naturally enjoy many of the stories and drawings in his collections from the mid-1960s. However, `Skywriting' seems a desperate attempt to get back into that quasi-literary frame of mind during a creativity dry-spell and not quite getting there. Even his cartoon sketches are few in number, and, well, sketchy and nowhere near as good as his 1960s efforts.

Have the 4/5-star reviewers here read John's earlier books? If so, how can they possibly not see the drop-off in quality? I doubt very much that John would have wanted this published at all. Had he not been murdered, I doubt his publisher would have been interested. The opening essay on the ballad of John and Yoko is of some interest, but it doesn't tell us much of anything that we haven't heard before. As for the stories: I tried and tried to get into this or that one but I just couldn't do it. The endless stream of consciousness free-associating and compulsive feeble punning just wore out my patience. It seemed embarrassingly obvious that he was writing with nothing to say, just to fill the pages. This might have served a therapeutic purpose at the time, when returning to Yoko seemingly killed off his muse, music-wise. Actually, the main purpose of his first two books, in retrospect, was to open up his songs to the kind of wordplay and imagery that infused the books. Result: `Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', `I am the Walrus', Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam', `Come Together' and even `(his contribution to) Get Back'. `Skywriting' perhaps served the purpose of staving off cabin fever at the Dakota and keeping the words flowing even as the well of inspiration dried up.

I'm quite happy with the songs he came up with for his 1980 recordings. If `Skywriting' was a stepping stone toward that material, then I'm glad he wrote the `book'. I'd say that 1980 generated his best work since his Plastic Ono/Imagine period, and without the kind of clunkers that provided filler for those albums--like `I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier' and `Crippled Inside'. Indeed, I would declare his entire 1980 output as Beatlesque AND Beatlesworthy, especially now that we have stripped-down versions of `Beautiful Boy', `I'm Losing You', `Cleanup Time' and `(Just Like) Starting Over'.