Book Review: John and Paul

The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960’s and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship.

John and Paul’s relationship was defined by its complexity: compulsive, tender and tempestuous; full of longing, riven by jealousy. Like the band, their relationship was always in motion, never in equilibrium for long. John & Paul traces its twists and turns and reveals how these shifts manifested themselves in the music. The two of them shared a private language, rooted in the stories, comedy and songs they both loved as teenagers, and later, in the lyrics of Beatles songs.

John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie will be published on April 8, 2025. Celadon Books provided an early galley for review.

One of the very first albums I remember listening to as a child of the late 60's was Meet the Beatles. As far back as I can recall music being in my life, I was a fan. Still am.

Leslie does a wonderful job pulling the reader into the youthful world of John and Paul, taking the time to weave in the details of the tapestry of the history of their relationship. I very much felt like a comfortable fly on the wall as the events unfolded. It is also amazing to see how much unfolded over a relatively short period of time - everything the group went through in less than a single decade together. And just as there is a lot of time spent on the coming together of the group, an equal amount of time is spent on the drawing up to the end and the aftermath. The situation was complex and messy; Leslie puts all the pieces out there for the reader to make their own judgments.

I feel like I came away knowing a lot more about the relationship between John and Paul after reading this book.