Beatlebone by Kevin Barry

Beatlebone

Kevin Barry

In 1978 John Lennon was a troubled soul haunted by the demons of his past. Here we join him at this time as he travels to find peace on his private island. The ramblings of Lennon’s musings are reflected in the way he moves restlessly from place to place. Realism is mixed with elements of the psychedelic as Lennon loses himself in thought. Post Beatle-mania turned out to be a rather dark place which was a sad discovery for me to make.

Extract
He paces the yard. He thinks about what to say to his love, exactly, and he thinks about holding the kid. He has a fag to batten down the emotional bits. He leans back against the wall of the farmhouse high in County Mayo and the Atlantic rolls down there – a Mesmeric – and if you close your eyes you can fall into its black drift and turn and you can be wherever you want to be.
Parallels
  • Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
  • Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson
  • Beatniks by Toby Litt