Non-Fiction
In reply to the discussion: Has anyone read the new James Patterson memoir "Stories of My Life" ? [View all]anobserver2
(922 posts)Last edited Tue Jun 14, 2022, 04:45 PM - Edit history (1)
It seems to me that throughout his memoir, and elsewhere, James Patterson is desperately trying to now convince people he is just like the late John Lennon. I have seen recent media where Patterson is quoted as saying he sees everything though his "working class eyes from Newburgh."
But it all rings false to me. I am aware of the song by John Lennon titled "Working Class Hero." Here it is on you tube, with the lyrics, and John Lennon singing it:
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James Patterson is the last person in the world I would associate with this song. But James Patterson's memoir seems determined to create some type of link between that song and Patterson's image.
In the memoir, Patterson writes something like he ran out that night to the Dakota apartment building where Lennon was shot and killed. Now I believe Patterson has said elsewhere (and said for many years) he lived on the upper west side, so I believe Patterson probably lived near the Dakota. And I remember when Lennon was shot and killed at the Dakota, and I remember how many people went and stood vigil there.
But do I believe Patterson was there, too? No, I do not.
The reason I do not is because of the statements Patterson makes in his memoir about his Florida house which I believe are false.
As I recall, Patterson's memoir says something like this: "My house in Florida has a BRIDGE to a house the John Lennon and Yoko were planning to live in." (Hint, hint, reader: see the connection? There's a "BRIDGE" between John Lennon's house and my house.)
But according to a Wall Street Journal I read - which went into great detail about Patterson's current Florida home -
there is no such bridge. Rather, there is a WALL that is the unique feature between Patterson's property and another property. And, John and Yoko did live in the house next door. They were not "planning" to buy it later or move there someday as Patterson says in his memoir if my memory serves me correctly; rather, they were ALREADY there.
So, Patterson is making the whole image out of his imagination. He wants the reader the associate him, Patterson, with John & Yoko. But there is no association. Patterson is not a "working class hero" like John Lennon wrote and sang about. And there is no "bridge."
between the two Florida homes.
Here are two excerpts from this March 29, 2012 Wall Street Journal article:
It was Ms. Patterson who first noticed the home because of an unusual feature: It is connected via a wall to the adjacent estatethe result of a 1920s property dispute.
Soon, fans began parking in the driveway to catch a glimpse of Mr. Patterson and the estate next door, which was previously owned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
From:
https://www.wsj.com articles SB10001424052702303816504577307560033502498
James Patterson's Big Home Overhaul in Palm Beach - WSJ
The best-selling author and his wife spent $14 million to renovate a historic estate in Palm Beach. "It's obnoxious, but we couldn't resist it," says best-selling author James Patterson of his ...