BOOK REVIEW

The Beatles: All Our Yesterdays
(A graphic novel)

Authors: Jason Quinn with illustrator Lalit Kumar Sharma

Publisher: Campfire, New Delhi

ISBN: 9381182221

Pp: 150; Price: Rs 319

Crafted for teens and young adults, The Beatles: All Our Yesteryears is a new graphic novel from Campfire, which graphically narrates the history of the world’s most enduring English rock n’ roll group. Opening chapter of the novel unfolds with the birth of the four members of the rock group—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—subsequently followed by their struggle for success, taking the readers through the early days of rock n’ roll in the 1950s. The story stretches from their younger years in Liverpool and formation of the band, The Beatles, at Hamburg through grit and determination, which eventually gave birth to an amalgamated new musical genre.

Over a period of three years, The Beatles carved their popularity playing in clubs around Hamburg and Liverpool in the 1960s with Stuart Sutcliffe initially serving as bass player, which was finally handled by Paul after the entry of Ringo as the brand’s new drummer. With their first hit Love Me Do released in late 1962, the group composed a number of hits, which made them acquire their ‘Fab Four’ fame as Beatlemania grew in Britain and the world over. End of the novel marks with the break-up of the group in 1970 and massacre of John Lennon. Ultimate crux in the novel is its rich illustrative narrative of The Beatles’ musical career of varying lengths, even in their solo periods after the break-up.