SNODGRASS– BY IAN R. MACLEOD
Everyone’s life can feature speculation as to what life may have turned out to be if you made choices to take a different turn in the forks of the road you were facing along the way. Ian R. Macleod wrote a fictional short story which examines the “what if’s” of life, in the case of the restless spirit of John Lennon, and what might have happened if John had quit the Beatles in 1962, instead of climbing the mountain of musical fame with his former partners. Beatles fiction is probably the most difficult genre for any author to attempt because so many Beatles fans are resistant to stories that do not reflect actual facts or events. Conversely, those authors that are able to attempt Beatle fiction and make it seem credible or possible are to be commended for attempting that very difficult task. In reading the short story and watching the UK feature, I kept wanting to scream out to the Lennon character, “Don’t make that choice,” fully knowing what he would have thrown away in terms of accolades and fame. However, you can also look at the other side of the coin and realize if Macleod’s Lennon had made that choice in 1962, he may still be alive!!! No matter where you stand on the issue of Beatles fiction, the story made me ponder the issue of life choices and where those choices might have redirected one’s destiny.
Wikipedia description of the book that the short story Snodgrass appears in: In Dreams (ISBN 0-575-05201-5)
In Dreams is a 1992 anthology book of science fiction and horror short stories, ‘a celebration of the 7-inch single in all-original SF and horror fiction’. It includes stories by Jonathan Carroll, Greg Egan, Ian R. Macleod, Alastair Reynolds, Lewis Shiner, and Don Webb. It was edited by Paul J. McAuley and Kim Newman, and published by Gollancz.
The paperback book which features the Snodgrass short story:
In Dreams by Paul J. McAuley | Goodreads
The UK TV program of Snodgrass posted by someone on YouTube which features Ian Hart of Backbeat fame as John Lennon If John Lennon had left The Beatles in 1962…. – YouTube
