MixedThe NationComprehensive ... But Ono’s rich life could—and should—fill a book much longer than these 287 pages ... Sheff grapples with his subject’s complexities from a polite distance and offers little critical analysis of Ono’s visual art, and even less of her music ... After half the book is spent focusing on Ono and Lennon’s 14 years together, it’s a bit jarring when the next 45 years of Ono’s life fly by like a highlight reel ... Somewhere within these pages, though, is the portrait of an uncompromising woman defined by contradictions ... If anything, a book this readable emphasizes Ono’s radicalness and resistance to compromise ... Sheff’s firsthand recollections…are among the book’s most revealing ... Sheff loses sight of Ono as she emerges from the long shadow of Lennon’s death.
