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The Boys Next Door: A novel about the Beatles
Alan Levy is a college student who, in the fall of 1960, spends a semester abroad in Hamburg, Germany. There, he has the misfortune to rent a room next door to an up-and-coming rock and roll band from the North of England. They call themselves the Beatles. They are loud, rambunctious, and high-spirited. They are wildly unconventional (at least compared to Alan’s Ivy League polish) and play horrible, jarring music at all hours of the night. They are friends, however, with a young woman with whom Alan has fallen hopelessly in love—a beautiful German photographer named Astrid. The Boys Next Door is a bittersweet love story and a tall tale; a fast-paced, comic what-if, and a true fantasy fulfillment for Beatle fans everywhere. It’s a loving evocation of a time when rock and roll was new and dangerous, and when the lads from Liverpool were taking their first baby steps toward conquering the world.
- GenresMusic
323 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 18, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 14, 2020
4.5 stars out of 5! I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did, but I was pleasantly surprised. To find out more, please read my review on my blog here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2020/08/1...
January 21, 2023
A fun romp with college student Alan as the next door neighbor to the Beatles in Hamburg, Germany before they reached worldwide fame. This fictionalized account of the Beatles time playing at the Kaiserkeller club does get many facts about that time correct. As a lifelong Beatles fan I found this to be a interesting read and a unique perspective on their time in Germany.
July 30, 2020
I absolutely SAVORED this novel! So tremendously absorbing, inventive, and excellently well written.
Hamburg in 1960. The Beatles live next door. The protagonist in this coming-of-age story is smart and shy and arrogant and absolutely heartbreaking. Anyone who is or has been on the brink of adulthood will know exactly how he feels as he glories in and agonizes over what his future can hold.
Having just finished reading "The Boys Next Door," I've got that bittersweet sense I get when I read a really lovely book -- I miss all the characters and I'm sad that I don't get to spend more time with them.
Dan Greenberger's imagination in creating this tale, part reality, part fantasy, is truly remarkable.
Hamburg in 1960. The Beatles live next door. The protagonist in this coming-of-age story is smart and shy and arrogant and absolutely heartbreaking. Anyone who is or has been on the brink of adulthood will know exactly how he feels as he glories in and agonizes over what his future can hold.
Having just finished reading "The Boys Next Door," I've got that bittersweet sense I get when I read a really lovely book -- I miss all the characters and I'm sad that I don't get to spend more time with them.
Dan Greenberger's imagination in creating this tale, part reality, part fantasy, is truly remarkable.
August 14, 2020
Loved this book, read it in less than a day! If you like the Beatles and want to read a fun and interesting story of their time in Hamburg, then you will enjoy this book. Greenberger mixes fact and fiction to create a great story.
February 10, 2023
This is a really fun read for anyone who is a fan of the early Beatles. It is a fun mix of fact and fiction from the viewpoint of an American student in Germany who happens to live in an apartment next to the early Beatles. It’s fun to see how the author wove into the narrative lines you’ll recall from Beatles lyrics. I recommend this as a light and fun read.
February 22, 2021
I wasn't sure how much I would like this going in since I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but I did really like it! Set in Hamburg Germany in 1960, the book reads as letters and diary entries written by American student Alan. He has rented a room next to 5 loud musicians, John, Paul, George, Pete, and Stuart. He is also in love with Stuart's girlfriend.
The band is not the sole focus of the book, as Alan is dealing with classes he doesn't like, a girl that doesn't love him back, and trying to find a girl who'll sleep with him. He hates the guys next door. As time goes on and he gets more used to Germany, he starts visiting the club the guys play at and becomes friendlier with them. While the story is fictional, many of the people and events are true.
The band is not the sole focus of the book, as Alan is dealing with classes he doesn't like, a girl that doesn't love him back, and trying to find a girl who'll sleep with him. He hates the guys next door. As time goes on and he gets more used to Germany, he starts visiting the club the guys play at and becomes friendlier with them. While the story is fictional, many of the people and events are true.
March 26, 2022
The Boys Next Door
Excellent read. A great perspective of The Beatles earliest days. Some facts and some fiction presented in a very entertaining story. 👍👍
Excellent read. A great perspective of The Beatles earliest days. Some facts and some fiction presented in a very entertaining story. 👍👍
May 3, 2021
It’s been a very long time since I’ve had so much fun reading a book, and this time around that happened for a variety of reasons.
First was the setting of Hamburg, Germany in 1960 when the Beatles—then John, Paul, George, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best—were in residence at Bruno Koschmider’s rough and hard-edged nightclub, the Kaiserkeller. Any Beatle fan will recognize the cornucopia of the details of Beatle lore Greenberger incorporates into his fictional autobiography of Columbia University student and poet Alan Levy after he takes up quarters in the room next to the Beatles above the gritty Bambi Kino theatre.
At first, levy dislikes the musicians next door as they are loud and keep him awake while he is a guest student at a Hamburg university. He doesn’t like rock and roll. He’s an intellectual snob who becomes beguiled by photographer Astrid Kirchherr who slowly draws Levy into the Beatles orbit as he fantasizes about her while she is moving closer and closer to a relationship with Stuart Sutcliffe, much to Levy’s distress.
The main storyline of the tale is Levy’s journey of self-discovery in a city that gives his New York innocence a serious trouncing. The seedy Reeperbahn is a lively district largely populated by Strippers, transvestites, prostitutes, thugs, and a few arty types like Astrid Kirchherr. One of the strengths of the book is Greenberger’s gift for description as he vividly takes readers to the city and the KaiserKeller while painting the spirit of the times and the flavor of the distinctive Reeperbahn.
Another entertaining element to The Boys Next Door is Greenberger’s clever slices of humor that will get you laughing out loud. Two examples: early on, Levey spends time in a library where he finds the sounds of popping gum from someone in the next cubicle a welcome relief from hours of listening to the Beatles pounding out “Money.” Later on, he masturbates to a photo of himself taken by Kirchherr. Throughout, we get tiny bits of Beatle humor when Greenberger tosses in little bits like a refrain of “You have found her, now go and get her,” referring to the alluring photographer but all readers are likely to know how that line would later play in Beatle history. Or when Levy takes up the guitar and jams with the group on a rooftop which ends with Levy saying, “I hope I passed the audition.” Again, what Beatle fan wouldn’t know how this foreshadows the rooftop concert in Let It Be.
Yes, we get enough character development of each of the Beatles to see them as the historical figures we all know and love. We meet the musicians just as Levy does through the interactions between Levy and the band members which are doled out in bits and pieces as the story progresses, layering in the group, their live performances, their Hamburg circle, their changing relationships, especially regarding Sutcliffe and Best, and more and more, the cranky neighbor living next door.
Putting the band aside, the transformation of Alan Levy takes many surprising twists and turns and makes this more than a typical coming-of-age tale. To say more would verge on providing spoilers; suffice it to say, you won’t expect what happens and, for the most part, you’ll be happy to see a would-be poet’s growing depth as a person and an artist.
In short, you don’t have to be a Beatle fan to enjoy The Boys Next Door and might find yourself hoping Greenberger will provide us further adventures of Alan Levy, Beatles in his future or no. I give this book six stars out of five . . .
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on May 3, 2021:
https://waa.ai/mq2u
First was the setting of Hamburg, Germany in 1960 when the Beatles—then John, Paul, George, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best—were in residence at Bruno Koschmider’s rough and hard-edged nightclub, the Kaiserkeller. Any Beatle fan will recognize the cornucopia of the details of Beatle lore Greenberger incorporates into his fictional autobiography of Columbia University student and poet Alan Levy after he takes up quarters in the room next to the Beatles above the gritty Bambi Kino theatre.
At first, levy dislikes the musicians next door as they are loud and keep him awake while he is a guest student at a Hamburg university. He doesn’t like rock and roll. He’s an intellectual snob who becomes beguiled by photographer Astrid Kirchherr who slowly draws Levy into the Beatles orbit as he fantasizes about her while she is moving closer and closer to a relationship with Stuart Sutcliffe, much to Levy’s distress.
The main storyline of the tale is Levy’s journey of self-discovery in a city that gives his New York innocence a serious trouncing. The seedy Reeperbahn is a lively district largely populated by Strippers, transvestites, prostitutes, thugs, and a few arty types like Astrid Kirchherr. One of the strengths of the book is Greenberger’s gift for description as he vividly takes readers to the city and the KaiserKeller while painting the spirit of the times and the flavor of the distinctive Reeperbahn.
Another entertaining element to The Boys Next Door is Greenberger’s clever slices of humor that will get you laughing out loud. Two examples: early on, Levey spends time in a library where he finds the sounds of popping gum from someone in the next cubicle a welcome relief from hours of listening to the Beatles pounding out “Money.” Later on, he masturbates to a photo of himself taken by Kirchherr. Throughout, we get tiny bits of Beatle humor when Greenberger tosses in little bits like a refrain of “You have found her, now go and get her,” referring to the alluring photographer but all readers are likely to know how that line would later play in Beatle history. Or when Levy takes up the guitar and jams with the group on a rooftop which ends with Levy saying, “I hope I passed the audition.” Again, what Beatle fan wouldn’t know how this foreshadows the rooftop concert in Let It Be.
Yes, we get enough character development of each of the Beatles to see them as the historical figures we all know and love. We meet the musicians just as Levy does through the interactions between Levy and the band members which are doled out in bits and pieces as the story progresses, layering in the group, their live performances, their Hamburg circle, their changing relationships, especially regarding Sutcliffe and Best, and more and more, the cranky neighbor living next door.
Putting the band aside, the transformation of Alan Levy takes many surprising twists and turns and makes this more than a typical coming-of-age tale. To say more would verge on providing spoilers; suffice it to say, you won’t expect what happens and, for the most part, you’ll be happy to see a would-be poet’s growing depth as a person and an artist.
In short, you don’t have to be a Beatle fan to enjoy The Boys Next Door and might find yourself hoping Greenberger will provide us further adventures of Alan Levy, Beatles in his future or no. I give this book six stars out of five . . .
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on May 3, 2021:
https://waa.ai/mq2u
September 20, 2022
If you're a Beatles fan, you'll enjoy this novel! It's more enjoyable if you know their history in Hamburg, Germany, where the group perfected their live shows in bars, playing for hours on end and living in rooms behind a movie theater screen, with no private bathroom or kitchen available. They were young and hungry to make it big. This is where they met the woman, Astrid, who cut their hair into the style we knew in the 60s as Beatle haircuts.
The novel centers around a NY college student and wannabe poet who comes to Hamburg to study abroad for a semester. He's not a very likable character, though he becomes a little less annoying towards the end of the book. He hasn't been provided with a dorm room, so he ends up living next door to The Beatles in disgusting quarters.
Parts of the book are very funny, and fans will recognize many allusions to future songs the group will write in the years to come.
Fun read!
The novel centers around a NY college student and wannabe poet who comes to Hamburg to study abroad for a semester. He's not a very likable character, though he becomes a little less annoying towards the end of the book. He hasn't been provided with a dorm room, so he ends up living next door to The Beatles in disgusting quarters.
Parts of the book are very funny, and fans will recognize many allusions to future songs the group will write in the years to come.
Fun read!
February 20, 2021
I must say when I was first asked to read this book I was intrigued. As a fan of the Beatles and having grown up listening to their music I thought it would be a fun read.
I was not let down. This book was fantastic to read. It was fun, enjoyable, and a true delight. Once I started reading it I could not put it down.
What I enjoyed the most was a peek into the early days of the five fabulously talented guys. Though the led character was a self-center rather unlikable guy in the beginning he grew on me as he himself grew.
I could on for days raving how great this book was but you would enjoy it so much better if you read it yourself. This book makes a great afternoon read and once you start I promise you won't want to put it down.
I was not let down. This book was fantastic to read. It was fun, enjoyable, and a true delight. Once I started reading it I could not put it down.
What I enjoyed the most was a peek into the early days of the five fabulously talented guys. Though the led character was a self-center rather unlikable guy in the beginning he grew on me as he himself grew.
I could on for days raving how great this book was but you would enjoy it so much better if you read it yourself. This book makes a great afternoon read and once you start I promise you won't want to put it down.
March 14, 2022
I wish I had written this book about an arrogant, even slightly stalkerish American student, Alan Levy, who becomes a better person after meeting the 1960 Hamburg-era Beatles during a semester abroad. I didn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised by this delightful read that is filled with fun Easter eggs for us Beatles fans. Truly some laugh-out-loud moments, especially Alan’s interactions with his dull “informant” Pete Best. I felt like I was walking the streets of that dingy, German port city with Alan, and even after finishing the book (in less than 24 hours) I’m still thinking about it. HBO Max/Netflix/Hulu: you have some great material here for a movie. Don’t pass it by, don’t make me cry, don’t make me blue!
March 25, 2026
3.25 stars rounded down to 3
Alan Levy is an American college student studying abroad in Hamburg, Germany in 1960. When he meets the beautiful Astrid, he is introduced to her friends, 5 guys from Liverpool who play in a band called The Beatles. Alan slowly transforms from an uptight poetry student to a rock and roll fan learning how to play guitar.
The book is purposefully silly, at times laugh out loud, but more than not, eye rolling (really, a concert on the roof?). At the same time the setting of Hamburg in 1960 was very interesting and enlightening, as it is glossed over in a lot of Beatles history.
Alan Levy is an American college student studying abroad in Hamburg, Germany in 1960. When he meets the beautiful Astrid, he is introduced to her friends, 5 guys from Liverpool who play in a band called The Beatles. Alan slowly transforms from an uptight poetry student to a rock and roll fan learning how to play guitar.
The book is purposefully silly, at times laugh out loud, but more than not, eye rolling (really, a concert on the roof?). At the same time the setting of Hamburg in 1960 was very interesting and enlightening, as it is glossed over in a lot of Beatles history.
September 28, 2022
What a Fun Read
The book was brain candy but a fun historical fiction of what it might have been like to hang out with the Beatles when they were young and just getting started. The author did a great job of juxtaposing the sterile version of poetry found in academia and another form of poetry--a kind that reaches so many more people--in rock n roll. A delightful little bit of candy for my brain. I enjoyed this quick read.
The book was brain candy but a fun historical fiction of what it might have been like to hang out with the Beatles when they were young and just getting started. The author did a great job of juxtaposing the sterile version of poetry found in academia and another form of poetry--a kind that reaches so many more people--in rock n roll. A delightful little bit of candy for my brain. I enjoyed this quick read.
March 12, 2023
This was a fun read. An insider's look if you will at the "becoming" of The Beatles in Germany. It is also a quaint coming of age story for our narrator, Alan. The author uses just enough inside references to Beatles lore that serve to spice it up. If you aren't a fan of the band, you would still enjoy this.
The author referenced the Mark Lewisohn book, TUNE IN, as having much information on their time in Hamburg, so I will look to add that to my reading queue.
The author referenced the Mark Lewisohn book, TUNE IN, as having much information on their time in Hamburg, so I will look to add that to my reading queue.
May 2, 2022
Told almost as a diary, this is the "story" of Alan Levy who lived next door to The Beatles in Hamburg as they broke onto the music scene. Entertaining as a possible story to fill in the day-to-day life of the soon to be biggest band in the world but ultimately this is just a story about a lonely, horny college kid. A book version of empty calories.
August 8, 2022
Enjoyable
I enjoyed this novel about a young man who goes to Hamburg in 1960 and the people he encounters, including my favorite rock and roll group. It is an interesting “coming of age” book showing how he learns about life and himself through the experiences he has. I actually would give this
I enjoyed this novel about a young man who goes to Hamburg in 1960 and the people he encounters, including my favorite rock and roll group. It is an interesting “coming of age” book showing how he learns about life and himself through the experiences he has. I actually would give this
October 11, 2022
Interesting idea this author had, create a fictional character, have him meet Astrid, and end up living in a room next to John, Paul, George, Pete, and Stuart. Throw in a crush on Astrid and make him the reason George gets sent packing but I've given it away, even though it's mostly established fact.
January 15, 2023
I’m a huge Beatles fan, and found this book to be pure pleasure. The author incorporated lots of Beatlesque info and song lyrics into the story. He captures the personalities of all the band members perfectly.
August 21, 2020
It's a very fun novel. The more you know The Beatles the funnier it is.
October 8, 2022
The Beatles in Hamburg a good read.
Read
January 30, 2023Good historical fiction, and I love the Beatles.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews