Over five decades as the world's most important rock band, the Beatles influenced generations not only in music, but also in fashion, behavior, and—of course—in literature. Following the success of the anthology "As if there were no tomorrow: 20 short stories inspired by songs by Legião Urbana," Henrique Rodrigues once again assembled a top-notch team to reveal how the songs of the Liverpool lads can be reflected in current Brazilian literary production. More popular than Jesus Christ, John, Paul, George, and Ringo broke barriers and gave rise to one of the most admirable mythologies of all time. But beyond the rabid fans, the haircuts, the psychedelic experiences, and the controversies, the Beatles are, above all, their songs. Three- or four-minute pills that condense massive doses of the purest love and restlessness, desire, utopia, ambition, irreverence, frustration, libido, transcendence, and redemption. From nostalgia for their childhood neighborhood to a psychedelic vision of reality, the band left its mark while simultaneously portraying many of the cultural transformations the world has undergone. In The White Book—a reference to one of the band's most famous albums, the White Album, released in 1968—the richness of the Beatles' legacy, with a thousand images and quotable phrases, sparks the imagination of a diverse group and is reborn in the form of emotional, ingenious, haunting, delirious, simple, brutal, naughty, and sacred tales. Through the eyes of twenty writers, classics from the Beatles' repertoire such as "Penny Lane," "Eleanor Rigby," "Hey Jude," "Let It Be," and "Ticket to Ride" take on the most diverse literary forms. Each author was free to choose their favorite song and write a story, and the result was as diverse as the different phases of the Beatles. Together, they resulted in a book that should be enjoyed with the same detachment required for a first listen to the White Album. And may the soundtrack that accompanies it inspire a new way of enjoying the Fab Four's music.
