Paul McCartney’s been a part of me forever. I remember seeing a Beatles cover group in a small theater in Spokane. I remember knowing all of the words to “Eight Days a Week” before I knew any of the Lord’s Prayer. And now here it is, a complete recounting of Paul’s life — a story, a legend made all the more real by the little details. Imagine if Odysseus had a proper biography, and you might get the idea of how momentous an occasion this is.

Paul McCartney: A Life is much more interesting than its title — one of the most boring, uninspired book titles I’ve ever heard — lets on. It’s an epic, swimming across the career and personal growth of someone that holds more and deeper connections to the human race than most religious figures.

Of course, McCartney’s had other biographies, ignoring the piles of official and unofficial Beatles stories (my dad has had at least four different ones), but Peter Ames Carlin promises and delivers a different angle on the life of the musical giant. There’s not much that’s still private about McCartney, who’s been a public figure and loving it for the vast majority of his life, but there’s still an uncharacteristic and welcome warmth to Carlin’s storytelling that lends a sensation of newness to the whole tale.

A Life follows McCartney from his birth all the way into 2009, covering pretty much everything in between. The portrait of this particular artist as a young man is illuminating, calling up character traits that later are called upon to explain a metric boatload of McCartney’s personal troubles. There’s nary an unnecessary word in the whole book, which is a feat almost inimitable that describes a circle around Carlin’s writing.

And then there’s the humor and fun of it. The Beatles were always pranksters, and this novel’s verses reflect that idea. It’s a lighthearted jaunt that’s only serious when it needs to be, at a few very select points, and even those are done with tactfully witty writing. To wit, bringing up McCartney’s first public remarks on the death of John Lennon: “It’s a drag, isn’t it?”

First and foremost, though, A Life is fair. As of late — as McCartney and several other sources are careful to point out — McCartney’s received a bad reputation as the dastardly devil with a bad temper, trying to steal money and thunder from the other Beatles, especially credit from Lennon on some songs flying the Lennon/McCartney flag. Carlin tells the story from all angles and skewers Paul’s temper and reactions when they needs to be, but is careful to point out McCartney’s very good, earnest points on the matter.

There’s greatness throughout the work, with shimmering examples of brilliance at several isolated points. The writing is beyond superb and the storytelling, especially for such a tempestuous story to tell, is peerless. Carlin sits at the top of his craft and graces McCartney’s life with a fair shake, instead of the other way around.

It’s a worthy read for any Beatles fan or anyone so much as familiar with McCartney’s extensive catalog. Say goodbye to the Paul McCartney you grew up idolizing and hello to a new one; not unfamiliar, but more humanized; a giant brought not to his knees, but closer to the heart — his, and ours. Paul McCartney: A Life is a labor of love for both reader and subject. And love is all a story like McCartney’s needed.

A

Reach reporter Morgan Gard at weekender@dailyuw.com.