It makes me a little leery of a book when the words "The Novel" are emblazoned across the middle of a book's cover in a big, bright font that overshadows both the author's name and the actual title. It suggests a lack of faith in the readers -- or a very odd marketing strategy.

In any case, author Paul Levinson wrote me a very nice note in February asking for a review of his new book. The concept of It's Real Life: An Alternate History of the Beatles sounded fascinating, so how could I refuse?

Like in Levinson's 2006 novel, The Plot to Save Socrates, It's Real Life involves time travel and an attempt to save the life of an important figure from history: In this case, it's John Lennon.

It's 1996. The protagonist is New York City disc jockey Pete Fornatale, who lives happily in a world where Lennon is alive and well, and the Beatles are still performing, albeit with some signs of disharmony in their union. Then a stroll in some abandoned tunnels beneath Fordham University leads Pete to an alternate reality -- possibly the real world, aka our world -- where the Beatles broke up in 1970 and Lennon was murdered in 1980 by Mark David Chapman. Pete manages to escape that horrible reality, only to find himself in another one not quite like the one he came from: Stu Sutcliffe is also still alive and the Beatles are thriving as a five-piece band. Since everything else seems the same, such as his job and his wife, Pete decides to remain there and enjoy the benefits of this new reality.

But then he meets Suzanne, who may or may not have inspired a Leonard Cohen song, and she has the ability to travel between realities at will. Together, they hit on a plan to cross realities and time to save the life of Lennon in that one universe where he died so prematurely. (Apparently, despite having visited countless realities, Suzanne says Lennon was only killed in the one.)

For Pete, it becomes an obsession, although it's never entirely clear why.

Levinson certainly knows his music, and references to musicians and lyrics abound. The book features cameos from several industry luminaries, including David Bowie, Cohen and Lennon himself. There are even a few phone calls from Tom Petty, who is particularly desperate for attention.

The premise of the story is an interesting one, although it's never clear why so much in all realities hinges on the welfare of a Beatle or two. Sure, the Beatles are great, but the story focuses so much on Lennon that the reader is never sure what, if anything, has changed in other aspects of world history.

There are other flaws. For instance, the mechanics of interdimensional travel are never explained even slightly, so readers must just accept on faith that Pete sometimes can change realities in a tunnel, or by riding a train, or by crossing a bridge while holding Suzanne's hand. Why can only she control it? Why does it tire her out so much? Why does it happen to Pete ... entirely by accident? And why does it all revolve around John Lennon? We'll never know.

Much of the dialogue feels forced, and the people Pete talks to about his dimension-hopping are all a little too credulous. Supporting characters in the book get almost no development, up to and including Pete's wife Susan, his coworker Al's wife Susan, and most of his other coworkers. It's Real Life, based on a short story, struggles to achieve novel status, pumping up its 199-page length with a massive font and big spaces between every paragraph.

(There are also some odd inconsistencies within the narrative. For example, several main characters end up at a sushi bar with Lennon and Bowie. The rock stars' food arrives on page 63, and on page 68 a waiter tells them they are out of their order, and they have to get something else. Little details like that bug me.)

The book ends ambivalently, and while I understand the artistic choice Levinson made, I found the lack of a concrete conclusion frustrating. It felt like a copout.