Overview

The stunning new novel from the Booker Prize-winning, Sunday Times-bestselling author of SHUGGIE BAIN and YOUNG MUNGO. 'This book is special' - Colm Tóibín 'Passionate, liberating, and gorgeous' - Min Jin Lee 'Brilliant and rare' - Ann Patchett 'A masterpiece' - Elaine Feeney 'A fierce, glorious sting of a novel' - Lauren Groff Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry home to the island of Harris to find that not much has changed except for him. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal resumes his old life, caught between the two poles of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his Glaswegian grandmother Ella, who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for decades. While Cal wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, John is dismayed by his son's long hair and how he seems unwilling to be Saved. As the seasons pass, everything is poised to change as the threads holding together the fragile community become increasingly entangled. John of John is the heartbreaking story of a young man's return home and how the bonds of family life are torn by the weight of expectation. It confirms Douglas Stuart as one of the great British writers at work today.

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9781035086955

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Reviews

John of John has the emotional range and sense of sympathy of his earlier books, but this book is special, it has an urgency, an immediacy, a brilliant sense of place, the drama of fierce emotion repressed, concealed and volcanically exposed. -- Colm Tóibín, author of <i>Long Island</i> To read John of John is to move to the Isle of Harris and take up residence in the family croft. The novel is so immersive, so all-encompassing, that I felt like I was living in it. Douglas Stuart has written something brilliant and rare -- Ann Patchett, author of <i>Tom Lake</i> Set against the stark beauty of the Hebrides, where the landscape, in all its colour and texture, is as alive and commanding as its people . . . No one crafts characters with the depth and precision of Stuart—John of John is a masterpiece -- Elaine Feeney, author of <i>Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way</i> John of John is another mesmeric, transportive, vividly sensory and astonishingly textured novel from one of our greatest writers -- Bernardine Evaristo, author of <i> Girl, Woman, Other </i> John of John is a fierce, glorious sting of a novel. Douglas Stuart has somehow lifted the rocky, windswept landscape of the Scottish Western Isles—as well as its externally stark and thwarted, if internally blazing, characters—and replicated both with utter flawlessness on the page. What an astonishing feat of literary fiction -- Lauren Groff, author of <i>The Vaster Wilds</i> Douglas Stuart explores the visible and invisible chains of love forged between a parent and child — as each grapples with his respective faith and complex humanity. Stuart’s characters yearn and yield tenderly as they struggle with fate and free will. The inimitable world of John of John is passionate, liberating, and gorgeous -- Min Jin Lee, author of <i> Free Food for Millionaires</i> and <i>Pachinko</i>, finalist for the National Book Award John of John is Douglas Stuart's finest novel yet, and that is saying something . . . he infuses his narrative with an authentic understanding of the essence of Hebridean identity; he creates a novel that has the grandeur of classical literature but the readability and relatability of a contemporary masterpiece . . . Epic and intimate, this is the kind of novel that enlarges your very capacity for empathy -- Kevin MacNeil author of <i>The Stornoway Way</i> Breathtaking, life affirming, transcendent storytelling. John of John shows Stuart to be a true and abiding talent -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of <i>The Dance Tree</i> A wonderfully gifted writer * The Guardian * Stuart has cemented his status as a vital new voice for the working class * Independent * Douglas Stuart has a rare gift . . . A major literary talent * The Spectator * An enthralling writer * The Herald * Smart and sympathetic to everyone in its beautifully-realised world, John of John is literary fiction at its best. * The Telegraph * A tender yet fierce story of fathers and sons, secrets and silence, from the author of Shuggie Bain * Observer * It’s evocative, devastating and full of heart, with Stuart's signature way of making you want to read a single sentence again and again * Elle * A masterpiece. Every page is intimate and alive and offers tenderness with bruised knuckles. I finished it wrecked, in the best way. Cal, John, Innes and Doll will stay with me for a long time. This is Stuart at full stretch - I can't stop thinking about John of John -- Jodie Harsh, author of <i>You had To Be There</i>

John of John has the emotional range and sense of sympathy of his earlier books, but this book is special, it has an urgency, an immediacy, a brilliant sense of place, the drama of fierce emotion repressed, concealed and volcanically exposed. -- Colm Tóibín, author of <i>Long Island</i> To read John of John is to move to the Isle of Harris and take up residence in the family croft. The novel is so immersive, so all-encompassing, that I felt like I was living in it. Douglas Stuart has written something brilliant and rare -- Ann Patchett, author of <i>Tom Lake</i> Set against the stark beauty of the Hebrides, where the landscape, in all its colour and texture, is as alive and commanding as its people . . . No one crafts characters with the depth and precision of Stuart—John of John is a masterpiece -- Elaine Feeney, author of <i>Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way</i> John of John is a fierce, glorious sting of a novel. Douglas Stuart has somehow lifted the rocky, windswept landscape of the Scottish Western Isles—as well as its externally stark and thwarted, if internally blazing, characters—and replicated both with utter flawlessness on the page. What an astonishing feat of literary fiction -- Lauren Groff, author of <i>The Vaster Wilds</i> Douglas Stuart explores the visible and invisible chains of love forged between a parent and child — as each grapples with his respective faith and complex humanity. Stuart’s characters yearn and yield tenderly as they struggle with fate and free will. The inimitable world of John of John is passionate, liberating, and gorgeous -- Min Jin Lee, author of <i> Free Food for Millionaires</i> and <i>Pachinko</i>, finalist for the National Book Award John of John is Douglas Stuart's finest novel yet, and that is saying something . . . he infuses his narrative with an authentic understanding of the essence of Hebridean identity; he creates a novel that has the grandeur of classical literature but the readability and relatability of a contemporary masterpiece . . . Epic and intimate, this is the kind of novel that enlarges your very capacity for empathy -- Kevin MacNeil author of <i>The Stornoway Way</i> Breathtaking, life affirming, transcendent storytelling. John of John shows Stuart to be a true and abiding talent -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of <i>The Dance Tree</i> A wonderfully gifted writer * The Guardian * Stuart has cemented his status as a vital new voice for the working class * Independent * Douglas Stuart has a rare gift . . . A major literary talent * The Spectator * An enthralling writer * The Herald * Smart and sympathetic to everyone in its beautifully-realised world, John of John is literary fiction at its best. * The Telegraph *

John of John has the emotional range and sense of sympathy of his earlier books, but this book is special, it has an urgency, an immediacy, a brilliant sense of place, the drama of fierce emotion repressed, concealed and volcanically exposed. -- Colm Tóibín, author of <i>Long Island</i> To read John of John is to move to the Isle of Harris and take up residence in the family croft. The novel is so immersive, so all-encompassing, that I felt like I was living in it. Douglas Stuart has written something brilliant and rare -- Ann Patchett, author of <i>Tom Lake</i> Set against the stark beauty of the Hebrides, where the landscape, in all its colour and texture, is as alive and commanding as its people . . . No one crafts characters with the depth and precision of Stuart—John of John is a masterpiece -- Elaine Feeney, author of <i>Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way</i> John of John is another mesmeric, transportive, vividly sensory and astonishingly textured novel from one of our greatest writers -- Bernardine Evaristo, author of <i> Girl, Woman, Other </i> John of John is a fierce, glorious sting of a novel. Douglas Stuart has somehow lifted the rocky, windswept landscape of the Scottish Western Isles—as well as its externally stark and thwarted, if internally blazing, characters—and replicated both with utter flawlessness on the page. What an astonishing feat of literary fiction -- Lauren Groff, author of <i>The Vaster Wilds</i> Douglas Stuart explores the visible and invisible chains of love forged between a parent and child — as each grapples with his respective faith and complex humanity. Stuart’s characters yearn and yield tenderly as they struggle with fate and free will. The inimitable world of John of John is passionate, liberating, and gorgeous -- Min Jin Lee, author of <i> Free Food for Millionaires</i> and <i>Pachinko</i>, finalist for the National Book Award John of John is Douglas Stuart's finest novel yet, and that is saying something . . . he infuses his narrative with an authentic understanding of the essence of Hebridean identity; he creates a novel that has the grandeur of classical literature but the readability and relatability of a contemporary masterpiece . . . Epic and intimate, this is the kind of novel that enlarges your very capacity for empathy -- Kevin MacNeil author of <i>The Stornoway Way</i> Breathtaking, life affirming, transcendent storytelling. John of John shows Stuart to be a true and abiding talent -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of <i>The Dance Tree</i> A wonderfully gifted writer * The Guardian * Stuart has cemented his status as a vital new voice for the working class * Independent * Douglas Stuart has a rare gift . . . A major literary talent * The Spectator * An enthralling writer * The Herald * Smart and sympathetic to everyone in its beautifully-realised world, John of John is literary fiction at its best. * The Telegraph * A tender yet fierce story of fathers and sons, secrets and silence, from the author of Shuggie Bain * Observer * It’s evocative, devastating and full of heart, with Stuart's signature way of making you want to read a single sentence again and again * Elle * A masterpiece. Every page is intimate and alive and offers tenderness with bruised knuckles. I finished it wrecked, in the best way. Cal, John, Innes and Doll will stay with me for a long time. This is Stuart at full stretch - I can't stop thinking about John of John -- Jodie Harsh, author of <i>You had To Be There</i> Proves Stuart is a first-class talent . . . An incredibly touching, surprising novel. You’ll have to be patient, though, it’s not published until May * Robbie Millen, <i>The Sunday Times</i> * It's his finest work yet . . . John of John” is one of 2026’s literary triumphs; Stuart ups his game with fluency and confidence * Boston Globe *

There are sentences here that gleam and shimmer, demanding to be read and reread for their beauty and their truth * Observer * If Shuggie was a paean to the struggles of a single mother lost on the high seas of poverty, addiction and mental illness, Young Mungo is Stuart’s flag in the sand for the hidden generations of working-class gay men * The Sunday Times * A wonderfully gifted writer * The Guardian * Shuggie Bain means so much to me -- Dua Lipa Douglas Stuart has a rare gift . . . A major literary talent * The Spectator * An enthralling writer * The Herald * Douglas Stuart is a genius . . . [He] writes like an angel * The Washinton Post * Stuart has cemented his status as a vital new voice for the working class * Independent *

John of John has the emotional range and sense of sympathy as his earlier books, but this book is special, it has an urgency, an immediacy, a brilliant sense of place, the drama of fierce emotion repressed, concealed and volcanically exposed. -- Colm Tóibín, author of <i>Long Island</i> To read John of John is to move to the Isle of Harris and take up residence in the Macleod croft. The novel is so immersive, so all-encompassing, that I felt like I was living in it. Douglas Stuart has written something brilliant and rare -- Ann Patchett, author of <i>Tom Lake</i> Set against the stark beauty of the Hebrides, where the landscape, in all its colour and texture, is as alive and commanding as its people . . . No one crafts characters with the depth and precision of Stuart—John of John is a masterpiece -- Elaine Feeney, author of <i>Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way</i> Douglas Stuart's finest novel yet, and that is saying something . . . he infuses his narrative with an authentic understanding of the essence of Hebridean identity; he creates a novel that has the grandeur of classical literature but the readability and relatability of a contemporary masterpiece . . . Epic and intimate, this is the kind of novel that enlarges your very capacity for empathy -- Kevin MacNeil author of <i>The Stornoway Way</i> Breathtaking, life affirming, transcendent storytelling. John of John shows Stuart to be a true and abiding talent -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of <i>The Dance Tree</i> There are sentences here that gleam and shimmer, demanding to be read and reread for their beauty and their truth * Observer * A wonderfully gifted writer * The Guardian * Stuart has cemented his status as a vital new voice for the working class * Independent * If Shuggie was a paean to the struggles of a single mother lost on the high seas of poverty, addiction and mental illness, Young Mungo is Stuart’s flag in the sand for the hidden generations of working-class gay men * The Sunday Times * Shuggie Bain means so much to me -- Dua Lipa Douglas Stuart has a rare gift . . . A major literary talent * The Spectator * An enthralling writer * The Herald * Douglas Stuart is a genius . . . [He] writes like an angel * The Washinton Post *

Author Information

Douglas Stuart was born and raised in Glasgow. After graduating from the Royal College of Art, he moved to New York, where he began a career in fashion design. Shuggie Bain, his first novel, won the Booker Prize and both 'Debut of the Year' and 'Book of the Year' at the British Book Awards. It was also shortlisted for the US National Book Award for Fiction, among many other awards. His second novel, Young Mungo, was a number one Sunday Times Bestseller. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker and his essay on gender, anxiety and class was published by Lit Hub.

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