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John of John
From the Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo comes a vivid, moving, and beautifully crafted novel following a young man returning to his Hebridean island home, a portrait of a close-knit community and a fraying family, of a father’s expectations and a son’s desires
Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the Isle of Harris to find that little has changed except for him. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal begrudgingly resumes his old life, stuck between the two poles of his his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for several decades. Cal wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his son’s long hair and how he seems unwilling to be Saved. As lambing season turns to shearing season, everything seems poised to change as the threads holding together the fragile community become increasingly knotted.
John of John is a singular novel about duty and patience and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that shows Douglas Stuart working at an even higher level of artistic creation.
Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the Isle of Harris to find that little has changed except for him. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal begrudgingly resumes his old life, stuck between the two poles of his his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for several decades. Cal wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his son’s long hair and how he seems unwilling to be Saved. As lambing season turns to shearing season, everything seems poised to change as the threads holding together the fragile community become increasingly knotted.
John of John is a singular novel about duty and patience and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that shows Douglas Stuart working at an even higher level of artistic creation.
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First published May 5, 2026
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About the author
Douglas Stuart
13 books5,746 followersDouglas Stuart is a NY Times bestselling author. His latest novel, John of John, will publish in May 2026.
His work has been translated into over 40 languages. His debut novel, Shuggie Bain, is the winner of the 2020 Booker Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award. His second novel, Young Mungo, was a #1 Sunday Times Bestseller. His short stories have been published by The New Yorker.
Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, after receiving his MA from the Royal College of Art in London, he has lived and worked in New York City.
Follow him on instagram at Douglas_Stuart
His work has been translated into over 40 languages. His debut novel, Shuggie Bain, is the winner of the 2020 Booker Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award. His second novel, Young Mungo, was a #1 Sunday Times Bestseller. His short stories have been published by The New Yorker.
Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, after receiving his MA from the Royal College of Art in London, he has lived and worked in New York City.
Follow him on instagram at Douglas_Stuart
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Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Once again, Douglas Stuart is viciously attacking my jaded heart with a perfectly composed, beautifully written story about family, community and individuality that has no business being so damn suspenseful until the very last page. Set on the Scottish island of Harris during the 1990's, the novel tells the story of 22-year-old John-Calum ("Cal"), son of crofter and tweed weaver John and grandson of Calum, an already deceased former soldier. As the telling names and the title of the book suggest, the recent college graduate lives through the faithful cycles of his ancestors, and what he will make of his emotional heritage is the question that moves the book forward. At the beginning, Cal comes back from the mainland to live with his dad and grandmother in the tiny farm community where he grew up, because he couldn't find a job after graduating textile college. Throughout the text, he remains torn between the demands of the community and his family and his own needs.
Cal is gay, which he conceals from everyone on the island, a place ruled by strict Presbyterian morals. What he doesn't know though (and this is not a spoiler, because it's already clearly suggested at 7% into the book, I checked) is that his father John is also gay: Cal's parents separated because his mother found out, but she never told on John out of concern for him. 48-year-old John has been in love with his neighbor Innes since he was a teenager, but their relationship is of course under constant threat. Cal's grandmother Ella, herself a Glaswegian outsider, is aware though, and she knows what stigmatization means: Her deceased husband Calum married her when she was pregnant from another man, a story arc that will return in a different form during the course of the novel...
Stuart's book puts its considerably big cast of islanders under constant outside pressure - the community's standards based on religious convictions as well as familial expectations - as well psychological strain: Whether male or female, gay or straight, young or old, we meet a plethora of people questioning their moral worth and belief system and what they can or should sacrifice for their own happiness or the (assumed!) happiness of others. Another core topic is finding the courage to go against traditional and/or majority values when they appear to be wrong, and to stand with those who are harmed and shamed. Stuart's characters are so alive, messy and psychologically plausible that they bring you to tears, even more so here than in Shuggie Bain (yes, that's possible).
Sure, this is very traditional storytelling, a country tale about family and religion with the slight twist of some queer characters, and there is nothing truly experimental or aesthetically daring here. But do we complain about this when it comes to, let's say: William Trevor (who also knows a thing or two about religion and outsiders)? No, because his traditional storytelling is outstanding, and Stuart's is, too. And he knows his subject matter, as he, much like Cal, is a gay Scottish man who graduated a college of textiles and, after publishing "Shuggie Bain", spent a considerable amount of time on the Outer Hebrides, which leads to him being able to deliver atmospherically dense, moody nature writing peppered with bits of Gaelic. This author has a special talent for interrogating people's complicated humanity, a talent with religious sensibilities to see their potential for personal salvation through charity and compassion, but also self-love: Part of the impact of his writing stems from the fact that he seems to love his characters a lot more than they manage to love themselves.
Hey, Booker (feat. Jarvis Cocker!!): Nominate this, or seriously show me thirteen better novels this season, I dare you.
EDIT: I have read an ARC of this - some person apparently flagged this review because the info wasn't contained in the text. Do we now have to go back through thousands of reviews to check whether they were ARCs or not because of a new rule that didn't exist before? Get ready for people abusing GR's latest insanity, pathetic people who feel like THEY should have gotten an ARC, and THEY should get more likes etc. And when will GR take on the bugs, the review bombing etc.? Jesus Christ.
You can listen to the podcast gang discuss the German translation, also titled John of John, here: https://papierstaupodcast.de/podcast/...
Cal is gay, which he conceals from everyone on the island, a place ruled by strict Presbyterian morals. What he doesn't know though (and this is not a spoiler, because it's already clearly suggested at 7% into the book, I checked) is that his father John is also gay: Cal's parents separated because his mother found out, but she never told on John out of concern for him. 48-year-old John has been in love with his neighbor Innes since he was a teenager, but their relationship is of course under constant threat. Cal's grandmother Ella, herself a Glaswegian outsider, is aware though, and she knows what stigmatization means: Her deceased husband Calum married her when she was pregnant from another man, a story arc that will return in a different form during the course of the novel...
Stuart's book puts its considerably big cast of islanders under constant outside pressure - the community's standards based on religious convictions as well as familial expectations - as well psychological strain: Whether male or female, gay or straight, young or old, we meet a plethora of people questioning their moral worth and belief system and what they can or should sacrifice for their own happiness or the (assumed!) happiness of others. Another core topic is finding the courage to go against traditional and/or majority values when they appear to be wrong, and to stand with those who are harmed and shamed. Stuart's characters are so alive, messy and psychologically plausible that they bring you to tears, even more so here than in Shuggie Bain (yes, that's possible).
Sure, this is very traditional storytelling, a country tale about family and religion with the slight twist of some queer characters, and there is nothing truly experimental or aesthetically daring here. But do we complain about this when it comes to, let's say: William Trevor (who also knows a thing or two about religion and outsiders)? No, because his traditional storytelling is outstanding, and Stuart's is, too. And he knows his subject matter, as he, much like Cal, is a gay Scottish man who graduated a college of textiles and, after publishing "Shuggie Bain", spent a considerable amount of time on the Outer Hebrides, which leads to him being able to deliver atmospherically dense, moody nature writing peppered with bits of Gaelic. This author has a special talent for interrogating people's complicated humanity, a talent with religious sensibilities to see their potential for personal salvation through charity and compassion, but also self-love: Part of the impact of his writing stems from the fact that he seems to love his characters a lot more than they manage to love themselves.
Hey, Booker (feat. Jarvis Cocker!!): Nominate this, or seriously show me thirteen better novels this season, I dare you.
EDIT: I have read an ARC of this - some person apparently flagged this review because the info wasn't contained in the text. Do we now have to go back through thousands of reviews to check whether they were ARCs or not because of a new rule that didn't exist before? Get ready for people abusing GR's latest insanity, pathetic people who feel like THEY should have gotten an ARC, and THEY should get more likes etc. And when will GR take on the bugs, the review bombing etc.? Jesus Christ.
You can listen to the podcast gang discuss the German translation, also titled John of John, here: https://papierstaupodcast.de/podcast/...
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Update: I spoke with other people who have read this, and I'm SO glad it's not just me who took issue with the execution of the themes! A few people have also raised how poorly Doll's storyline was dealt with (minor spoiler warning: ), which could be further misinterpreted.
I really don't understand what this book was trying to say about... anything? And that's coming from a queer reader trying to give Douglas Stuart the benefit of the doubt... We don't need to flatten queer characters and only have them presented as heroic, but we do need to remember the political climate we are in and be cognizant of how we tell these stories. The book portrays a gay man as predatory, opportunistic, and with a notable lack of boundaries around sex -- yet never offers up a consequence or commentary about it.
---
I'm going to preface this review by reminding everyone that reading is subjective, and this review simply represents my opinions on the book. If you're excited to read this, go ahead and read it. If you enjoyed this book, I'm happy for you! But I will warn: this is an angry review, and I don't have many positives to convey about my time with this book.
With that out of the way, this is one of the worst books I've ever read. I adored Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, and thought his character work in particular was some of the finest I've read across literary fiction. Conversely, this book felt absolutely meandering and directionless while also not developing the characters in any meaningful way. There was no reason for such a barebones plot to be stretched out over 400+ pages. I don't require characters in a story to be likeable or even entirely understandable, but I do require some degree of attachment or investment in their character arcs. This story is devoid of any meaningful character development or backstory; we get occasional glimpses of societal problems (the attachment to organised religion, geographic isolation, homophobia, and poverty), but nothing that feels particularly personal. It lacks any momentum or central conflict that propels the story forward, and I kept waiting for a denouement that never arrived.
Cal's main story centres around his return from university and reacclimation to his hometown, but we get so little detail about his time in university that it doesn't give much of the requisite context to his conflicts. His story comes with the typical queer coming-of-age themes like repression and identity, but nothing about their delivery feels personal to Cal. His relationship with his father is also entirely one-note, and basically centres around his father being a selfish, petulant person who does not evolve despite the external conflicts and pressures.
Far too many conflicts in this required a suspension of disbelief that was incredibly grating. I recognise this is fiction, but the story starts to contradict itself too often. Too many characters make grandiose sacrifices that feel wholly unrealistic, and withhold information or secrets for years until they can be conveniently revealed as part of a cheap 'twist'. It would be fine if this didn't happen repeatedly and jeopardise the narrative integrity of the story. Ella and Grace were the most egregious examples of this, and it made them feel more like plot devices than people.
Lastly, the amount of weird incestual undertones in this book is odd, and I would be remiss not to mention them. A mother noting her adult son is 'more endowed than her husband', uncles commenting on how hot their barely legal niece is, and a son repeatedly getting aroused by his father is just...odd? It adds this unnerving undertone to the book and leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Queer people already face enough misrepresentation in media, and I'm not saying these themes can't simultaneously exist in literature, but to have incestual attraction repeatedly brought up with no commentary and no meaningful relation to the plot just feels like a cheap ploy for shock value. It paints communities in a bad light and can be easily misinterpreted and weaponised, and I certainly don't think that was Douglas Stuart's intent.
Overall, this commits the cardinal sin of being incredibly boring while exploring themes from Stuart's backlist in an objectively worse fashion. The prose was missing the lushness and emotion I attribute to his writing, and the story could have easily lost 150 pages to preserve some degree of intrigue and pacing. I know this is well-loved already and will likely collect several awards post-publication, but I personally did not enjoy this by any means.
---
70% in and we are still crawling along... divas i am fighting for my LIFE (also the amount of weird incest references???)
---
40% in and I am SO bored by this... whiplash xx
---
25% and everyone is a lil fruity... oh ok!
---
10% in and I am reminded of why I love Douglas Stuart so much <3
Substack | Bookstagram | BookTok | BookTube | Bookshop.org Store | Libro.fm Bonus Offer
I really don't understand what this book was trying to say about... anything? And that's coming from a queer reader trying to give Douglas Stuart the benefit of the doubt... We don't need to flatten queer characters and only have them presented as heroic, but we do need to remember the political climate we are in and be cognizant of how we tell these stories. The book portrays a gay man as predatory, opportunistic, and with a notable lack of boundaries around sex -- yet never offers up a consequence or commentary about it.
---
I'm going to preface this review by reminding everyone that reading is subjective, and this review simply represents my opinions on the book. If you're excited to read this, go ahead and read it. If you enjoyed this book, I'm happy for you! But I will warn: this is an angry review, and I don't have many positives to convey about my time with this book.
With that out of the way, this is one of the worst books I've ever read. I adored Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, and thought his character work in particular was some of the finest I've read across literary fiction. Conversely, this book felt absolutely meandering and directionless while also not developing the characters in any meaningful way. There was no reason for such a barebones plot to be stretched out over 400+ pages. I don't require characters in a story to be likeable or even entirely understandable, but I do require some degree of attachment or investment in their character arcs. This story is devoid of any meaningful character development or backstory; we get occasional glimpses of societal problems (the attachment to organised religion, geographic isolation, homophobia, and poverty), but nothing that feels particularly personal. It lacks any momentum or central conflict that propels the story forward, and I kept waiting for a denouement that never arrived.
Cal's main story centres around his return from university and reacclimation to his hometown, but we get so little detail about his time in university that it doesn't give much of the requisite context to his conflicts. His story comes with the typical queer coming-of-age themes like repression and identity, but nothing about their delivery feels personal to Cal. His relationship with his father is also entirely one-note, and basically centres around his father being a selfish, petulant person who does not evolve despite the external conflicts and pressures.
Far too many conflicts in this required a suspension of disbelief that was incredibly grating. I recognise this is fiction, but the story starts to contradict itself too often. Too many characters make grandiose sacrifices that feel wholly unrealistic, and withhold information or secrets for years until they can be conveniently revealed as part of a cheap 'twist'. It would be fine if this didn't happen repeatedly and jeopardise the narrative integrity of the story. Ella and Grace were the most egregious examples of this, and it made them feel more like plot devices than people.
Lastly, the amount of weird incestual undertones in this book is odd, and I would be remiss not to mention them. A mother noting her adult son is 'more endowed than her husband', uncles commenting on how hot their barely legal niece is, and a son repeatedly getting aroused by his father is just...odd? It adds this unnerving undertone to the book and leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Queer people already face enough misrepresentation in media, and I'm not saying these themes can't simultaneously exist in literature, but to have incestual attraction repeatedly brought up with no commentary and no meaningful relation to the plot just feels like a cheap ploy for shock value. It paints communities in a bad light and can be easily misinterpreted and weaponised, and I certainly don't think that was Douglas Stuart's intent.
Overall, this commits the cardinal sin of being incredibly boring while exploring themes from Stuart's backlist in an objectively worse fashion. The prose was missing the lushness and emotion I attribute to his writing, and the story could have easily lost 150 pages to preserve some degree of intrigue and pacing. I know this is well-loved already and will likely collect several awards post-publication, but I personally did not enjoy this by any means.
---
70% in and we are still crawling along... divas i am fighting for my LIFE (also the amount of weird incest references???)
---
40% in and I am SO bored by this... whiplash xx
---
25% and everyone is a lil fruity... oh ok!
---
10% in and I am reminded of why I love Douglas Stuart so much <3
Substack | Bookstagram | BookTok | BookTube | Bookshop.org Store | Libro.fm Bonus Offer
November 30, 2025
Even as I was ecstatic to have the privilege of reading Stuart's third novel a full six months prior to publication, I also had a touch of trepidation. After two such astonishingly assured works as the Booker-winning Shuggie Bain and the equally enthralling Young Mungo, (both of which topped my list of the year's best books in their respective years) what if his luck ran out and the new novel - shudder - was a dud?
Well, I am happy to report my fears were for naught, as John of John: A Novel is not only the equal of its predecessors but I think, if anything, is even better. Those enamored by Stuart's usual concerns will be glad to learn this does not stray terribly far from those, but there is a deeper maturity and muscularity, a clarity in this new work and in a word - it's magnificent.
Set in the late '90's, the titular character is 22-year-old John-Calum MacLeod, known as Cal, who following graduation from an art college in Edinburgh, is summoned back to his hometown of Falabay on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, allegedly to help his father John cope with his ailing maternal grandmother, Ella. Cal has had to hide his sexual orientation from his family, especially his upright religious father, and fears how he will cope going back to the scene of an unhappy childhood, scarred by his parents' acrimonious divorce.
Not only is Stuart a master at delineating character and creating riveting scenes, but he has an uncanny ear for dialogue, and adding little touches of Scottish Gaelic (even if I had to run to Google Translate a few more times than I cared to!) is a delightful surprise.
No spoilers, but at almost the exact halfway point in the book, there is a revelation that upends everything - and I read the entire second half in a marathon of 7 hours as I couldn't wait to find out what happens. Needless to say, this will again top my list for the best book of the year ... and I'm just sorry I'll have to wait so long for others to read it, so we can discuss!
If this DOESN'T make the 2026 Booker longlist, at least, I swear, there WILL be blood!! And if there's any justice, Stuart will become the next double Booker -winner. I simply cannot imagine a finer novel coming out between now and next October.
Well, I am happy to report my fears were for naught, as John of John: A Novel is not only the equal of its predecessors but I think, if anything, is even better. Those enamored by Stuart's usual concerns will be glad to learn this does not stray terribly far from those, but there is a deeper maturity and muscularity, a clarity in this new work and in a word - it's magnificent.
Set in the late '90's, the titular character is 22-year-old John-Calum MacLeod, known as Cal, who following graduation from an art college in Edinburgh, is summoned back to his hometown of Falabay on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, allegedly to help his father John cope with his ailing maternal grandmother, Ella. Cal has had to hide his sexual orientation from his family, especially his upright religious father, and fears how he will cope going back to the scene of an unhappy childhood, scarred by his parents' acrimonious divorce.
Not only is Stuart a master at delineating character and creating riveting scenes, but he has an uncanny ear for dialogue, and adding little touches of Scottish Gaelic (even if I had to run to Google Translate a few more times than I cared to!) is a delightful surprise.
No spoilers, but at almost the exact halfway point in the book, there is a revelation that upends everything - and I read the entire second half in a marathon of 7 hours as I couldn't wait to find out what happens. Needless to say, this will again top my list for the best book of the year ... and I'm just sorry I'll have to wait so long for others to read it, so we can discuss!
If this DOESN'T make the 2026 Booker longlist, at least, I swear, there WILL be blood!! And if there's any justice, Stuart will become the next double Booker -winner. I simply cannot imagine a finer novel coming out between now and next October.
February 20, 2026
Gritty and dark but also immersive and gorgeous. That’s how I described Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo. After reading those, I found myself wishing he’d write something a little less disturbing. John of John is that book. It’s more gloomy and gray than gritty and dark, with touches of humor woven through. What remains is the fantastic writing and the way Douglas Stuart pulls me into his worlds. John of John is just as stunning and evocative as its predecessors.
Set on a Scottish island, John of John follows a father and son who couldn’t be more different: the Calvinist father, John, devout, divorced and desperate to keep everything the same, and the gay son, John-Calum, who wants to be himself but feels stuck after finishing college. And yet, beneath the surface, the two are so alike it’s almost unsettling.
Shuggie Bain was a little kid at the start; Mungo was fifteen; and John-Calum (Cal to everyone) is twenty-two when he returns to the island. But all of them long for the same thing: parental approval.
John of John is a quiet story. Not much seems to happen, and yet this family, this community, these people get under your skin. As a reader, you want to peel back layer after layer. The men work hard, but the women might be the ones who are the strongest, the smartest: Ella, Cal’s grandmother; Grace, his mother; and Isla, the girl he’s expected to end up with.
This is a story about guilt and regret:
“Am I to live my life watching everyone else do the living?”
About hiding:
”I’d like to sit in a pub as the rain comes down and talk to you without worrying someone might know us.”
About want:
”I have to have something to show at the end of this life.”
About the wish to love and be loved:
All I want from this world is someone to love.”
The last part of the story made tears sprang to my eyes again and again. I wanted to shake these men and hold them in my arms at the same time.
Douglas Stuart is an incredible author, and I’ll read anything he writes. I’d love to meet his characters again later in life, even though I know that probably won’t happen. More than anything, I just want all of these fantastic characters to find some happiness.
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Set on a Scottish island, John of John follows a father and son who couldn’t be more different: the Calvinist father, John, devout, divorced and desperate to keep everything the same, and the gay son, John-Calum, who wants to be himself but feels stuck after finishing college. And yet, beneath the surface, the two are so alike it’s almost unsettling.
Shuggie Bain was a little kid at the start; Mungo was fifteen; and John-Calum (Cal to everyone) is twenty-two when he returns to the island. But all of them long for the same thing: parental approval.
John of John is a quiet story. Not much seems to happen, and yet this family, this community, these people get under your skin. As a reader, you want to peel back layer after layer. The men work hard, but the women might be the ones who are the strongest, the smartest: Ella, Cal’s grandmother; Grace, his mother; and Isla, the girl he’s expected to end up with.
This is a story about guilt and regret:
“Am I to live my life watching everyone else do the living?”
About hiding:
”I’d like to sit in a pub as the rain comes down and talk to you without worrying someone might know us.”
About want:
”I have to have something to show at the end of this life.”
About the wish to love and be loved:
All I want from this world is someone to love.”
The last part of the story made tears sprang to my eyes again and again. I wanted to shake these men and hold them in my arms at the same time.
Douglas Stuart is an incredible author, and I’ll read anything he writes. I’d love to meet his characters again later in life, even though I know that probably won’t happen. More than anything, I just want all of these fantastic characters to find some happiness.
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May 6, 2026
My Reviews Can Also Be Found On:
The Book Review Crew Blog
⭐⭐⭐⭐
John of John
Douglas Stuart
Publication Date: May 5th, 2026
Grove Atlantic | Grove Press
416 Pages
Amazon | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | LGBTQIAP+ | Literary Fiction
Another sheep book! I have to start this review with my love of Ella; she is John's (Cal’s) grandmother, and she reminded me of my own grandmother (and mom) at times. The titular John of the story (also known as Cal) is an art school grad who comes back home to Harris because he ran out of cash in the big city (Edinburgh). Cal's family is very traditional, and being gay makes it tough for him to live up to his family's expectations. Cal's dad is a sheep farmer and a preacher who dislikes his son’s long hair and modernness. Ella is Cal's maternal grandmother, and she is a lot more laid-back than her son-in-law. By the end, we find out why Cal's dad has such issues. It was an unexpected twist to the story.
I love how Stuart writes about Scotland; it's so pretty. I visited there years ago and will never forget the landscape. But at the same time, Harris seems to be a very isolated place, not just in location but in the way the church rules—rule all. How can a person stay in such a tight community with so many rules and expectations? You can't just be your own true self. The story takes place during the shearing of the lambs, and we get a good dose of farm life and weaving the tweed from the sheep; this was a bit boring to read about after a while.
This is such a beautifully written story with heavy themes and a wonderful location. There is plenty of family tension, so it makes the beautiful writing seem less flowery. Once again, Stuart writes a fabulous novel about the heartbreak of family—this time between father and son. I like the way he deals with religion, repressed feelings, and secrets. The characters are all flawed and feel like real human beings. I can't imagine how hard it must be to struggle with your identity in such a structured atmosphere. While the pacing can be a bit slow at times, it's a wonderful character-driven story that was deeply moving.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
The Book Review Crew Blog
⭐⭐⭐⭐
John of John
Douglas Stuart
Publication Date: May 5th, 2026
Grove Atlantic | Grove Press
416 Pages
Amazon | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | LGBTQIAP+ | Literary Fiction
Another sheep book! I have to start this review with my love of Ella; she is John's (Cal’s) grandmother, and she reminded me of my own grandmother (and mom) at times. The titular John of the story (also known as Cal) is an art school grad who comes back home to Harris because he ran out of cash in the big city (Edinburgh). Cal's family is very traditional, and being gay makes it tough for him to live up to his family's expectations. Cal's dad is a sheep farmer and a preacher who dislikes his son’s long hair and modernness. Ella is Cal's maternal grandmother, and she is a lot more laid-back than her son-in-law. By the end, we find out why Cal's dad has such issues. It was an unexpected twist to the story.
I love how Stuart writes about Scotland; it's so pretty. I visited there years ago and will never forget the landscape. But at the same time, Harris seems to be a very isolated place, not just in location but in the way the church rules—rule all. How can a person stay in such a tight community with so many rules and expectations? You can't just be your own true self. The story takes place during the shearing of the lambs, and we get a good dose of farm life and weaving the tweed from the sheep; this was a bit boring to read about after a while.
This is such a beautifully written story with heavy themes and a wonderful location. There is plenty of family tension, so it makes the beautiful writing seem less flowery. Once again, Stuart writes a fabulous novel about the heartbreak of family—this time between father and son. I like the way he deals with religion, repressed feelings, and secrets. The characters are all flawed and feel like real human beings. I can't imagine how hard it must be to struggle with your identity in such a structured atmosphere. While the pacing can be a bit slow at times, it's a wonderful character-driven story that was deeply moving.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Want to Read
May 2, 2026testing if my heart of stone can still be broken
Read
April 21, 2026A closeted son and his religious father navigate long-held secrets under the suffocating eye of their small island community in this latest gripping drama from Booker Prize winner, Douglas Stuart.
Returning home from college in ‘the big city’ to his rural hometown on the Outer Hebrides, John-Calum (“Cal”) Macleod, son of John Macleod, is once again reminded that he doesn’t quite feel at home there. But for the sake of his aging grandmother and the depleted funds forcing him to couch-surf his way through Edinburgh post-art school graduation, Cal makes the long journey back in an attempt to find some place to settle. But as tension grows with his father and the gossipy neighbors and churchfolk he no longer feels connected to, Cal begins to question where he stands, how well he really knows his home, and what it means to move forward in life when the past threatens to hold you back.
Douglas Stuart, as always, delivers stunning prose that completely transports you to the time (1990s) and place (a remote Scottish island) of his characters. Rather than the rundown tenements of Glasgow, Stuart has moved out to sea and with that you get stunning descriptions of the water, the craggly shorelines, the derelict homes and abandoned vehicles that pepper the landscape. We also get colorful characters of a small fishing town and church community that feel so real, so vivid, they nearly walk off the page.
Rather than relay all the backstory of our main characters, Cal and John, with a side story about the grandmother, Ella, Stuart dives right into the action and sprinkles context throughout the narrative. I did find the first half of this book to be a bit slow because you are gathering information slowly while the characters settle into a routine that consists of daily chores, repetitive conversations (that’s island life for you, not much new to talk about), and eat their meals in relative silence. But that slow burn is well worth the pay-off of the second half which I was completely riveted by. I could NOT put this book down in the last 200 pages and nearly finished it all in one day.
It’s a painful and sad story at times, but of the three Stuart novels I’ve read this felt the most hopeful. Though I would have liked to get a bit more back story on some of the characters and situations, mostly out of my own curiosity and to see how he would have written those scenes, I don’t think they were necessary for the present day story he was trying to tell. The way we only learn certain things about characters felt reflective of how we can only really know so much about a person, even our own family members, and how gossip spreads through a small town with incomplete or incorrect information, distorting reality and having consequences that can change lives.
Stuart excellently captured that dynamic while also delivering a compelling and beautiful story about living authentically, casting off the burdens of one’s community especially when it no longer aligns with your beliefs, and embracing the complexity of being a human.
Returning home from college in ‘the big city’ to his rural hometown on the Outer Hebrides, John-Calum (“Cal”) Macleod, son of John Macleod, is once again reminded that he doesn’t quite feel at home there. But for the sake of his aging grandmother and the depleted funds forcing him to couch-surf his way through Edinburgh post-art school graduation, Cal makes the long journey back in an attempt to find some place to settle. But as tension grows with his father and the gossipy neighbors and churchfolk he no longer feels connected to, Cal begins to question where he stands, how well he really knows his home, and what it means to move forward in life when the past threatens to hold you back.
Douglas Stuart, as always, delivers stunning prose that completely transports you to the time (1990s) and place (a remote Scottish island) of his characters. Rather than the rundown tenements of Glasgow, Stuart has moved out to sea and with that you get stunning descriptions of the water, the craggly shorelines, the derelict homes and abandoned vehicles that pepper the landscape. We also get colorful characters of a small fishing town and church community that feel so real, so vivid, they nearly walk off the page.
Rather than relay all the backstory of our main characters, Cal and John, with a side story about the grandmother, Ella, Stuart dives right into the action and sprinkles context throughout the narrative. I did find the first half of this book to be a bit slow because you are gathering information slowly while the characters settle into a routine that consists of daily chores, repetitive conversations (that’s island life for you, not much new to talk about), and eat their meals in relative silence. But that slow burn is well worth the pay-off of the second half which I was completely riveted by. I could NOT put this book down in the last 200 pages and nearly finished it all in one day.
It’s a painful and sad story at times, but of the three Stuart novels I’ve read this felt the most hopeful. Though I would have liked to get a bit more back story on some of the characters and situations, mostly out of my own curiosity and to see how he would have written those scenes, I don’t think they were necessary for the present day story he was trying to tell. The way we only learn certain things about characters felt reflective of how we can only really know so much about a person, even our own family members, and how gossip spreads through a small town with incomplete or incorrect information, distorting reality and having consequences that can change lives.
Stuart excellently captured that dynamic while also delivering a compelling and beautiful story about living authentically, casting off the burdens of one’s community especially when it no longer aligns with your beliefs, and embracing the complexity of being a human.
April 28, 2026
My first Douglas Stuart book is John of John and I can see why readers love his writing. Although the book is four hundred pages, it feels lush and expansive, offering so much to take in. Stuart’s style is funny, heart wrenching, and melancholic, often all within a single verse.
The story follows a father and a son and explores what happens when long kept secrets are revealed and when their relationship does not match the expectations either of them carries.
John and Cal Macleod are brought back together when Cal returns home to Harris, Ireland, after being unable to find a job following his graduation from fashion school. He slips back into life on the family farm, tending sheep, working at a local pub, and trying to make ends meet. John, a strict Presbyterian preacher, refuses to accept who Cal truly is.
“If I do not ask Jesus to save me, do you think I will really go to hell”
They live with Cal’s grandmother, Ella, who becomes one of the most memorable figures in the novel. John of John will make you laugh out loud because its characters are unlike anyone you have met before.
“There were times when he felt he knew his son better than he knew himself. There were other times when Cal looked at him with some distance, when John thought: Oh, I do not know this man at all.”
Throughout the book, there are moments of breathtaking description that I found myself rereading simply to take in their beauty.
“The pancake had arrived on a piece of flat cardboard as though she had known he would lock himself in his room and had the foresight to bake something flat and find something thin enough to slide it in on.”
Overall, John of John is a story about fathers and sons, about relationships that may or may not be mended, about hidden truths, and about the search for happiness. I especially loved that the story is set in the nineties. There are references to The Cure, The Inspiral Carpets, John Hughes, and Top Gun, all things I grew up with and remember fondly.
While things seem to tear apart at the seams, families will find a reckoning, unlike anything you've read before. John of John is another great Douglas Stuart book!
The story follows a father and a son and explores what happens when long kept secrets are revealed and when their relationship does not match the expectations either of them carries.
John and Cal Macleod are brought back together when Cal returns home to Harris, Ireland, after being unable to find a job following his graduation from fashion school. He slips back into life on the family farm, tending sheep, working at a local pub, and trying to make ends meet. John, a strict Presbyterian preacher, refuses to accept who Cal truly is.
“If I do not ask Jesus to save me, do you think I will really go to hell”
They live with Cal’s grandmother, Ella, who becomes one of the most memorable figures in the novel. John of John will make you laugh out loud because its characters are unlike anyone you have met before.
“There were times when he felt he knew his son better than he knew himself. There were other times when Cal looked at him with some distance, when John thought: Oh, I do not know this man at all.”
Throughout the book, there are moments of breathtaking description that I found myself rereading simply to take in their beauty.
“The pancake had arrived on a piece of flat cardboard as though she had known he would lock himself in his room and had the foresight to bake something flat and find something thin enough to slide it in on.”
Overall, John of John is a story about fathers and sons, about relationships that may or may not be mended, about hidden truths, and about the search for happiness. I especially loved that the story is set in the nineties. There are references to The Cure, The Inspiral Carpets, John Hughes, and Top Gun, all things I grew up with and remember fondly.
While things seem to tear apart at the seams, families will find a reckoning, unlike anything you've read before. John of John is another great Douglas Stuart book!
November 18, 2025
✰ 3.75 stars ✰
Douglas Stuart's writing is effortless in its ability to draw you so completely into the lives of his characters that time passes by so smoothly and you don't even realize how much you've read till you realize how late it's been. It's almost melodious with its subtle balance of humor and heart and hurt. 🤌🏻🤌🏻 A vivid honesty to their voices that makes them feel so alive. It's how it made me immersed in this complicated relationship between a father and son - John and John-Callum, Cal - each shouldering their burden of secrets with a silence that oftentimes can be its own form of punishment. 😔
Their moving story is more than just that of John of John, a dynamic built on how unlike they are, that had me fully entwined, just as the yarn they wove. It's a family member hiding buried truths, a friend watching and wanting - I deserve a love that was worth it - a lost soul drowning their sorrows, and an island lush with Gaelic dialect of Falabay … that’s a hard place. Hard, but beautiful that fully captures the essence of wishing for more than you can, hoping that you can find it without losing yourself in the process, but still settled with what you have. 🫂
“I’d like to get lost with you...”
It was so strange how the lyrics of The Mob Song from Beauty and the Beast echoed in my head throughout. I know it's so odd, but, sometimes the most damning of pitchforks sometimes lies within. Dazed, but not broken, the lamb screamed to be released. 💔 It haunted me throughout, in the aching quietness of these intimate moments that carried hidden undertones that gave me this bittersweet feeling of hoping for the best for everyone. A tension tightly wound that it was only the anticipation of it snapping that kept me baited, unsure if I was ready to see the eventual fallout. 😢
Certain reveals towards the end have me conflicted; I felt --- hoodwinked. It's a strong, harsh word, but I cannot deny I was not entirely satisfied with their portrayal. 🤔 Maybe I missed the signs of how strong the sense of community and loyalty lies within that I was unable to wholly accept it. But - home is where the heart is - I cannot argue with that. For there was one moment where my emotions viscerally felt the sorrow of uncertainty and regret, tried to find himself amidst all the noise. The swell of the fear of loss, tinged with guilt and loneliness, hit me hard to my heart's core, and I won't ever forget it. 🥹
“Make yourself happy, son. Christ above, let one of us be happy.”
I may have liked Cal slightly more than the author's other two previous protagonists, perhaps because Cal is the eldest of them, a man with a good head on his shoulders - sometimes. 🥺 Or perhaps it was because his life story was not as bleak as that of Shuggie Bain. But Young Mungo will forever have me longing for closure; hoping one day the author will return to his story to fill the void it left in my heart. And if there is a story about William (iykyk), then I wouldn't mind that either. ❤️🩹
“All I want from this world is someone to love, and here you are.”
Douglas Stuart's writing is effortless in its ability to draw you so completely into the lives of his characters that time passes by so smoothly and you don't even realize how much you've read till you realize how late it's been. It's almost melodious with its subtle balance of humor and heart and hurt. 🤌🏻🤌🏻 A vivid honesty to their voices that makes them feel so alive. It's how it made me immersed in this complicated relationship between a father and son - John and John-Callum, Cal - each shouldering their burden of secrets with a silence that oftentimes can be its own form of punishment. 😔
Their moving story is more than just that of John of John, a dynamic built on how unlike they are, that had me fully entwined, just as the yarn they wove. It's a family member hiding buried truths, a friend watching and wanting - I deserve a love that was worth it - a lost soul drowning their sorrows, and an island lush with Gaelic dialect of Falabay … that’s a hard place. Hard, but beautiful that fully captures the essence of wishing for more than you can, hoping that you can find it without losing yourself in the process, but still settled with what you have. 🫂
“I’d like to get lost with you...”
It was so strange how the lyrics of The Mob Song from Beauty and the Beast echoed in my head throughout. I know it's so odd, but, sometimes the most damning of pitchforks sometimes lies within. Dazed, but not broken, the lamb screamed to be released. 💔 It haunted me throughout, in the aching quietness of these intimate moments that carried hidden undertones that gave me this bittersweet feeling of hoping for the best for everyone. A tension tightly wound that it was only the anticipation of it snapping that kept me baited, unsure if I was ready to see the eventual fallout. 😢
Certain reveals towards the end have me conflicted; I felt --- hoodwinked. It's a strong, harsh word, but I cannot deny I was not entirely satisfied with their portrayal. 🤔 Maybe I missed the signs of how strong the sense of community and loyalty lies within that I was unable to wholly accept it. But - home is where the heart is - I cannot argue with that. For there was one moment where my emotions viscerally felt the sorrow of uncertainty and regret, tried to find himself amidst all the noise. The swell of the fear of loss, tinged with guilt and loneliness, hit me hard to my heart's core, and I won't ever forget it. 🥹
“Make yourself happy, son. Christ above, let one of us be happy.”
I may have liked Cal slightly more than the author's other two previous protagonists, perhaps because Cal is the eldest of them, a man with a good head on his shoulders - sometimes. 🥺 Or perhaps it was because his life story was not as bleak as that of Shuggie Bain. But Young Mungo will forever have me longing for closure; hoping one day the author will return to his story to fill the void it left in my heart. And if there is a story about William (iykyk), then I wouldn't mind that either. ❤️🩹
Read
January 5, 2026Every time I read a novel like this—one where the storytelling, the characterisation, and especially the dialogue are so exceptionally well done—I feel enormous pressure when I sit down to write the kind of review that would make people run to the bookshop that very moment and buy it. The problem is that the harder I try, the more difficult it becomes. I start feeling as if I’m repeating myself, that I’ve said it all before, that I’m being boring or predictable—or worse, that the whole review is riddled with typos and nonsense.
So perhaps the best thing I can say about this novel is that I fell in love with the characters from the start, I’ll never stop raving about its dialogue, and, most importantly, after its conclusion all I can think is: I hope this is only the first volume of a trilogy.
In the wrong hands, a story like this would, without any doubt, turn into contrivance central. In this case, though, I can already see it becoming one of 2026’s best novels.
Now, please, Mr Stuart—tell me volume two is coming soon.
So perhaps the best thing I can say about this novel is that I fell in love with the characters from the start, I’ll never stop raving about its dialogue, and, most importantly, after its conclusion all I can think is: I hope this is only the first volume of a trilogy.
In the wrong hands, a story like this would, without any doubt, turn into contrivance central. In this case, though, I can already see it becoming one of 2026’s best novels.
Now, please, Mr Stuart—tell me volume two is coming soon.
Read
January 15, 20265++. I read Douglas Stuart's "Young Mungo" a few years ago, and was completely blown away. Very thoroughly devastated as well, at times. Well, this new one, just as impressive, just as compelling, just as demanding my avid attention. "John of John" hearkens very much to two favorite movies of mine, "Brokeback Mountain" and "God's Own Country," and I can't help but wonder if that's intentional; there are many echoes of both those movies in this book, and without spoiling things, two of the main characters have names almost exactly as those of Brokeback's two main characters... only reversed!
Whether the similarities and parallels I found are intentional or merely coincidental, this book grabbed me from the very first. Stuart makes you passionately care about his characters, even with all their flaws and mistakes and misunderstandings. No small feat, that. He also makes you feel the raw winds that blow through the corner of Scotland he describes, feel the beauty of the landscape and even of the beauty and dignity of the unforgiving, hardscrapple (sic?) lives of his characters.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions. Highly recommend.
Whether the similarities and parallels I found are intentional or merely coincidental, this book grabbed me from the very first. Stuart makes you passionately care about his characters, even with all their flaws and mistakes and misunderstandings. No small feat, that. He also makes you feel the raw winds that blow through the corner of Scotland he describes, feel the beauty of the landscape and even of the beauty and dignity of the unforgiving, hardscrapple (sic?) lives of his characters.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions. Highly recommend.
October 1, 2025
'You make me feel so lonely.'
'I'm right here.'
*sobs*
'I'm right here.'
*sobs*
Read
May 3, 2026Advance copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
I appreciate how unbelievably funny the whole structure here is. A young man is forced to come back to live with his conservative family on a remote island out in the Hebrides, believing wholeheartedly with all the solipsism of youth that he's the first of his community to have discovered homosexuality, keeping secrets and having an interiority of any kind, only to be proven that humans have been humaning for generations, and those older than him aren't necessarily boring, virgins, boors, comic background characters to his rebellious arc, or all of the above: it's real, conflicted, flawed, loving, imperfect people with interior lives all the way down. Recognizing that other adults and even your parents (the shock, the horror!) might be imperfect human beings doing their flawed best rather than these omnipotent authority figures is an integral part of growing up, even if the protagonist may have taken longer than others to come to this shocking realization, and this story is told with compassion and nuance. But, for a story that hinges so much on this one punchline/revelation, it felt slightly too bloated and dragged on for longer than was necessary after everybody had got the central message. That said, the setting is very vivid: the communities where "whether you like someone or not, you have to live beside them" (which, in my limited experience, is possibly the most prominent emotional difference between urban and rural living), the locals who are a part of the place ("in death their bodies were as desiccated as salted herring, the weight all bones and Bibles, all trimming cloth and calcified spite"), etc. Whether it's vivid enough to carry the story for all those extraneous pages is up to each reader to decide.
I appreciate how unbelievably funny the whole structure here is. A young man is forced to come back to live with his conservative family on a remote island out in the Hebrides, believing wholeheartedly with all the solipsism of youth that he's the first of his community to have discovered homosexuality, keeping secrets and having an interiority of any kind, only to be proven that humans have been humaning for generations, and those older than him aren't necessarily boring, virgins, boors, comic background characters to his rebellious arc, or all of the above: it's real, conflicted, flawed, loving, imperfect people with interior lives all the way down. Recognizing that other adults and even your parents (the shock, the horror!) might be imperfect human beings doing their flawed best rather than these omnipotent authority figures is an integral part of growing up, even if the protagonist may have taken longer than others to come to this shocking realization, and this story is told with compassion and nuance. But, for a story that hinges so much on this one punchline/revelation, it felt slightly too bloated and dragged on for longer than was necessary after everybody had got the central message. That said, the setting is very vivid: the communities where "whether you like someone or not, you have to live beside them" (which, in my limited experience, is possibly the most prominent emotional difference between urban and rural living), the locals who are a part of the place ("in death their bodies were as desiccated as salted herring, the weight all bones and Bibles, all trimming cloth and calcified spite"), etc. Whether it's vivid enough to carry the story for all those extraneous pages is up to each reader to decide.
May 7, 2026
4.75 stars Review to follow shortly
October 19, 2025
profoundly affecting, it is simply a perfect novel and stuart a perfect writer.
December 21, 2025
a beautiful, heartfelt and tender novel. truly a very special book and firmly cements douglas stuart as my favourite author of all time
April 24, 2026
My favorite book of the year so far!! Whew!! John-Calum "Cal" Macleod has finished art school with no job, partner, or compelling next step to show for it, so when his father, John (son of Iain, son of Iain), calls him back home to help care for his ailing grandmother, he can't offer a reason not to return to the tiny Scottish island where he grew up. His grandmother isn't actually sick, but she is a foulmouthed high-spirited Glasgow transplant (my favorite tiny detail is that she's knitted a tea kettle cozy in her own likeness) and her son-in-law John is more complicated than he initially seems. Who isn't?? Cal is queer and the isolated community is a place where everyone knows everyone else's story and business (or at least they believe they do). The truth of how they're all connected, and how they're each bearing up under the weight of tradition, is the heart of the story.
How can you be honest with yourself? What do you do when there's aspects of yourself that you hate but that insist on being part of you? Can you really say you live an honest life when you let other people decide on the truth for you? What's the difference between protecting yourself (or someone else) and hiding yourself away from life? What do you owe the people who hold you up in community and how do you weigh that against what you owe yourself? Different characters answer these questions differently, or refuse to, over the course of an eventful year of lambing, shearing, and weaving
This just blew me away. I read Douglas Stuart's first book, Shuggie Bain, and I liked it a lot but it was so deeply sad that I didn't seek out his second one (until now!). John of John is also sad, but it's much more hopeful. I love how richly painted all the characters are and I love the dramatic irony of knowing certain characters' secrets and waiting to see if/how they'll come to light. It's a beautifully atmospheric book. You can feel the rain and wind and smell the mud and wool. It's engaging throughout but the last hundred pages or so were impossible to put down. So moving! So emotionally complicated! I loved it so much! Thank you Douglas Stuart and thank you ARC cart!!
How can you be honest with yourself? What do you do when there's aspects of yourself that you hate but that insist on being part of you? Can you really say you live an honest life when you let other people decide on the truth for you? What's the difference between protecting yourself (or someone else) and hiding yourself away from life? What do you owe the people who hold you up in community and how do you weigh that against what you owe yourself? Different characters answer these questions differently, or refuse to, over the course of an eventful year of lambing, shearing, and weaving
This just blew me away. I read Douglas Stuart's first book, Shuggie Bain, and I liked it a lot but it was so deeply sad that I didn't seek out his second one (until now!). John of John is also sad, but it's much more hopeful. I love how richly painted all the characters are and I love the dramatic irony of knowing certain characters' secrets and waiting to see if/how they'll come to light. It's a beautifully atmospheric book. You can feel the rain and wind and smell the mud and wool. It's engaging throughout but the last hundred pages or so were impossible to put down. So moving! So emotionally complicated! I loved it so much! Thank you Douglas Stuart and thank you ARC cart!!
Read
February 22, 2026I really enjoyed this one. It's one of the longest books I've read recently, but I didn't mind the length at all - a testament to the author's rich characterization and multi-layered dialogue, which never veers into repetition or overindulgence. That said, I do wish we had gotten more of John's backstory, the way it was quickly tacked on at the end felt a bit rushed. The ending, too, was a little too neat for my liking. Despite the author's deft control of the emotional beats, I would have preferred a darker, more unexpected conclusion that challenged the characters further. Overall, this made me want to explore more of Douglas Stuart's work. I was never once bored while reading this - and, sadly that's becoming rarer and rarer these days.
April 16, 2026
An outstanding novel. Full review coming in the Washington Independent Review of Books
Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Grove Atlantic for a review copy.
Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Grove Atlantic for a review copy.
May 4, 2026
I'm a huge fan of Shuggie Bain and was delighted when a copy of John of John landed on my doormat.
It tells the story of Cal who went away to college in Glasgow and has been slightly hoodwinked into returning to the island he grew up on to look after his maternal grandmother, Ella. After realising Ella is not quite as unwell as his father made out, he realises that he is unable to return to Glasgow as he's both broke and has little prospects. Under the close eye of his very strict father, John, Cal reluctantly returns to farming and sheep shearing, knowing he's never likely to put his art studies to use.
Being from a very small community, everyone is in Cal's business right from the start, wondering why he hasn't yet chosen his bride, none of them knowing (or so he believes) that he's actually looking for a man. With his father forever on his back, Cal is unable to be true to himself, nor anyone else, though little does he know that John has secrets of his own.
John of John is beautifully written both in terms of place and character. The constraints of both a small community island life and the strict rules of a parent made me feel a little claustrophobic for Cal. Yet despite John's inability to show love for his son and their turbulent (and sometimes violent) relationship, Cal still shows concern and love for his father.
I wasn't a huge fan of Young Mungo if I'm being completely honest, but John of John, for me, is a return to Douglas Stuart's exceptional characterisation of Shuggie Bain, so if you did love Shuggie, I'm sure you'll love John of John too.
Thank you to Picador for sending me a proof.
It tells the story of Cal who went away to college in Glasgow and has been slightly hoodwinked into returning to the island he grew up on to look after his maternal grandmother, Ella. After realising Ella is not quite as unwell as his father made out, he realises that he is unable to return to Glasgow as he's both broke and has little prospects. Under the close eye of his very strict father, John, Cal reluctantly returns to farming and sheep shearing, knowing he's never likely to put his art studies to use.
Being from a very small community, everyone is in Cal's business right from the start, wondering why he hasn't yet chosen his bride, none of them knowing (or so he believes) that he's actually looking for a man. With his father forever on his back, Cal is unable to be true to himself, nor anyone else, though little does he know that John has secrets of his own.
John of John is beautifully written both in terms of place and character. The constraints of both a small community island life and the strict rules of a parent made me feel a little claustrophobic for Cal. Yet despite John's inability to show love for his son and their turbulent (and sometimes violent) relationship, Cal still shows concern and love for his father.
I wasn't a huge fan of Young Mungo if I'm being completely honest, but John of John, for me, is a return to Douglas Stuart's exceptional characterisation of Shuggie Bain, so if you did love Shuggie, I'm sure you'll love John of John too.
Thank you to Picador for sending me a proof.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is what love looks like when it has no language.
Douglas Stuart took a piece of my heart with Young Mungo, and now with John of John, I know he’s never giving it back.
He writes like he’s teaching you how to love, but it’s a kind of love that lives in the darkness and holds so much shame. The love that fights to survive even when it’s doing damage.
You could say this is a story about a family. A son returning home, a father who never left, a land that both holds and suffocates. But it’s more.
It’s about what we hide. Who we are when no one is looking. Our dreams, and the people we hurt when we keep living a life that is not ours.
John loves his son deeply, but he doesn’t know how to love himself, and that absence echoes through everything. And Cal, whether he wants to or not, carries it forward. He inherits something that has nothing to do with land or name. Something harder to shake. We have a saying where I’m from, “hijo de tigre, nace pintado,” a tiger’s cub is born with stripes. This book gets it.
At the center of it all is a quiet loneliness, a need to be loved that feels almost too large for the life he’s been given.
The writing is, as expected, stunning. Stuart moves between the crude and the beautiful effortlessly. He keeps you grounded with something raw and uncomfortable, and later he delivers a line so precise it feels carved out of you. It keeps the story honest. It never lets you look away.
And it hurts. Of course it hurts. Not like devastating heartbreak, but rather like a pin cushion, slowly filling up, one sharp pin at a time, until you realize how much you’ve been holding.
I wanted more for Cal, but I know that what feels like an end, might just be his new beginning. And Innes… the man that you are 👌🏼
**Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Douglas Stuart took a piece of my heart with Young Mungo, and now with John of John, I know he’s never giving it back.
He writes like he’s teaching you how to love, but it’s a kind of love that lives in the darkness and holds so much shame. The love that fights to survive even when it’s doing damage.
You could say this is a story about a family. A son returning home, a father who never left, a land that both holds and suffocates. But it’s more.
It’s about what we hide. Who we are when no one is looking. Our dreams, and the people we hurt when we keep living a life that is not ours.
John loves his son deeply, but he doesn’t know how to love himself, and that absence echoes through everything. And Cal, whether he wants to or not, carries it forward. He inherits something that has nothing to do with land or name. Something harder to shake. We have a saying where I’m from, “hijo de tigre, nace pintado,” a tiger’s cub is born with stripes. This book gets it.
At the center of it all is a quiet loneliness, a need to be loved that feels almost too large for the life he’s been given.
The writing is, as expected, stunning. Stuart moves between the crude and the beautiful effortlessly. He keeps you grounded with something raw and uncomfortable, and later he delivers a line so precise it feels carved out of you. It keeps the story honest. It never lets you look away.
And it hurts. Of course it hurts. Not like devastating heartbreak, but rather like a pin cushion, slowly filling up, one sharp pin at a time, until you realize how much you’ve been holding.
I wanted more for Cal, but I know that what feels like an end, might just be his new beginning. And Innes… the man that you are 👌🏼
**Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Full review to come soon, let's just call it a very good book while I sit with my thoughts on ponder on this wonderful novel for a bit.
Thank you to net galley for the eARC.
Thank you to net galley for the eARC.
February 18, 2026
well sh*t. that was a masterpiece, wasn’t it?
(received an early copy from the publisher in exchange for a review)
(received an early copy from the publisher in exchange for a review)
April 4, 2026
This was one of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given. Such a quiet but yet devastating novel.
Thank you so much to the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy.
Thank you so much to the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy.
April 13, 2026
one of my favourite authors of all time has smashed it out of the park AGAIN!!! how does he do it???????
November 4, 2025
Douglas Stuart is my best friend (in my head) and I love him (in real life)
He NEVER misses, this was an absolutely stunning book and more than on par with Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, both of which I also adore. The setting, the characters, the writing, just pure beauty and a joy to read.
He NEVER misses, this was an absolutely stunning book and more than on par with Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, both of which I also adore. The setting, the characters, the writing, just pure beauty and a joy to read.
May 3, 2026
Douglas Stuart’s “John of John” may be his most accessible and compelling novel yet. However, don’t expect a fairy tale ending. By the time I finished reading it, my emotions mirrored the weather of this small island, which serves as the backdrop for the characters’ lives.
The story revolves around the titular Johns—father John and his son, John, who goes by Cal—who reunite after Cal returns from the city without a job and is anxious about his grandmother’s health, Ella, who also resides with them. The book also features well-developed side characters like Innes, Isla, and Doll, each deserving of their own stories, although Stuart handles them exceptionally well.
While there are moments of joy, such as Ella’s affectionate relationship with her grandson and her unwavering support for him, the characters face numerous challenges and setbacks throughout the novel. This is not surprising given the themes of homosexuality, masculinity, and identity explored in the book, set against the backdrop of religion.
Similar to the island they inhabit, their story and lives are cyclical, and I hoped that eventually, one or more characters would break free from this pattern. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of the book.
The story revolves around the titular Johns—father John and his son, John, who goes by Cal—who reunite after Cal returns from the city without a job and is anxious about his grandmother’s health, Ella, who also resides with them. The book also features well-developed side characters like Innes, Isla, and Doll, each deserving of their own stories, although Stuart handles them exceptionally well.
While there are moments of joy, such as Ella’s affectionate relationship with her grandson and her unwavering support for him, the characters face numerous challenges and setbacks throughout the novel. This is not surprising given the themes of homosexuality, masculinity, and identity explored in the book, set against the backdrop of religion.
Similar to the island they inhabit, their story and lives are cyclical, and I hoped that eventually, one or more characters would break free from this pattern. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of the book.
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December 11, 2025My favourite tearjerker is back! This is how you write a queer melodrama - no misery porn, no breaking at the highest notes, no sappiness. The added bonus is my growing obsession with everything Scottish, especially the climate. Queerness, melodrama, sea, and rain - I’m as happy as a proverbial clam. More please!
March 25, 2026
EDIT: I've just finished this for the second time in 5 months and it's even more beautiful the second time around. I ripped through it the first read, and really took my time for the second. I loved it then and I love it more now.
I absolutely loved both Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, so I approached this book with intense excitement and just a touch of worry. What if it wasn't as good? Could an author really knock out 3 bangers in a row? Yes, if the author is Douglas Stuart.
I do say this with love, and anyone who has read the first two knows they are somewhat similar in their themes, part of me also wondered if John of John would be as similar to Shuggie and Mungo as they are to each other - but it isn't. There is humor in this, which I don't remember from the other two. Stuart's writing has gotten even better. John of John also deals with some tough subjects, and is absolutely just as emotional, but not as absolutely gut wrenchingly devastating (I also say this with love, because all I want is to weep - Shuggie and Mungo are perfect books for me). There are so so many beautiful lines. I'll share a few below. They aren't necessarily spoilers, but don't read if you'd rather go in completely blind.
I also absolutely loved how much Gaelic was in the book. I have been learning Gaelic for a year, and I loved recognizing many of the words and phrases, and learning new ones. I've been to several of the places mentioned and I loved being able to picture these characters there.
10/10
"if he didn't stand his ground then John would scrape at him like the tide until Cal became a shoreline he no longer recognised"
"you make me feel so lonely.
I'm right here."
"I have been nothing but a dog at your side for years now.... How ashamed I would be if anyone knew what I had settled for"
"I have let sin into the house. As though sin were black flies and I'm a window he left open"
There is also a scene early on in the book that I found just so beautiful, I had several people read the paragraph. It's about matching yarn to the colors in nature that inspired the threads. Such a quiet, beautiful moment.
I loved this so so much.
Thank you Grove Press and Penguin for sending me the galley I started begging for months ago.
I absolutely loved both Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, so I approached this book with intense excitement and just a touch of worry. What if it wasn't as good? Could an author really knock out 3 bangers in a row? Yes, if the author is Douglas Stuart.
I do say this with love, and anyone who has read the first two knows they are somewhat similar in their themes, part of me also wondered if John of John would be as similar to Shuggie and Mungo as they are to each other - but it isn't. There is humor in this, which I don't remember from the other two. Stuart's writing has gotten even better. John of John also deals with some tough subjects, and is absolutely just as emotional, but not as absolutely gut wrenchingly devastating (I also say this with love, because all I want is to weep - Shuggie and Mungo are perfect books for me). There are so so many beautiful lines. I'll share a few below. They aren't necessarily spoilers, but don't read if you'd rather go in completely blind.
I also absolutely loved how much Gaelic was in the book. I have been learning Gaelic for a year, and I loved recognizing many of the words and phrases, and learning new ones. I've been to several of the places mentioned and I loved being able to picture these characters there.
10/10
"if he didn't stand his ground then John would scrape at him like the tide until Cal became a shoreline he no longer recognised"
"you make me feel so lonely.
I'm right here."
"I have been nothing but a dog at your side for years now.... How ashamed I would be if anyone knew what I had settled for"
"I have let sin into the house. As though sin were black flies and I'm a window he left open"
There is also a scene early on in the book that I found just so beautiful, I had several people read the paragraph. It's about matching yarn to the colors in nature that inspired the threads. Such a quiet, beautiful moment.
I loved this so so much.
Thank you Grove Press and Penguin for sending me the galley I started begging for months ago.
December 6, 2025
Men knotted by duty, desire, and the weight of a place that refuses to let them slip free
Blown away!
First off, thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital ARC.
My first Douglas Stuart novel and it floored me. This is a queer book in the truest sense – not as a badge, not as decoration but as something lived, feared, guarded and carried across generations. Stuart captures the weight of desire when it sits inside a community that would rather pretend it is not there. He shows how men learn to fold themselves into shapes that please others, how silence hardens into tradition and how love endures even when bruised, compromised or half buried.
The writing is sharp. The place presses in on the characters and the emotional tension never loosens. It is gentle in moments, harsh in others and always honest. The relationships feel cut from real lives: loyal, selfish, devout, tentative, hopeful. Stuart understands queer longing in close quarters, the steep cost of secrecy and the strange relief found in the smallest signs of connection.
This is a novel about men who cannot speak their truth and what happens when that refusal becomes inherited. Bleak, gripping and unexpectedly moving. I was not prepared for the depth of it.
Blown away!
First off, thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital ARC.
My first Douglas Stuart novel and it floored me. This is a queer book in the truest sense – not as a badge, not as decoration but as something lived, feared, guarded and carried across generations. Stuart captures the weight of desire when it sits inside a community that would rather pretend it is not there. He shows how men learn to fold themselves into shapes that please others, how silence hardens into tradition and how love endures even when bruised, compromised or half buried.
The writing is sharp. The place presses in on the characters and the emotional tension never loosens. It is gentle in moments, harsh in others and always honest. The relationships feel cut from real lives: loyal, selfish, devout, tentative, hopeful. Stuart understands queer longing in close quarters, the steep cost of secrecy and the strange relief found in the smallest signs of connection.
This is a novel about men who cannot speak their truth and what happens when that refusal becomes inherited. Bleak, gripping and unexpectedly moving. I was not prepared for the depth of it.
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