What readers think of John of John, plus links to write your own review.

With an honest eye and self-deprecatory point of view, Cal the lead character is a reluctant, unmotivated, son enroute to his island home. He'd been away at university, returning now jobless and gay to live with his domineering father and beloved aging maternal grandmother.

Enroute via ferry crossings he made a list of "things that he missed about home: the quiet, Doll Macdonald, the sea. Then he made a list of the things he dreaded: the quiet, Doll Macdonald, the sea." I'm certain there are many among us who relate to that double edged sword of emotions. And the closer he got..."he felt an oily resentment towards his father, a disgraceful resentment towards his grandmother's ageing body, but marbled through this ran a vein of shame, that he should be so selfish.... for those who had once cared for him." So, the stage is set and the reader may think they are in for a total downer, but his words can also paint accurate and humorous snippets like this, "They pulled their anoraks tight, their wind-scalded faces peering through elasticated peepholes." So, lovers of the written word, you will find many delights in this book. The atmosphere is so cohesive you never doubt where you are and never doubt the story could have happened anywhere else.

But the storyline is heavy with his guilty gayness and conflicted loyalties, economic and emotional struggles. Each character is a distinct thread in the tapestry of the town. but hardly an optimist among them. Grandmother's quirkiness the exception. There are stretches when I felt claustrophobic and bored by the stinted mindsets, excessive drinking, hopelessness, of the islanders - probably by design. But then the action picks up for the ending in which Cal shows strength in decision making and, in the end, orchestrates a marvelous tweak at the very last. I could just hug him!

I liked this book, but perhaps not as much as all of the 5 star rave reviews. I maybe would have liked it more if there had not been so much non-translated Scottish Gaelic (some was translated, some was not). I also was not swept away by the gay love story. It felt a bit contrived to me. I liked the back story of the Isle of Harris and the hand-weaving of cloth. All in all though the writing was good. I usually give 5 stars to books I think I would love to read again. Once on this one was enough for me.