John of John Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Harris Tweed and our BookBrowse Review of John of John.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

These are original discussion questions written by BookBrowse.

1. What was your impression of Cal at the beginning of the novel? How did your opinion of him change as the story progressed? What influenced your opinion of him?
2. Cal meets a woman on the ferry as he's traveling back to the Island of Harris. He introduces himself, but she wants to know who he "belongs to." He replies, "I'm John of John of Iain of Ian the Breabadair [weaver]." How does this set the stage for the rest of the novel? What does it tell you about the island he's returning to?
3. Which aspects of life on the Island of Harris (e.g., the restrictions of the Free Presbyterians, sheep farming, tweed weaving) did you know about, and which surprised you? Did you learn anything new?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Grove Press. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.