Book Club: John of John
A novel by Douglas Stuart.
Published in 2026, John of John is the third novel from Douglas Stuart.
What is John of John about?
Set within a tight-knit Free Presbyterian community of farmers, weavers and fishers in the 1990s, the narrative begins with the return of 22-year-old Cal to the island of Harris.
Cal has been summoned home by his father, to help with his ailing grandmother and the struggling farm. But the tensions between faith, family, and sexuality threaten to tear the close-knit community apart at the seams.
What themes does the novel explore?
The constriction of faith and religion provide a key framework for this story.
The obligations of family shape many of the choices that these characters make. The relationships and dynamics between fathers and sons are tested and explored from a variety of perspectives.
Masculinity is a major factor in the way that these characters experience the world - the expectations and performance of masculinity.
This is a story that immerses the reader in weltschmerz - a world filled with characters who are painfully aware that the reality of their lives falls well short of their aspirations.
The parable of the Prodigal Son is clearly something that Stuart is toying with in the context of this story.
Wuthering Heights is story that gets referenced several times in the story of John of John. It's not exactly clear what parallels Stuart is drawing but there's probably something loosely there about flawed characters and the melodrama of unfulfilled love.
Why is this an important novel for gay men?
While the sexuality of the characters shapes the narrative, this isn't a coming-out or a coming-of-age novel. It's not event a queer-coming-home story, as Cal hasn't really established a sense of who he is beyond the island.
What Stuart gives us is a well-told story with complex characters - characters whose sexuality is part of their complexity but isn't what defines them.
These are flawed people doing their best to navigate their circumstances and their emotions, but generally messing everything up.
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