2026 Booker Longlist - John of John > Likes and Comments

John of John by Douglas Stuart (Picador)

This now seems like the "conservative" choice somehow. I am interested to see how the novel will do next to these other, rather more weird contenders. I did enjoy it, but it is very traditional story telling. Maybe that will make the Stuart even more important: in light of a list that will maybe not be for every reader, it can serve as a sort of literary save haven. :)

(And yes, there is still the Strout - maybe with a similar role to play?)

I coincidentally started the book this afternoon (it’s almost midnight here). Yes so far very conventional. I am not a huge fan of the author but a lot of people whose taste I rate are, so it deserves its place. A double win though would be a step too far - he’s not that good.

I enjoyed this one, and in spots it really got under the skin. But I was also frustrated with the number of things brought up in the narrative that seemed to go nowhere or was underdeveloped. For example, I really expected more from the broken walkman incident, and from Cal's attachment to music in general. And Cal's sexuality, which one would think is central to the narrative, isn't that well explored compared to his father's. So it felt very uneven to me, with the narrative seeming to just throttle on at its high emotional frequency without a clear direction until it eventually peters out.

That may work for some readers (and clearly with this book, it does), but I tend to prefer a more deliberate execution from a work of literary fiction. I give it 3 1/2 stars (rounded up to 4 for GR's star system). It's a good read despite what I see as flaws, but not something I'd likely reread down the line. Even though I picked this on my prediction list, I question its overall quality as a work of literature. I don't think it ought to make the shortlist, but every time I say that about a longlisted book, that book ends up making the cut. We shall see.

I eventually grew to love this book over the course of reading it, but it didn’t start out that way for me. This is a very slow-paced book, and I kept waiting for something more dramatic to happen. Eventually, I settled into the rhythm of the island and stopped needing it to move faster. By the end, I loved the sense of stillness I got while reading this book.

I felt completely absorbed in the setting as well. The island isn’t just a backdrop, it shapes everything, including the relationships, the constraints, and even the sense of time. Overall, this was a very satisfying reading experience for me, but that was driven by tone and mood more than anything. I think CJ raises some good points about the plot development (and its flaws).

CJ wrote: "But I was also frustrated with the number of things brought up in the narrative that seemed to go nowhere or was underdeveloped. "

I am kind of disappointed in seeing this on the longlist. Like already mentioned, it is very conventional, and as you mention, CJ, it seems like Stuart wants to cover too much and not giving enough room for the things he present. Why start the whole wool weaving-thing when it is just a side track? And Cal's personality seems to be very childlike and very middle aged ("grown up") at the same time, I am not seeing the development, just a cartoon figure.

And too long. Not really sure what Stuart wanted with this book?

Oh well, I guess a serious book about the Hebrides was needed. Or what do you say, England?

Well speaking for England (not that I can) I have no interest in Scotland other than enjoying their appalling football team.

But I thought this was really good - and tend to disagree with these comments … the weaving thing and Cal and his father’s knowledge of colour for example is fundamental to the story and (pun intended) woven throughout.

For me a long list without this would have completely lost credibility - and it’s inclusion will only draw more readers to the list (see my comments on the Strout thread)

I, too, loved all the detail about the weaving. So many novels don’t touch on work at all. It’s as if all the characters are wealthy and never have to worry about work or money. This book gets into the details, including the historical foundation of the weaving tradition. Even the rules are discussed (only one loom per family, etc). For me, that aspect of the novel was one of the best parts.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "For me a long list without this would have completely lost credibility."

This book brought home to me why Stuart has been so appreciated. have been slow to join the fan club. Shuggie was too bleak for me, but this one is much more balanced. I am so glad to see it on the list - well deserved IMO.

Ann wrote: "CJ wrote: "But I was also frustrated with the number of things brought up in the narrative that seemed to go nowhere or was underdeveloped. "

I am kind of disappointed in seeing this on the longli..."

Couldn’t have said it better

I may try this again if it shortlists.

I am very glad to see John of John on the longlist, as it is my favorite of his three novels, and I thought it was very accomplished. At first I thought it was going to be too much like Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, but the more I read, the more I felt that it was a real step up in terms of writing skill and maturity overall. And yes, I thought the weaving and the colors, as well as the atmospheric setting, added real richness to the story.

The more I read about the books on this year's longlist, the more John of John feels like an outlier, instead a straight up obvious pick.

This is the only one from the list that I've read so far, and I feel certain I didn't experience it the way I was meant to. I felt that it wanted - demanded - that I sympathize with John, and I just don't. It's not that the book left me cold, in fact it's the opposite - it made me feel quite strongly, but I felt angry and disgusted with John as a husband, father, lover, son-in-law, religious man.

Maybe it deserves more of my appreciation precisely because it did evoke such strong feelings. But I felt like it was asking me for a kind of emotional engagement that it made impossible.

This book keeps making me think of Flesh. Yet I felt sympathy for Istan, but not for John.

For me, Cal was a character of very little substance. This was John's story, and John made me very angry.

That's so interesting Rose. It never for one minute occurred to me to sympathize with John, and I never once did. Nor did I read it as a book that was expecting that. In fact, to me one of the ways that Cal let me down was in not being stronger in standing up to his father. I tested Cal's growth and maturity in how he managed that, and mostly I found it lacking. There were many other characters to sympathize with in that novel, but not John.

Thanks, Cindy. It's fascinating how we can experience characters so differently - what we bring to the story, no doubt. John definitely dominated the story for me.

I did not like John much. As you say Rose, he was not a good father or husband or son-in-law or lover or church goer. He was a bully. And yes, Cindy, Cal was weak, although he did mature a little bit. My favorite character was Cal's grandmother. I loved how she was able to manipulate John into thinking she was ill and losing it mentally.

I’m sure there are many other interviews but I found this one a nice summary of the autofictional aspects of the novel in Cal’s education, as well as what Stuart was trying to achieve.

https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/books...

I think it answers one issue I had with the book. Here all the “confirmed bachelors” seem to be secretly gay, but I think Stuart is reacting to the prevailing assumption in the community that none of them are (he’s told the story of the old woman he spoke to in various interviews).

Though it doesn’t entirely resolve the other. Stuart himself is an outsider and a tourist to the islands but feels like one of those who thinks he is an authentic one unlike all the other visitors.

Yes I have seen other similar interviews - that conceit of Stuart over correcting what he sees as a prejudice is a good way to sum it up

There is also something near around Stuart tracing his love of textiles back in a different way to his own upbringing and the immersive research he did

On the grandmother thing - it’s the way her deceit draws on Cal and John’s obsession over colour that is the kind of detail that makes me just take my hat off to Stuart’s deft weaving of the plot.

Hugh - wondering if this novel should have multiple threads set up?

I didn't like Shuggie Bain (too grim and depressing a read, at a time when I needed something more uplifting) but I really enjoyed John of John.
I have some Scottish family so some of the descriptions of the people and landscapes really resonated.
I didn't like many of the characters, but for me that was the point - seeing how these individuals had to shape and adapt themselves to carefully navigate a small community and to survive there. I found it an interesting reminder of how societal and religious constraints were still in place relatively recently, especially in smaller communities.
I loved the colour and textile references, and I thought Ella was beautifully drawn - a very believable, no nonsense Scottish granny!

Finished this now

Clearly an extremely talented writer. Also just not for me.

Most telling is I went to write my review and as anyone who has read mine will know, and as a publisher once said to me, “your reviews aren’t reviews, they are a collection of quotes”. Except when I forwarded my Kindle highlights to my email I realised I hadn’t highlighted a single passage.

But I do agree this was a “must” for a balanced longlist and I suspect the shortlist as well.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "Hugh - wondering if this novel should have multiple threads set up?"

I can only see this one

Hugh - I think perhaps it might have been a weaving pun?
Although technically of course it should be ‘yarns’ not ‘threads’ … :)

Yes it is a typical GY pun. Some of us have had to put up with them for almost 60 years :-)

Sending thoughts and prayers, Paul…

I distinctly remember his first words to me pre birth were “hey …. we’re womb mates”, I fled outside only to be traumatised when he followed me 15 mins later.

Di wrote: "Hugh - I think perhaps it might have been a weaving pun?
Although technically of course it should be ‘yarns’ not ‘threads’ … :)"

Not to get even more pedantic, but no.

Yarn is usually used as a collective noun, a piece of yarn is usually referred to as a strand of yarn in knitting or crocheting, and in weaving, they are indeed called threads.

From instructions on setting up - aka threading or warping - a loom:

Threading Heddles and Sleying the Reed

Use a heddle hook to pull each individual warp thread through the eye of its designated heddle following your pattern draft. Pass the threads through the slots or dents of the reed to set your final fabric density. Tie the front groups of warp threads securely onto the front apron rod and adjust the tension.

Erin wrote: "Di wrote: "Hugh - I think perhaps it might have been a weaving pun?
Although technically of course it should be ‘yarns’ not ‘threads’ … :)"

Not to get even more pedantic, but no.

Yarn is usually ..."

Haha. I stand corrected and bow to your superior weaving knowledge! Although I had in mind different types of yarn, rather than individual strands.

All of which, of course, has now sent me back to John of John to see how Stuart used these...

p28: 'he picked a piece of stray lint from his sleeve; a gorse coloured thread from the cloth he had been weaving.'

p82: 'The shelves were full of hundreds of yarns, all the romantic colours of Scotland: bracken and grouse, gorse and heather, rain and moss, the chafed red of a drunkard’s face, and pure, bilious whitey.'

I loved all the use of colours!

Di wrote: "Haha. I stand corrected and bow to your superior weaving knowledge! Although I had in mind different types of yarn, rather than individual strands."

LOL, I used to work in a weaving shop.

And yes, the way Stuart uses the terms is spot-on. Yarns when talking about the collective (probably spools or cones of yarn) on the shelves, but thread when talking about individual strands.

That actually meshes with how we use the terms metaphorically - a yarn is a whole story, a thread is an individual bit that wanders off and starts its own idea (and why GY's pun worked!)

I didn't get on with Shuggie Bain (unpopular opinion - but it was just too bleak for me) and have been avoiding Douglas Stuart since then, but this fiber arts angle in JoJ actually has me intrigued.

Exactly. My pun was brilliant all along.

This thread is making me very happy today!

I struggled with this one but I did read it while going through a reading slump.
I think there was a lack of grit throughout the novel and found it too tame for me.
I fundamentally didn’t care about John and wanted the novel to focus on Cal.
I also found the ending rushed as if he was told that he had to end the book in 40 pages or it wouldn’t be published.

Oh, I actually liked that the story was not told to the very end. It would have been way too neat for me, or to tragic... the open-ish end elevated the novel for me and saved it from being too on the nose.

Not the newest trick in the book for sure, but effective.

I have been fascinated reading through the comments. I have become an enormous admirer of this author. I was deeply impressed by Shuggie Bain and feel that John of John is even better novel. I had it at the top of my list when we were all speculating about possible longlist titles. But, I do see that 1) a second Booker so relatively close to the first feels like a lot; and 2) yes, this is more of a traditional structure than some of the other more experimental contenders (although for me The Palm House actually feels more traditional in structure than this). I do not agree that Stuart has crossed over into the traditional, safe territory quite yet. I still see his work as quite innovative if not structurally experimental. All of that said, I just finished The Shadow of the Object and found it very exciting. I would be thrilled to see it move forward.

In what way innovative? He’s clearly a great writer but innovative isn’t a term I’d use.

Although the way he weaves in the colours here is distinctive.

In what way innovative? He’s clearly a great writer but innovative isn’t a term I’d use.."

Good question, Paul. Perhaps innovative is not the best term. I was mostly thinking about his subject matter. To me, these characters are rarely seen in fiction. In some ways, I think Stuart is grappling with societal ideas of masculinity even more effectively (to this reader) than last year's Booker winner.

Agreed. Though on this year’s list this seems to fit a common theme.

Anna wrote: "Oh, I actually liked that the story was not told to the very end. It would have been way too neat for me, or to tragic... the open-ish end elevated the novel for me and saved it from being too on t..."

I agree. The ending Stuart wrote left me able to think about the future of those characters in a way that was fairly positive, something that improved the reading experience for me and was less available with his earlier novels.

I felt John of John was quite a plodding read and at least one hundred pages too long.

The John character irritated me throughout - he has not a single redeeming quality - but particularly so at the conclusion.

I may very well be in the minority here, but I feel that Young Mungo is by far the best of Douglas Stuart's three novels thus far.

Irish75 wrote: "I felt John of John was quite a plodding read and at least one hundred pages too long.

The John character irritated me throughout - he has not a single redeeming quality - but particularly so at ..."

Similar sentiments. Definitely for me the weakest of his 3 novels. I'd agree Young Mungo is probably stronger than Shuggie Bain but much too similar for me so suffered from reading it afterwards.

I found this engrossing and moving, if occasionally a bit frustrating. It had the effect of really holding me while I was reading it, to the point that I tuned out what was going on around me. I appreciate when a book can do that.

I agree with several folks on this and other threads who noted that it feels like Stuart's most mature book (and writing) yet. I haven't disliked any of his books but when I look back on Shuggie Bain and parts of Young Mungo, I can't help but feel that the trauma in those books is exploited for easy emotional impact. I prefer the more hard earned sentimental moments of this one.

Unfortunately, I found the plot machinations of the final 30 or so pages a bit hard to swallow. I can't remember if spoiler tags are necessary but since I'm talking about the VERY end of a 400 page book, I will use them in case...

(view spoiler)[I particularly did not like/understand the part where John turns the tables on Ella with the tenancy. It felt like a contrivance to set up what was, to me, an overly cinematic ending with John chasing after Innes when he leaves. But I was relieved that Stuart didn't withhold having Cal learn the truth. I think that may have made me riot. (hide spoiler)]

I liked this one better than Shuggie Bain, I didn't read Young Mungo as Shuggie was just too unrelentingly bleak for me. This was bleak too but had more nuances in it and a (slightly) happier ending, although I did want to bang a lot of people's heads together and say just have a conversation will you? I liked the setting of this one, and the characters felt like having some redeeming features! I can't remember much about Shuggie Bain but think this definitely feels like a more rounded, maybe thus more mature, novel. I am not sure I can say I enjoyed it, but I definitely liked it more than Shuggie Bain.

Nicholas wrote: "I found this engrossing and moving, if occasionally a bit frustrating. It had the effect of really holding me while I was reading it, to the point that I tuned out what was going on around me. I ap..."

I agree with your thoughts on the ending. I already wasn't enjoying it, but that really lost me. It also weakened Ella's whole character arc.

I think Ella is the malign and manipulative influence at the heart of the family's difficult relationships, so I rather liked the ending.

Must admit I am living the language in this on a re- read.

Very well written. I reread several paragraphs out loud to myself so I could hear the language. I was very claustrophobic at the beginning, uncomfortably so which was appropriate to the situation the main character was facing, returning to the island. But I found the remainder of the book quite maudlin. Pieces fit together too perfectly, and the ending I found a total cop-out. I up-listed it because of the language, but I did not like this book at all.

Very similar reaction to this one

Finished this yesterday and now have it top of my list. This might have something to do with having had a three week holiday on Lewis (staying near Tolsta which is just north of Stornoway) with my parents in my early 20s on which we visited Harris several times, and for me Stuart really captures the unique atmosphere of the place, and the nuances of living within a harsh and judgmental religious framework (driving around rural Lewis on a Sunday you could almost sense the curtains twitching with disapproval). I came to the conclusion that the hamlet of Falabay is entirely fictional, but that it embodies elements of several real places (one of which is Rhenigidale, whose postman's path is real and was the only land route to get there before a road was built in the 80s).

Yes, John is a very difficult character to sympathise with, and I did find Ella much easier to relate to (scheming and all), but all of them are shaped by the claustrophobic and judgmental nature if the community.

I agree that a second Booker win this early in Stuart's writing career might seem excessive, and also that it is quite conventionally structured, but it has timeless qualities that would make it a worthy winner.