# John of John by Douglas Stuart ## Metadata - **Author:** Douglas Stuart - **Published:** 5 May 2026, Grove Press (US) - **Length:** about 400 pages - **Setting:** Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, late 1990s - **Recognition:** shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize (announced September 2026) and an Oprah's Book Club pick; Orwell Prize for Political Fiction finalist. Stuart's earlier novels are *Shuggie Bain* and *Young Mungo*. ([Pan Macmillan](https://www.panmacmillan.com/news/douglas-stuart-s-john-of-john-shortlisted-for-the-2026-booker-prize), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_John)) ## Plot Cal (John-Calum) Macleod, 22, comes home to his family's croft on Harris after four years at art college in Edinburgh. His father John, a strict Free Presbyterian who holds office in the church, has summoned him because of Cal's grandmother Ella's illness. John disapproves of his son's modern look and secular outlook. Cal is gay and keeps it hidden; John carries his own secret and a marriage that has already broken up. Family secrets surface as the two men share a house, with Ella exerting a strong hand in the household and Harris tweed weaving running through the story as a symbol of community and hidden flaws. The title comes from the island way of answering "Who do you belong to?" by naming your father. *Details here come from the reviews below, which differ slightly on specifics. Sources:* [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_John), [Resident Judge](https://residentjudge.com/2026/08/19/john-of-john-by-douglas-stuart/), [Bookreporter](https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/john-of-john), [Good Reading](https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/fiction/john-of-john-by-douglas-stuart/). **Spoiler:** the Resident Judge reviewer says John has a long hidden relationship with a neighbor, Innes MacInnes, that broke his marriage once it was discovered, and that the ending is tidy: Cal goes back to university, Isla (a friend who returns pregnant) takes over the cottage, and John and Innes finally live their own lives. ## Reviews **Mostly positive** - **Trade press:** starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Shelf Awareness. Publishers Weekly calls the characters "deeply humane." ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_John), which collects these) - **The New York Times**, as summarized on Wikipedia: turns coming-of-age tropes into something stranger and more original. - **Resident Judge:** 8/10. The writer expects a Booker shortlisting but not a win, since the book feels too close to Stuart's debut. Landscape description is the strongest element; the ending is "too neat," as if Stuart can't leave characters in real trouble. - **Good Reading Magazine:** "slow book with consistent flashes of brilliance," 4/5. Straightforward plot, measured pacing; Harris tweed as a symbol of hidden imperfections and community ties. - **Bookreporter:** well worth reading. Tragic and comic in a haunting setting; some readers may need patience with Gaelic terms and context such as blackhouses. **Mixed** - **Queer Book Club:** 3/5. Beautifully written but demanding. Cal and John mirror each other as two closeted gay men, and the book is about silence inherited within families. Pacing is the weak point: "not every quiet passage earns its quietness." Ella is the highlight, sharp, comic, and morally grounding. ([Read](https://queerbookclub.org/reviews/john-of-john-douglas-stuart/)) - **The Wall Street Journal** and **The Spectator**, as summarized on Wikipedia: the WSJ finds the protagonists too immature to invest in; the Spectator doubts John's psychological credibility given his Calvinist faith. **Takeaway:** widely regarded as Stuart's strongest or most accomplished novel, with praise for prose, setting, and Ella, and recurring complaints about slow pacing and a neat ending. ## Further reading - [Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235260861-john-of-john) - [The Booker Prizes shortlist announcement](https://thebookerprizes.com/media-centre/press-releases/shocking-understated-discomfiting-hilarious-shortlist-for-booker-prize) - [Rice Thresher Booker reviews](https://www.ricethresher.org/article/booker-prize-reviews-douglas-stuart-returns-to-shortlist-with-john-of-john-20260930) (not read; blocked automated access) ## My notes