John of John by Douglas Stuart tells the heartbreaking story of a young man’s return home and how the bonds of family life are torn by the weight of expectation. Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry home to the island of Harris. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal resumes his old life, caught between the two poles of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his Glaswegian grandmother Ella, who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for decades. As the seasons pass, everything is poised to change as the threads holding together the fragile community become increasingly entangled.
Find out more about this Booker Prize 2026-longlisted book:
thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/john-of-john
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