HCP Book Group: John of John by Doulas Stewart
From the Booker Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo comes a vivid, moving novel following a young man returning to his Hebridean island home, a portrait of a father’s expectations and a son’s desires. The Group will meet on Sunday, August 30th at a Center City home. Space is limited.
About the Book:
Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides to find that little has changed except for him. He returns to the windswept croft and the two pillars of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and lay preacher in the local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian whose steady warmth helped Cal weather the sudden departure of his mother.
Cal privately wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his son’s long hair, strange clothes, and seeming unwillingness to be Saved. But Cal isn't the only one in the croft house who is keeping secrets. As lambing season turns to shearing season, the threads holding together the community together become increasingly frayed, and nothing will remain as it was before.
John of John is a singular novel about duty, passion, and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that cements Douglas Stuart's reputation as one of our greatest novelists working today.
AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK - “Douglas Stuart brilliantly weaved a layered, compelling and yet so intimate a story of identity, what it means to belong, and the courage to claim your own truth.”—Oprah Winfrey
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2026 by
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- Los Angeles Times
- TIME
- Oprah Daily
- Vogue
“One of 2026's literary triumphs.”—Boston Globe
About the Author:
Douglas Stuart is a Scottish-American writer. He is the author of two novels, Young Mungo, and, Shuggie Bain. His debut novel, Shuggie Bain, won the 2020 Booker Prize. It was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. It won the Book of The Year at the British Book Awards and The Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he is a graduate of The Royal College of Art, and since 2000 he has lived and worked in New York City. Prior to being published, he worked for over twenty years as a fashion designer.
Host / Lead Organizer: Susan Robinson
Date: Sunday, August 30th at 3:00 pm.
Location: Address will be included in confirmation email.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
Limited to 8 people.