Book Club: Let’s Talk About ‘John of John’
The Book Review

Book Club: Let’s Talk About ‘John of John’

B2Upper-intermediateAugust 1, 202655 min
  • Conversation
  • Arts & culture

Early in Douglas Stuart’s new novel, “John of John,” the Booker Prize-winning author describes a peculiar irony: “What skinned him was that the closer he got to home, the more lost he felt.” It’s a passing line, but it captures the tension at the heart of this magnificent book: Here is a story of two men, each profoundly isolated, trying to figure out how to exist in a small, claustrophobic world. The traveler heading home and dreading it is Cal, a young gay man who has recently graduated from college in Edinburgh and has been flo...

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0:30

I wish I had a gavel so I can gavel us in because, friends, Book Club is now in session. Hello and welcome to The Book Review from The New York Times. I'm MJ Franklin. I'm an editor here at The New York Times Book Review and the host of The Book Review Book Club. Today, I'm with...

0:52

Leah Greenblatt. I'm an editor on the Culture Desk and an alumnus of The Book Review. Welcome back. And also with... with Scott Heller. I'm an editor on the Book Review and alumnus of the Culture Desk, actually. Oh, my God. We're Freaky Friday.

1:06

The reunions, the reunions. Welcome back to the Book Review podcast. It's great to be here. This week, we have convened to talk about John of John by Douglas Stewart. Leah, you had a fun name for this book club.

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