Books

From a fraught father-son relationship to a time-travelling tradwife, here’s a line-up of page-turners worth staying home for.

- Crystal Matthews

John of John

by Douglas Stuart

From Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart comes an achingly beautiful novel about a fraught father-son relationship. In a closeknit, fiercely religious community, the tension between a father's expectations and his son's dreams soon becomes a recipe for conflict.

After finishing his art course in Glasgow, Cal returns home to the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. His return is partly at the behest of his father, John, who needs help with Cal's ailing grandmother. Tensions arise right away as John takes exception to Cal's long hair, escalating into endless misunderstandings and long bouts of silence as the two navigate their way around each other.

Despite this, there is an underlying knowledge of the love between them. Stuart captures the complexity of family relationships with honesty and compassion, showing how difficult it can be for people to express their feelings, even to those they care about most. The Isle of Harris is beautifully described, as is the daily routine of the islanders, most of whom are sheep farmers and Harris tweed weavers. The ruggedness of the landscape mirrors the emotional lives of the characters, and Stuart has a remarkable ability to make his characters feel deeply human despite their flaws. Although the novel deals with themes of identity, faith and repression, it never feels hopeless.

- Kerry Nash

Yesteryear

by Caro