John of John

I was absolutely blown away by *Young Mungo*. I started reading it on a Friday, cancelled everything else, and finished it by Sunday. So I was incredibly excited for *John of John* — but unfortunately, I kept getting pulled out of the story. Every ten pages or so, I wanted to stop reading, until I finally did at page 100. The characters feel hollow, the story never really takes off, and I kept asking myself: where is the drama? And where has Stuart’s incredible storytelling talent gone? In *John of John*, one explanatory flashback seems to follow the next. Everything is spelled out: the characters, their motivations, and the meaning of scenes are constantly explained instead of being brought to life. The things the reader has already understood are simply explained again. That wasn’t the case in *Young Mungo*. Stuart trusted his readers to make connections and draw their own conclusions. So how did a book by the same author become such a disappointment? Was it rushed? Did he lose interest? I honestly don’t know. I can only hope the next novel will bring back the brilliance of *Young Mungo*.