Words and semicolons

At it's core, John of John is a story about how important it is to live for yourself. A community full of unhappy people focused on meeting the expectations of their families, their neighbors and their church is falling apart at the seams. The world around them moved on from this pathological faith in a god that prefers suffering over joy and fear over love, by rejecting this god or changing his image to a kinder, more forgiving one, yet they still cling to it even if it harms them, gripping the sharp broken pieces of this archaic system.

It is also a story about waiting. Waiting for the right time to be happy, hoping for a better tomorrow but doing the exact same thing day after day. Waiting for change instead of making it happen. The pace of this book overall is slow and at times a bit monotonous, but it helps immerse the reader in this simple isolated way of island living.

It was not as breathtaking and heartbreaking as the previous Stuart's book, Young Mungo, but it was also way gentler and at times peaceful. It also painted a beutiful picture of a place that deserves love, even if it offers less excitement and opportunities than "mainland". A place that could be full of joy if people chose to live, instead of being forced to stay fullfiling dreams of their parents and giving up on their own.

There were moments that made my social anxiety and second-hand embarrassment flare up a lot, but I survived, even if I had to skip a minute of two in the audiobook to keep going (read by Lorne MacFadyen).

A good book that hit surprisingly close to home for me, when I am neither Scottish nor religious / from a religious community.

Innes huffed, as if the question was absurd. As if he would never wish to bother the universe with his own wants.

Cal didn't rush in to disagree. He drunk his lagger in the waining daylight, and let Innes feel his way forward in his own time.

Eventually, after a little more Whiskey, Innes said

- I feel stuck.. and I don't know how to unstick myself.

Cal bumped his shoulder into Innes's.

- Are you sure you don't like being stuck? Isn't there a comfort in sticking? "