PositiveLos Angeles Review of BooksJohn of John is less concerned with the exposure of secrets than with living alongside known but unspoken truths ... Always in Falabay, words are swallowed back, questions dodged ... John’s smothered self-expression lies at the heart of the novel. He is a man so repressed that, even in private, his lover must propose physical intimacy indirectly, by requesting help with a household chore. John’s reticence stifles everyone around him, such that when characters finally do speak up, it can feel explosively cathartic ... By the novel’s close, it is unclear if John will ever be willing to take the risks needed to be happy.
