- Hardcover: 144 pages
- Publisher: Chatto & Windus; Collected ed edition (18 Nov 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0701161825
- ISBN-13: 978-0701161828
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,928,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Johnno is a typical Australian who refuses to be typical. Seen through the eyes of the narrator, he is a figure of legendary proportions. His disorderly presence can disturb the staleness of gothic Brisbane, or destroy the tranquillity of a Greek landscape. But what is the truth about Johnno?
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Johnno is basically an autobiographical story of growing up in Brisbane in the 1940s and 1950s and particularly the author's relationship with his friend Edward "Johnno" Johnson. In a later afterword, Malouf explains that the friend, David Milliner, was real but some events in the novel were not. He also adds, for clarification, that Johnno is not a gay novel. Having said that, the story of close male friendship, mutual admiration and following one another around the world does have a distinct air of homo-eroticism. Perhaps in the same vein as Withnail and I given Johnno's unstoppable journey towards self-destruction.
One of the strengths of the novel, apparently, is that it strikes a chord with those who knew Brisbane of that era. As someone who doesn't, though, it can feel somewhat isolating and somewhat pedestrian. The rooting in a real life story just isn't quite big enough. The real Johnno was probably a larger than life character but this sense never came across. I guess we're so used to reading about the extraordinary exploits of fictional characters and a real character just pales by comparison. I did sense Malouf's love (and loss) but much of that was conveyed by the powerful afterword rather than the original text.
The redeeming element of the novel, for me, was the crazy journey to Europe, seeing the confident Johnno reduced to begging. This was the first time we saw that there was reciprocity in the relationship. It wasn't just the author hero-worshipping Johnno, Johnno in turn looked up to the author, seeking approval and affirmation - but still with braggadocio. Had the relationship ever become the gay novel that Malouf said he hadn't wanted to write then Johnno would have worn the trousers but the author would have held the purse strings.
I didn't hate the book, but it did drag a bit. Fortunately the aftertaste is better than the actual eating.
One of the strengths of the novel, apparently, is that it strikes a chord with those who knew Brisbane of that era. As someone who doesn't, though, it can feel somewhat isolating and somewhat pedestrian. The rooting in a real life story just isn't quite big enough. The real Johnno was probably a larger than life character but this sense never came across. I guess we're so used to reading about the extraordinary exploits of fictional characters and a real character just pales by comparison. I did sense Malouf's love (and loss) but much of that was conveyed by the powerful afterword rather than the original text.
The redeeming element of the novel, for me, was the crazy journey to Europe, seeing the confident Johnno reduced to begging. This was the first time we saw that there was reciprocity in the relationship. It wasn't just the author hero-worshipping Johnno, Johnno in turn looked up to the author, seeking approval and affirmation - but still with braggadocio. Had the relationship ever become the gay novel that Malouf said he hadn't wanted to write then Johnno would have worn the trousers but the author would have held the purse strings.
I didn't hate the book, but it did drag a bit. Fortunately the aftertaste is better than the actual eating.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful
12 Jun 2002
Format:Paperback
In less than two-hundred pages, Malouf manages to capture the coming-of-age angst of the entire Australian post-war generation. Only Malouf could be telling the story of two youths and, virtually on the same page, effortlessly synthesize the realities of Australian experience with European philosophical themes, and connect them both to the whole tangled mess of our national identity. And yet for all its efficiency and high intent, 'Johnno' still reads like an affectionate and deeply-felt memoir, never shying away from the emotional, physical and sexual confusion of youth, nor from the contradictions inherent in what it means to be an 'Australian man'. But that's the genius of Malouf, and it's something we find him doing again and again: telling an apparently simple story about ordinary people, yet with this richly poetic, philosophical undercurrent which can suddenly reach up and pull you under. For Australian readers, this is a particularly important skill. Not only does Malouf deal with significant human issues, but he brings them home. He takes them out of the realm of abstract philosophy and makes them implicit in this place. This makes his work at once deeply personal and resolutely public in the best sense: he has something to share with all of us, something important, and he shares it beautifully.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Slow Moving, but Worth It
21 May 2002
Format:Paperback
It took me a while to get through Johnno, despite its less than 200 pages, but I must say I thoroughly enjoyed each page. The slowness was more a function of my available time than of the novel's quality. Johnno is a little gem, a wonderful chronicling of a young man's coming of age, and his relationship with Johnno, a slightly troubled young man, in Brisbane right after World War II. David Malouf is a wonderful writer. Each sentence is a work of art--but nothing is too precious, too anything. It's an enjoyable book that I highly recommend.
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Bloody good
6 Mar 2000
Format:Paperback
I read this book in 1997, having avoided studying it a dozen years earlier in school. Since leaving school I had inexplicably held out on reading what is regarded as the best work of fiction set in and about my home town of Brisbane. Once I started reading I could not stop. In amongst the beautiful prose and vivid description lies Johnno, a character we all know, love, loathe, and long for.
An excellent book. As it turns out I'm glad I held out until I was old enough to really appreciate David Malouf's style, which is rich, evocative and so very (tempted to say 'real', but this is fiction) believable.
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