Introducing John of John

Introducing John of JohnIn the opening of Douglas Stuart’s 2020 debut Shuggie Bain, it’s 1992, and Shuggie, the 15 -year-old protagonist (who is pretending to be 16) is working at a supermarket in Glasgow, living alone, and hoping one day to be a hairdresser. Before the novel moves back to reflect on Shuggie’s childhood and to illustrate why he’s found himself in this situation, Stuart chronicles Shuggie’s daily deli routine and also his attempts to fill in for a coworker at her rotisserie stand:He prayed for strength. Why did no one want a whole chicken anymore? He would lift the carcass using long prongs, careful not to touch the birds with his gloved hands, and then he would dissect the parts neatly (skin intact) using catering scissors. He felt like a fool standing there against the broiler lights. His scalp was sweating under the hairnet and his hands were not quite strong enough to artfully snap the back of the chicken with the dull blades. He hunched slightly, the better to…