Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution

by Jerome Charyn

Book Overview

Johnny One-Eye is bringing about the rediscovery of one of the most "singular and remarkable careers] in American literature" (Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World). In this picaresque tour de force that reanimates Revolutionary Manhattan through the story of double agent John Stocking, the bastard son of a whorehouse madam and possibly George Washington, Jerome Charyn has given us one of the most memorable historical novels in years. As...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393064972
• ISBN13: 9780393064971
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.7" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A Rare Gem

In Johnny One-Eye, the tale of a wordy sharp-tongued picaresque who journeys his way through the American Revolution using his wit to save him from danger, readers will find an engrossing tale with vibrant characters. Charyn uses rich language to describe each of his characters, without overloading the reader with unnecessary detail. The relationship between Johnny and Clara is especially striking because of its subtle progression and the human interactions between these two different people. Despite what other reviewers have said about not caring for the characters, I found that I was very much involved in their plights and felt myself immersed in their stories. Perhaps this novel's only pratfall is its winding monster of a plot. While interesting, it can sometimes become confusing and hard to follow. It seems to abruptly change course at times, without much warning, and lose the reader as it does. This is not a very huge problem for the book, however, as it always seems to come back to understandable ground in the end. Johnny One-Eye is worth every penny, and I am very glad I decided to purchase it. It is perhaps one of my new favorite books, and its ambiguous hero will leave his mark on the reader's mind just as he did on other characters in the book.

If it wasn't like this, it should have been.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable and irreverent romp up and down the length of wartime Manhattan. The author took upon himself a daunting task--bringing many of our founding fathers, including George Washington, down to a human level, warts and all. He pulls it off brilliantly, and does it with a one-eyed double spy who serves as our traveling point of view, tunneled as it is. This could easily have gone very wrong. All the more amazing and satisfying that flies like the Star-Spangled Banner.

Rollicking Revolution

Johnny One-Eye is the first person narrative experience of one John Stocking, a young man experiencing the American Revolution first hand. His uncertain parentage creates a structure that leads the reader to many historical figures, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benedict Arnold, and so forth. Set mostly in Manhattan, there is no escaping the oddities of war and the human condition. I enjoyed this book immensely. Like the American Revolution, Johnny One-Eye experiences all the ups and downs of the spy's life as he dodges about trying to please both sides. Definitely worth your while.

Pleasant fiction, from a strictly non-fiction reader

When reading non-fiction works of Colonial American history, my usual response is something like, "Very interesting perspective on the history of the age, but gee. I'd still like to get a sense of what was it like to be LIVING in those times? What did things SMELL like? What was the 'real deal' like?" So, getting some answers to the 'real deal' question was part of my expectation of Johnny One-Eye...And the book delivers. Jerome Charyn leverages the "narrative elasticity" inherent in fiction to create an appreciable sensory experience of how, perhaps, things really were at that particular time and place in American History. It succeeds in crossing the fiction / non-fiction gap.

And the Humor?

I REALLY wanted to give this 5 stars but alias it gets only 4. I liked the book however I expected more humor than what there was. There are alot of characters in this book. I am glad he gave a list of them at the front of the book. It does help. What the heck was that game they kept playing anyway? Recommended for sure.