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As is real life, each character responds to their past and their circumstances in different ways, some choosing the path of righteousness, while others opt for the more seductive path of power and promised riches. And some, like one of my favorite characters, Football Coach and more (No Spoilers!) Mike Trager, take a path that is decidedly more vague. They often skirt the line, as so many of us do, between what they know is right, and what they are obligated to do by duty, loyalty, or career. These characters press on, influenced by their past and driven by their present, ever evolving as truth is slowly revealed. Arnott seamlessly weaves together his favorite themes of countercultural political idealism, homosex, and crime with the career of a Gary Glitter-like glam rock star. I had no idea that my favorite theologian, R.C.
The next book by him that I read was was a total disappointment, and this was no better - a ridiculous premise and flat, one-dimensional characters. If you read anything by Jake Arnott, make it The Long Firm. Two-and-a-half stars on the literary merits, rounded up because Sproul's life work and more than a little autobiography runs through the pages. The prose often purples, the vocabulary frequently wears a tie to Wal-Mart, the plot points are too convenient, but the heartbeat of everything is a man whose life is changed by the gospel. When a theologian writes a novel that unashamedly moralizes and preaches, the fact that it isn't bad is a triumph. No community reviews have been submitted for this work.
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This book was not my typical read but I was pleasantly surprised and found myself enthralled from the beginning. Arnott chronicles this age far too well for his years, for something he witnessed only through the eyes of a school boy. I was unfamiliar with him before, but he is now on my radar for the future. Though, I would be far more interested in a less tragic novel, but as he makes succinctly clear, this was a tragic time and those who lived there could do nothing less than inherit the tragedy. Amazingly, Nina, the only fleshed out female character, does indeed seem to conspire to finally fall into herself through sex, only she instantly sublimates her pleasure for a cause, a cause she does not even wholly support.
“The Long Firm” was excellent but it’s been steadily downhill since then. It's a stylish, eloquent and actually rather sweet natured book, a snapshot of a moment in time that manages to be both symbolic and considerably more than that. A very easy read and a very rewarding one - highly recommended. Disappointing ending, but the characterisation carries the books shortcomings.
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But the narrative deals with a gay couple involved in radical politics as well as a woman who is in that world as well as getting involved with a glam-struck rent boy, who is basically supported by the Gary Glitter character. London, 1972, and a charismatic anarchist called O'Connell dies of an overdose, leaving his artist boyfriend, Pearson, and fellow activist Nina in shock. It also leaves a spar room in their squat, so Pearson moves in Sweet Thing, a streetwise yet vulnerable young boy he initially picks up but then tries to help. Before I get into this review, I have a few things to mention.
Love it or not, this is not a story to miss in your reading library. This sets Pearson off on a revenge plot, while Nina and Sweet Thing try to define themselves as man and woman, gay or straight or both....or possibly just human. He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and wrote a commentary on that document.
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You join Johnny and find out he is no ordinary kid. He has strong, powerful, superhero like abilities that help him along the way. Of these evolving characters, none is more fascinating than the lead, John Lazarus himself. Dark, brooding, but with a high sense of loyalty and justice, Johnny’s journey is one of self-discovery. Breeden allows the revelations of Johnny’s past, and hopefully his coming to terms with them, to arrive at a similar pace to his discoveries of more and more of his preternatural abilities. What results is a reluctant, sometimes angry, but maturing hero that you simply have to cheer for.
When you buy books using these links the Internet Archive may earn a small commission. Luckbane, the first title in the Øtherworld series, was published on September 13 of '13. Clean book sans profanity and questionable humor. Heavy subject matter is handled well without crossing any lines. Important issues such as racism are discussed in an open and honest way. After his parents perished in a house fire, Johnny vowed never to return to his hometown, to never again see the boarded up remains of his fire-gutted family home.
Why Johnny Can't Come Home
Then the double whammy of Sweet Thing starting a relationship with Pearson's female -and supposedly- lesbian housemate, Nina, really knocks him. Dr. Sproul’s radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. Dr. Sproul produced hundreds of lecture series and recorded numerous video series on subjects such as the history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, and Christian living. To ask other readers questions aboutJohnny Come Home,please sign up. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
As always, Arnott's dialogue and characterisation are convincing but my overall feeling was thank god for a decade gone by. The plot itself was pretty tread bare and not in anyway engrossing. But they are also fully formed characters in their own right, who without exception Arnott manages to imbue with empathy and complexity. I found myself thoroughly drawn into their world, living their highs and lows with them, as they hurtle towards an uncertain and exciting climax. Except nothing goes according to plan for Pearson. Sweet Thing is already busy being at the beckoned call of an aging rock star, Johnny Chrome, to be bothered with Pearson.
Not bad, and it seems unfair to hold Arnott to the insuperable standard of "The Long Firm". This is a pretty good crime story, not a great one. Try "The Long Firm" first, a novel you won't soon forget. I wish I had read this before The Long Firm, because then I wouldn't have been distracted by noticing similar shapes to the relationships and similarities in characters, but if anything I think I enjoyed this one more. As with that novel, and He Kills Coppers, the author takes a real story and turns the events into fiction. Sometimes people only have one book in them, and sadly that appears to be the case with Jake Arnott.
It is the other characters, the ones that actually breathe, that while mostly actualized, seem to exist in a stasis of looking for any kind of release that makes up this novel. And naturally, the characters are all at odds with how to exactly achieve that in damn near every avenue of their lives. This is a compelling portrait of six people flailing about trying to make sense of the urgency of the early 70s, which has woken up to a type of nihilism that seemed repressed by the naivety and utopian dreams of the 60s. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Johnny Come Home by Jake Arnott. I learned a lot about Sproul's early years in this autobiography, from his two conversions to stories he often referred to in many of his sermons. I could not put the book down easily, and thus lost much sleep by staying up late and reading long past my bedtime.
First off, I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review. Second, I'm totally NOT the intended audience for this book. This book was,at times, difficult to read the content.
When he was included in a list of the fifty most influential gay men in Britain in 2001, it was declared that he was widely regarded as one of Britain's most promising novelists. Good story about youth culture in the 1970s - rock & roll, protestors and squats. What it doesn't tell you is that there are some quite graphic gay sex scenes - be prepared! Jake Arnott lays on the results of his research a bit heavily, and his characters can seem a bit crudely drawn at first, but I gradually got drawn into the story right through to the thrilling climax.
The main character is a complex and evolving, sort of dark hero that evokes a sense of sympathy and identification in the reader. New characters are introduced in a way that keeps the story moving, without being confusing. This was a skillfully written story, revealing just enough to keep you interested. It would have been five stars, but the ending was weak and the POVs shifted inconsistently without warning.
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