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John Woman  By  cover art

John Woman

By: Walter Mosley
Narrated by: Dion Graham
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Publisher's summary

A convention-defying novel by best-selling writer Walter Mosley, John Woman recounts the transformation of an unassuming boy named Cornelius Jones into John Woman, an unconventional history professor - while the legacy of a hideous crime lurks in the shadows.

At 12 years old, Cornelius, the son of an Italian American woman and an older black man from Mississippi named Herman, secretly takes over his father's job at a silent film theater in New York's East Village. Five years later, as Herman lives out his last days, he shares his wisdom with his son, explaining that the person who controls the narrative of history controls their own fate.

After his father dies and his mother disappears, Cornelius sets about reinventing himself - as Professor John Woman, a man who will spread Herman's teachings into the classrooms of his unorthodox Southwestern university and beyond.

But there are other individuals who are attempting to influence the narrative of John Woman, and they might know something about the facts of his hidden past.

Engaging with some of the most provocative ideas of recent intellectual history, John Woman is a compulsively listenable, deliciously unexpected novel about the way we tell stories and whether the stories we tell have the power to change the world.

©2018 Walter Mosley (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about John Woman

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Walter Mosley Delivers

As we have come to expect, Walter Mosley delivers another groundbreaking, socially relevant message and character. Thank you sir. I hope you never run out of characters.

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20 people found this helpful

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I hated for the story to end!!!

I wish that the story could be made into a series. Walter Moseley is such a magnificent story teller.

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16 people found this helpful

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Walter Mosley as philosopher

Mosley has done it again with a deep, introspective look at life, liberty and circumstance in America. Slightly different in approach than his other mysteries, th he character of John Woman was just as complex and morally conflicted as Wasy Rawlibs and Fearless Jones, and he held my attention to the end.

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9 people found this helpful

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A great read.

Captivating and full of relevance. Offers multiple points of reflection. I hope there's a sequel.

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8 people found this helpful

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Mind Rendezvous

This refreshing examination of love and the mind’s challenges and potential for expansion and creative flexibility that can engender social and evolutionary progress is a beautiful poetic prose masterpiece. Mr. Moseley is a kindred spirit I will cherish the rest of this life and beyond.

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6 people found this helpful

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Excellent!

Walter Mosley has done it again! John Woman is a must read for any one who regards history critically. I loved the book!

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Repeated sexual assault

Just a heads up, the "unconventional novel" includes repeated sexual assault of a teenaged boy by a 30-something y/o woman who is also a cop. Even though he says no and it's clearly a violation it all gets twisted up. I admit I didn't finish the book, after the 2nd assault I was done. Perhaps later on in the book the assaults were reflected on as trauma but I'm shocked that not 1 reviewer mentioned it.
Sure, there's some thought provoking content and the narrator is very good but the slew of 5 star reviewers that don't even blink at a kid being raped boggle the mind. If you're interested in philosophy and critical examinations of our history, read any book about how African American boys and men are brutalized by the police that doesn't treat the brutalization as unconventional sex.

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4 people found this helpful

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Another winner by Walter Mosley!

Walter Mosley does it again. He is such an outstanding writer, keep them coming please!

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4 people found this helpful

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Mosley does it again!

This story took many twist and turns, but it was a road that I look forward to traveling again. John Woman is a intelligent and insightful character. At times I wanted to slap him, and then he spoke.

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3 people found this helpful

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Intellectual treadmill

Most definitely needs all senses focused on the narrative to truly savor it and the reward is proportional.

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3 people found this helpful