Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution [Paperback]

Jerome Charyn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This remarkable novel unfolds in a Manhattan split asunder by the Revolutionary War, where every street had been turned into a ditch. Here we follow the picaresque adventures of John Stocking, a double agent who has a talent for placing himself in jeopardy, and Charyn traces, at a breathless pace, his adventures on both sides of the Revolution, beginning with Gen. George Washington sparing Stocking from the gallows. With a superb eye for detail, Charyn shows Stocking's efforts to help the Revolutionary Army's ever-eroding hold on the city while coping with the machinations of the British Army's Howe brothers, Sir Billy and Lord Admiral Richard, as they execute their assault on the rebel forces. At the same time, Stocking is engaged in a journey to discover who his father is. Charyn provides a stunning gallery of characters, including an elegantly treacherous Alexander Hamilton; Stocking's guardian angel, the outrageous madam Gertrude Jennings; Gertrude's star prostitute, the exotic Clara; and Benedict Arnold, whom John calls the one hero I've ever had. Charyn's command of time and place is masterful: the reader can practically smell the gunpowder that suffuses the war-torn city. As a kaleidoscopic view of a tumultuous era, the book deserves to be spoken about in the same breath as E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The New Yorker

Set on Manhattan Island during the Revolutionary War, this leisurely picaresque concerns the adventures of an orphan reared in a brothel who loses an eye when he follows Benedict Arnold into battle. Johnny is a man of both nations; he joins up with Arnold as a secret agent for the British, but his admiration for him is genuine. His feelings are further complicated by his discovery that George Washington—here gentle, intelligent, and tortured by love for the brothel’s madam—may be his father, but ultimately his loyalty lies with his true love, an octoroon prostitute named Clara. Charyn skillfully breathes life into historical icons like Arnold, Washington, and Alexander Hamilton, and constructs a careful plot of shifting alliances, roving spies, and double-dealing.
Copyright © 2008 Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (February 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393333957
• ISBN-13: 978-0393333954
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #659,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A moderately entertaining historical fantasy, March 11, 2008

By	R. M. Peterson (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution (Hardcover)

JOHNNY ONE-EYE is a fantasy overlaid on top of solid and often little-known history of the American Revolution. The protagonist and narrator is John Stocking, a young man of 17 and tantalizingly uncertain parentage at the beginning of the book. Stocking is known to all as Johnny One-Eye, by virtue of the fact that he lost an eye during Benedict Arnold's impetuous raid on Quebec in 1775. The book itself spans the years 1776 to 1783. For most of that time, the action, like Johnny, is located in Manhattan or its immediate environs, although towards the end Johnny accompanies Continental troops to Yorktown and then is briefly diverted to Canada.

During the eight years of the book, Johnny crosses paths with a number of historical figures, most notably the British leaders General Sir William Howe, Admiral Lord Richard Howe, and Henry Clinton; the traitor Benedict Arnold and his two manipulators, John Andre and Peggy Shippen; and among the rebels, Alexander Hamilton and, most important of all, George Washington. The novel's dramatis personae is also populated by a number of fanciful characters, the most important of whom (in addition to Johnny himself) are Gertrude Jennings, the madam of a bordello in Manhattan who occupies a special place in the lives and hearts of both Johnny and George Washington, and Clara, an octoroon from Dominica who was brought up in Gertrude's bordello and also is very important to both Johnny and George Washington.

Johnny, Gertrude, and Clara all are involved in intelligence activities, and it is the "secret service" or spy operations of both sides that drives the rapidly evolving plot. But the heart of the novel, and its true hero, is George Washington (the "farmer-in-chief" to the British). The book is generously sprinkled with encomniums to him. For example: "[In 1780] he was near fifty, and he'd had to cobble together an army for the past five and a half years, provide it with shoes, survive the cabals of congressmen and carping generals under his own command. 'T was Washington who fed the army, clothed it, fought the battles, ran his own stable of spies. Congress was bankrupt. Washington could not pay his soldiers. Some officers had already rebelled. But still he cobbled. His critics could not comprehend this. He was larger than their contradictions, relentless in his desire that the army not melt away, and with it the nation itself."

Indeed, the novel's greatest virtue and most memorable aspect is its portrayal of the character and humanity of George Washington. It also is noteworthy for calling attention to the contributions of African-Americans to the ultimate success of the Revolution. But JOHNNY ONE-EYE is not serious or "high-brow" literature. Nor is it in any way cutting edge. What it is is a moderately entertaining melange of fancy and history. For those who are amateur students of the American Revolution (and maybe even some professionals) distinguishing between what is fact and what is fancy should provide an enjoyable challenge. There is much that is bawdy and ribald, which is true to the times but may nonetheless offend some. I personally found the book a little too long. But on balance I don't regret the time spent reading it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Gem, July 25, 2009

By	The Boleyn Girl (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution (Paperback)

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.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars General-interest lending libraries will find it a fine acquisition, April 13, 2009

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution (Paperback)

"Johnny One-Eye" is the story of one-eyed spy John Stocking, who must fight to survive in wartime Manhattan during the Revolution. He lives through events from the torching of Manhattan in 1776 to famous battles. "Johnny One-Eye" is one of the most moving Revolutionary War novels to appear in recent times; general-interest lending libraries will find it a fine acquisition.