Customer Reviews

Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution

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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.

If there's one thing I've learned about Jerome Charyn's historical novels, it's that they are so out of the mainstream for the genre they are easily misunderstood. They even make some people angry. As my grandpa used to say, they must be doing something right.

I think they are doing plenty right, and Johnny One-Eye is no exception. By refusing to yield to popular conception of history's familiar figures, Charyn gives us a much more human (and thereby, likely "truer") account. Moreover, he grabs our conceptions left over from high school history courses by the shoulders and gives them the good shaking they deserve. But unlike the recently-popular spate of history-debunking non-fiction books, Charyn's purpose isn't to tear down, but rather to rebuild in us a picture of historical periods and persons that rings more true, mostly because we are enabled to see through the eyes of people who are fundamentally just like us.

Our schooldays histories of the American Revolution tend to overemphasize the victories and the almost god-like character of heros like George Washington while leaving us with a demonization of "villains" like Benedict Arnold. Johnny One-Eye brings our gaze down to eye-level. Set in one of the bleakest times in the American effort, the occupation and subsequent burning of New York City by the British, the novel forces us to face the harsh--and sometimes farcical--aspects of war, whether that war took place 200 years ago or is going on right now.

The titular character and narrator of the tale is one of the most intriguing characters I've run across in literature. Johnny is the consummate rogue, jester, wise guy, con man: so lovable yet despicable that everyone in his life is one moment hugging him and the next booting him out the door and into the mud. There is something about him that worms its way into peoples' hearts, no matter how disgusted with him they might be. This charm allows him to get near to many of the key figures of his time, including General Washington, Benedict Arnold, Alexander Hamilton, and even a host of British commanders.

The plot centers around Johnny's quest to discover his place in the world. At the heart of his motivation is the uncertainty of his own origins. Raised by the madam of a brothel, he very well might be the illegitimate son of Washington himself. But like the hero of a Dickens novel, Johnny will have a lot of hard knocks and setbacks on his journey to self-discovery. And he also has some unsavory things about himself to confront as well.

What will be of interest to most readers, though, is Johnny's frequent and often tempestuous interactions with the movers and shakers of his day. It is here that Charyn's true genius as a historical novelist shines brightest. His rogue who so intrigues us is equally intriguing to Washington, Hamilton, et al, and thus he is able to draw them out and reveal them as the multidimensional true-humans they certainly were. For example, we encounter Washington as a man of deep character, yet riddled with doubts and indecision; not immune to temptation, but careful about where it takes him.

The larger message of Johnny One-Eye seems to be that wars are not epic stage dramas; they, like everything else in life, are very human endeavors. There are no absolute heros or villains on any side. For the most part, everyone is just trying to survive hell and come out on the other side with something to show for it, or maybe just their skins still intact. Furthemore, it is often the meek and lowly and despised who end up playing the most important roles. More than for insights into a period of history (which it certainly yields in abundance), Johnny One-Eye should be read as a beautiful parable of the human condition. We all endure a bit of hell from time to time, but with enough pluck, life-spirit, curiosity, and good friends, we will survive.

The country is in its infancy, and in the midst of what we would later call the Revolutionary War. Washington is trying to lead his men to victory, loyalists are trying to lead the rebels to gallows, spies abound, and in a section of Manhattan referred to as Holy Ground, the true fate of the country lies in the hands of prostitutes. This is the world in which John Stocking lives, as a double agent, and son of a madam. As battles are waged in the colonies, similar battles are being waged within Stocking himself, as he attempts to learn the truth about his father, and battles his love for a woman who may never love him back.

I love when historic fiction opens the reader up to a whole new aspect of the history it describes, and that is exactly what Charyn has done with this book. This is not the Revolutionary War you learned about in gradeschool. And chances are, this "fictional" book is much closer to the truth than many school textbooks. The characters are those who truly did battle, the scoundrels, the spies, the whores. They are the ones whose stories are never told when history is conveniently sanitized.

I particularly loved the title character, and loved hearing about his journey throughout the war. I loved his interactions with Washington, and have now learned to see Washington in a new (and much more interesting) light. Although I am not much of a student of history, I simply adored this book. The writing was so engaging, I found it hard to stop reading, and read late into the night just to see what Johnny would be dealing with next.

I think many fans of historical fiction will like this book. Similarly, historians who specialize in the Revolutionary War will enjoy this fictional, though most likely accurate account, of the political climate at that time. As I read this, I thought of how much my husband would love it for that very reason, though his interest is more politics than history.

All in all, another wonderful book by a truly masterful storyteller.

If Lewis Carroll and Mark Twain had collaborated on a novel about the American Revolution, there's a very good chance they would have concocted something much like "Johnny One-Eye."

This intoxicating and comic look at the Revolutionary War centers on the picaresque adventures of the eponymous Johnny One-Eye (aka John Stocking) a half-blind double agent whose loyalty seems to change with the winds of war.

Charyn's novel creates a bawdy, dream-like world in which George Washington, Benedict Arnold, Alexander Hamilton and various British and French military leaders cavort like phantoms who are simultaneously recognizable and utterly foreign.

Most of the action takes place in New York, where Washington and his small, poorly trained and inadequately equipped army initially await the inevitable arrival of a massive British force under the command of the brothers Howe - one an admiral, the other a general. New York remains the principal setting even after the British capture the city.

Manhattan is awash in spies and whores, with the latter plying their trade in a neighborhood of brothels called Holy Ground, so named because of its proximity to St. Paul's Chapel. Charyn explains, in an author's note, that Manhattan really had a red-light district by that name during the 18th century.

The most famous bordello in Holy Ground is the Queen's Yard, where owner Gertrude Jennings hovers over her brood of prostitutes, who are known, appropriately enough for the setting, as Gertrude's Nuns.

The star of Gertrude's enterprise, and the love of Johnny's life, is Clara, a blond, green-eyed "octoroon."

Johnny narrates this tale of his "unremarkable life" in an appealingly disjointed style. His fanciful depiction of the American Revolution is bemusing, preposterous and yet, somehow, credible. Despite the comic overtones, Washington emerges as a principled and courageous leader, albeit one with a conflicted attitude toward slavery.

Adding to the novel's charm is Charyn's fondness for wondrous words, such as "homunculus" and "raspcallions." Prince Paul, the leader of Manhattan's impoverished black neighborhood and a secondary character, is described as "palavering" with other folks. A knave is not a knave in "Johnny One-Eye," but a "varlet."

If the magic that Charyn creates were the norm in historical fiction, perhaps more readers would develop a taste for the genre. In the hands of someone as talented as Charyn, the past is a bizarre world of surreal splendor.

Johnny One-Eye is Jerome Charyn's satirical spin on the American Revolutionary War, full of colorful characters, both real and imagined. It all comes together in a hilarious, fast-paced work of fiction, guaranteed to entertain and engage the reader, while sticking pretty close to the historical facts. I recommend it highly as one of the best works of historical fiction I have ever read.

The action begins in 1776; Johnny Stocking is a lad of seventeen, intelligent, cunning and in deep trouble - tied up with a musket in his ribs, trying to convince General George Washington himself that he is not a poisoner and spy. Johnny lost his eye fighting alongside Benedict Arnold, and is now working both sides of the conflict against the middle, just trying to save the rest of him. Johnny is protected by a brothel Madame and in love with a prostitute; George Washington may or may not be his biological father.

You can't help rooting for Johnny, and for the ragtag rebel army, but there is pathos within the madness and historic significance permeates Johnny's wild adventures. Beautifully, even poetically written, it is historical fiction at its finest, peppered with colorful characters and events on the perimeter of war.

The last line of the book, like the distant strains of a departing parade, pulls you back from the fog of history to the sharp edges of the present: "Peacetime was but a sweet deception, a winter without black drummer boys - there was no end to revolution."

I love historical fiction, as long as it is great fiction and historically accurate. I consider myself a fairly accomplished student of the American Revolution, so it was with some trepidation I tackled "Johnny One-Eye". It exceeded my hopes. I was actually plunged me kicking and screaming into an era I had only read about in historical treatises.

The one-eyed eponymous hero of this novel does a lot of kicking and screaming himself, as well he should. The son of a prostitute - and maybe George Washington himself - Johnny's adventures, and his character, put him in the same category of protagonists as Tom Sawyer and "Treasure Island"'s Jim Hawkins.

As seen through Johnny's one good eye, American history is made personal. The novel was a wild amusement park ride, but I found not one factual inaccuracy.

I believe fiction like "Johnny One-Eye" can give history buffs greater insight into the times than non-fiction. Charyn agrees. In an interview he said, "Fiction often has a greater truth than most historical texts. I think of Napoleon, and I read "War and Peace" to get a sense of that particular time."

Johnny is a character who will stay with you for a long time. When you think of him, you'll be smiling.

What I liked about this book is the description of New York during the American Revolution. It was a city abandoned by its patriots and given over to those who were bent on destroying it. War descended on Manhattan. Johnny One-Eye was thought to be the son of George Washington through his involvement with a lady of the night, Gertrude Jennings. We follow Johnny's way through the Revolution and his narrow escapes from death. His undying love for Clara, a beautiful harlot of the house of Gertrude proves to be a threaten the course of the Revolution with her sexual powers.

The description of the tortures suffered by the men who fought this war was eye-opening. Disease and death were an everyday occurrence during this time period. The British prison ship, Jersey, was infamous for the thousands of Americans who died on board.

All in all, this historical novel of the Revolution was interesting in the telling of the atmosphere and circumstances of the people who were part of it.

Johnny One-Eye is the Forrest Gump of the American Revolution. He's a fictitious character whose life becomes intertwined with the most illustrious personages in the land from George Washington to Alexander Hamilton. As the son of Manhattan's savviest madame, he lives in a brothel among prostitutes. Yet throughout the war, he seamlessly mingles with all classes in society from Prince Paul, the leader of the city's Little Africa, to his disgraced former general, Benedict Arnold. His ability to adapt to any situation places him in a precarious position as both the British and American forces try to recruit him as a spy. He walks a perilous line trying to serve two masters while first and foremost looking out for himself.

The travails of his love life tend to complicate matters even further. As a eye patch wearing, Quasimodo Lothario, he is hopelessly besotted with his childhood friend, Clara, who is now in the employ of his mother. As she flits from one customer's bed to another, she ridicules Johnny One-Eye's advances and mocks his romantic pursuit. Spurned by his true love, he turns to the comfort of the voluptuous mistress of General William Howe, the British commander in charge of the occupation of New York. Needless to say, Sir William flies into a jealous rage upon discovering he is sharing his lover with a one-eyed rogue.

The book itself is broken into seven sections by year from 1776-1783. Each begins with a preface written from George Washington's point of view. Johnny One-Eye shares the spotlight with the commander in chief because as the narrative progresses the question of his paternity begins to point in the general's direction. This illegitimate scamp from the gutter could, in fact, be America's first son. The two work on building a tenuous relationship as they try to watch out for each other in the midst of dangerous plots and intrigues.

Charyn succeeds in creating a George Washington who is a fully developed character. He is not the one-dimensional, mythological figure who cannot tell a lie. Instead, he is a military commander who makes mistakes, and he is passionately in love with a red-haired courtesan, Johnny's mother. In the novel's best scene, these two characteristics combine at his beloved's whorehouse. In his foolhardiness, he knowingly walks into a trap by responding to General Howe's invitation to a card game. All sides hold their breath as Washington skillfully maneuvers through the game relying on his wits to save his life.

Charyn painstakingly reconstructs the Revolutionary setting. Through extensive research and attention to detail, he masterfully brings to life the British occupation of New York City. The island teems with a volatile mixture of Hessian mercenaries, British aristocracy, rebel spies and Loyalist merchants. The rich feast as the poor starve. Johnny One-Eye, himself, depicts the various atrocities of the time. He endures a tar and feathering, imprisonment aboard a fetid naval vessel and banishment from the colonies. Yet like the young nation, he overcomes all obstacles in order to fashion his own destiny.

Overall, even with a one-eyed account, Johnny offers a detailed glimpse of the grueling birth of a nation.

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.

Cover/Title

Cover: I was graciously sent a hardcover copy of Johnny One-Eye, so I will be reviewing that cover.

I love this cover. The drawing of old-American footwear on a man and woman in a seemingly compromising situation is definitely an attention-grabber. It intimates a certain ... private looseness about the citizens during the Revolutionary period.

Title: Coupled with the drawing on intimacy, I first wondered if there was a certain perverseness in the title. However, upon reading this novel, the title and cover art redefine themselves in the reader's mind.

Plot

The novels takes the reader through the eight years during the American Revolution. It is told in the first-person through the eyes of John Stocking, or Johnny One-Eye as he's known to be called. He came upon the nickname for losing an eye during the Quebec skirmishes under Benedict Arnold's command.

Teachers have taught, and still teach, about the American Revolution. This novel is different from what you hear in class. Yes, you are reading about the American Revolution, but in a fictional way that seems to be factual. Jerome Charyn opens the reader's eyes to how it may have been for the people who were not soldiers, but were still affected because of the war. I can promise you that if Jerome Charyn had been teaching my History class in school, I would've paid closer attention. His writing truly captivates the reader's attention.

Main Characters

John Stocking - Born and raised in a brothel, John is an often disregarded fixture in the whore-house. He loves King George for being his benefactor and allowing him to go to the King's College, but he also idolizes Benedict Arnold and George Washington. He is a man conflicted and perhaps that is the reason why he became a double spy.

Gertrude Jennings - Madam of Queen's Yard, a brothel on a street nicknamed "Holy Ground." She cares for the women in her bordello and does not pressure them to do anything they do not wish to do. She has a huge heart, but can also be duplicitous ... mayhap having Gert's genes in him is another reason why Johnny became a double spy ... ???

Clara - A waif found by Gert. She was covered in lice when Gert found her and cleaned her up. Clara then became the most sought-after whore in Gert's establishment. Clara was tall, blonde and the source of Johnny's obsession. She was often conflicting in her ways. I think she acted that way as a defense mechanism, to keep people from getting too emotionally attached to her.

Overall

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jerome Charyn is a literary genius. This is my third novel I have read of his and he is able to captivate me every time irregardless of topic. I have never enjoyed reading about history as much as I have when I read this novel. Charyn has become a must-read, automatic-buy author for me and I highly recommend his novels to all adults.