Introduction

What does it mean to be different?

Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back, frightening his neighbors and leaving him struggling to find a home. He ends up in a “freak show” traveling the 1930s South, where he bares his back to onlookers who come to gape and fawn. Is he a horror or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life?

With a cast of characters that ranges from the dwarf show leader Tiny Tot to Florida’s governor and a one-armed killer, Boy With Wings follows Johnny’s journey through love, betrayal, heartbreak and several murders, to reach an understanding in the place and time he may least expect.

Boy With Wings is the perfect book for book clubs, in that it’s historical fiction that’s also literary in certain respects. Immersing readers in a time and place different from their own, there’s an opportunity to be entertained as well as learn things about matters as varied as turpentine camps, carnivals and the 1930s South. It takes on the big issues of race and religion but also the feeling almost everyone has experienced: of what it means to be singled out and made alone. Reviews:

“Boy With Wings is a brilliant fever dream of a novel, a haunting coming of age story reminiscent of both Franz Kafka and Charles Dickens. Depression-era America and the carnival life is rendered vividly, but so is the beauty and courage of, yes, a boy with wings." — Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times Best-selling Author of The Jackal’s Mistress

“Mark Mustian writes with the crisp, sharp, hardhitting economy of a seasoned fighter. And combine that with the desperation, the gnawing, the fierce and loyal love of a great tale and Boy With Wings delivers a knockout.” —Michael Farris Smith, author of “Salvage this World” and “Desperation Road”

“In this propulsive tale of the magic lurking inside our mortality, Mark Mustian has conjured a surreal hero. Here is a translucent rendering of boyhood and aberration, of the fault lines of race and the frailty of religion. In sentences that are equally primal and poetic, Mustian transports us through the shacks, camps, circuses, and back alleys of the Depression-era South, asking a still-resonant question: what's the price of belonging in a society that's already broken?”–Katy Simpson Smith, author of “The Everlasting”

“…a magical, highly imaginative tour de force... Boldly original and unexpectedly profound…"—Readers’ Favorite Reviews

“Mustian’s story is a study in acceptance, diversity, kindness, and the possibility of marvels in life… Vibrant with discovery, Boy With Wings is a winner.”—Midwest Book Review

“…riveting… An evocative historical novel that celebrates distinctive individuals in the Depression-era South.”—Foreword Book Reviews

Editorial Review

No Editorial Review Currently Available

Excerpt

A car purrs outside, its tires swishing like insects. Paul? I motion J to his cupboard, which he enters with a duck and frown. I think to freshen myself or at least brush my hair, but steps come and a knock sounds that strikes a coldness inside me. Paul or Tom wouldn’t stop and knock. I cough my way to the door, the floor tilting so that I must hang on to the wall to stay upright, the grooves worn there, the rot and stains. There’s a space between boards we’ve stuffed with socks to block snakes. I peer out at a tall man, a stranger. I crack the door. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the author:

1. In the end, does Johnny “believe”?

2. Why do you think the author chose the epigraph?

3. Contrast Sheila’s reaction to Johnny to Zorat’s. That of Elias? Mama Lo?

4. What does Warren mean when he says “Ain’t it always the father?”

5. Who do you think set the fire? Why?

6. How would you describe Tot’s character?

7. Clearly there are some elements of Johnny that are messianic. How is Johnny like Christ? How is he not?

8. Johnny tells Charlie he’s not an angel. What is he?

9. What do you make of McDonald, who works for Warren? What does his reaction to Warren’s death and the Governor’s humiliation mean?

10. Why do you think the author named his character Johhny Cruel?

Weblinks

»	Author's website
»	Follow the author on Facebook
»	Follow the author on Blue Sky
»	Publisher's book info

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 0 members.

Member Reviews

There are no user reviews at this time.
Rate this book