Oprah's Book Club: Author Douglas Stuart reads "John of John" excerpt

0:00 From a bus to a coach to a coach

0:03 to a hostel to a coach that boarded the Kyle ferry

0:06 to another bus to this island ferry to the island

0:10 bus and then finally to the long walk at the end.

0:14 It would take him almost 20 hours to get home.

0:16 An entire day to travel less than 300 miles.

0:20 He blew upon the burning tip of his cigarette and felt his eyes

0:23 grow heavy as he waited for the pill to do its work.

0:27 He made a list of the things he had missed about home.

0:30 The quiet, Doll McDonald, the sea.

0:33 Then he made a list of the things he dreaded.

0:35 The quiet, Doll McDonald, the sea.

0:39 The rain was forming puddles on the seats.

0:41 The puddles became little oceans as the ferry rocked on the Minch.

0:46 He hunkered down and watched the tides wash back and forth.

0:50 Warmed by his congealing self-pity,

0:52 he felt an oily resentment towards his father.

0:55 A disgraceful rancor towards his grandmother's aging body.

0:59 But marbled through this ran a vein of shame that he should be so selfish,

1:04 so reluctant to care for those who had once cared for him.

1:08 Halfway across the Minch, a steward came out to check on him.

1:12 The rain was almost horizontal.

1:14 The steward approached him cautiously before ordering him to move indoors.

1:19 The interior was quiet.

1:21 It was easy to tell the islanders from the visitors

1:23 because the islanders rarely looked out at the sea.

1:26 They read quietly or filled out crosswords in discarded newspapers.

1:30 They sprawled on benches sleeping soundly,

1:33 their hands clasped over their chests,

1:35 their bodies twisted at the cap both feet respectfully on the floor.

1:40 Cal was dripping wet, dragging a large bin bag,

1:43 his jaw grinding on the pill as he

1:44 roamed the lounges in search of an empty corner.

1:48 He looked down at his toes coming through his burst Converse.

1:52 If he was seen and he was sure that he had been then

1:55 his father would hear about the state of him long before he reached home.

2:00 Everything he owned fit into a backpack and one doubled bin bag.

2:04 It had taken him less than 10 minutes to pack up four years of his life.

2:07 It had taken a little longer to fold himself away,

2:11 to hide all the bits of himself that had

2:12 slowly been unfurling since he had arrived on the mainland.

2:16 In truth, he had not changed that much since he had been at college.

2:21 And as he roamed the ferry,

2:22 he wondered if he had always known he would be forced to come home eventually.