Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

John Woman

By: Walter Mosley
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about John Woman

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    616
  • 4 Stars
    200
  • 3 Stars
    98
  • 2 Stars
    30
  • 1 Stars
    24
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    647
  • 4 Stars
    153
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    525
  • 4 Stars
    180
  • 3 Stars
    83
  • 2 Stars
    39
  • 1 Stars
    26

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

AWSOME

I've listened to 200+ books on audible. This by FAR is the most interesting of them all. If you love learning for the sake of learning, this book is for you!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Always amazed

Walter Mosley has been one of my favorite authors since I was a teen on account of my great uncle introducing me to the novel 47. The difference voices, speed, and constant conflict of characters kept me on the edge of my seat!

This is a great story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enlightened entertainment

Again I loved the story shared by Walter Mosley. It was intelligent and intriguing entertainment.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Puzzle

Such a very interesting book. Still puzzling about all the ideas in it. Kudos to Walter Mosley.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mosley does it again!!!!

With completely new characters and a completely different kind of story, Walter Mosley cements himself as one of the greatest authors of all time!!!! Pulling me into the world of John Woman, I found myself fascinated, excited and even confused at times all the while eager to hear the next event. I’m fully invested as always in anything Walter Mosley authors!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

John woman or Cornelius John’s

Great book, great story and the narrator is from the first 48. I will read this again and other titles from Mosley

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

“Reading is re-reading”

I have been a fan of Walter Mosley for years, this book will not disappoint. Well written, so much history and knowledge to explore. John Woman is a story about a boy who was dealt the short stick in life, and he chose to make the best of life in his own way, and on his own terms. Quite a few twist and turns, so many gems!!If only John felt real love things could have turned out a little differently. I titled this review reading is re-reading as this is noted in with novel and so true!

Continued success Mr. Mosley!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Intriguing ideas to start, but poor ending

***Trigger Warning
Book contains scenes of SA and (SA) with a minor. ****

I think so highly about a great deal of the challenges posed to our thinking in this book by a character who suffered extreme neglect and manipulation due to his parents’ selfishness throughout his formative years. However, the story struggled to pull the various themes together. By the end, the story became its own version of unbridled chaos with a less than satisfying “conclusion”.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Wonderfully read. Couldn't stop listening. Beautiful, nail biting, sexy, brain food. Thank u for this escape.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful