John Woman

John Woman by Walter Mosley, 377 pages.

Wow, what a weird trip this book is. John Woman, aka Cornelius Jones, aka CC has led an interesting life. We meet him as a teen, he is living with his father, who can't work due to an operation. Cornelius begins working his father's shifts at the silent movie theater so that his father doesn't lose his job. Shortly after this, when his mom has disappeared with her mobster boyfriend and his dad is dying, Cornelius finds himself defending himself and acting in a way that changes his life and his perception of himself. From that moment, he is changed and when his father dies shortly after, he changes his name as well, eventually becoming the title character.
As John Woman, college professor, he attempts to rewrite history in a way that is closer to his understanding of it. Woman must decide what to do about the offers he is receiving from a strange cult-like organization and he must decide how far he wants to go in coming to terms with his past. Multi-layered, complicated and sometimes difficult to process.