The Johnson Four
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 3 Feb 2026
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- 9,99 €
Publisher Description
A 1960s teen pop group determined to conquer the music world must contend with the cost of fame—and a ghost with a grisly past—in this riveting family story from the New York Times bestselling author of The Black Kids.
“My favorite kind of read: epic and immersive, riding the line between darkness and light, with a cast of characters who kept me alternately laughing and stressed through the rhythms of their lives.”—Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
Odysseus Johnson dreams of musical stardom for his three sons: Roman, the rebel, more interested in being a teenager than a performer; Rocco, arguably the most talented of the bunch but different in a way the world doesn’t understand; and dutiful River, the youngest, who dreams of fame just like his dad.
Driving back from another failed audition in Detroit, the Johnson boys encounter the ghost of Christmas Jones the Third, an effervescent, if lonely, little Black boy who carries the scars of his horrific past as an orphan and minstrel sensation. Desperate for family, Christmas begs the Johnsons to bring him home with them. When Odysseus refuses, Christmas stows away in the family Cadillac.
Despite their initial horror, Christmas becomes a part of the Johnson family. With the promise of opportunities in California, Odysseus moves the family out west, and the boys’ talent starts getting noticed. But just as the brothers are finally on the cusp of fame, Christmas commits a violent act that wreaks havoc on the Johnsons’ lives, and the family is torn asunder in the aftermath. Roman flees the country. Rocco is institutionalized. River’s solo star rises. Christmas disappears.
Spanning decades, roving from the rapacious music industry and the ravages of Vietnam to the dark corridors of a mental institution and the very planes of the afterlife, The Johnson Four is epic in scope. And at its beating heart is the unforgettable story of a family trying to find their way back to one another.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The animated if jumbled adult debut by Hamm (author of the YA novel The Black Kids) traces the shifting fortunes of a 1960s singing group. Talented brothers Roman, Rocco, and River perform as The Johnson Three. After a promising but unsuccessful audition in Detroit, they come home with a stowaway they found on the side of the road, the ghost of a lynched vaudeville performer whom Reed describes as "pickaninny prodigy Christmas Jones the Third." Christmas uses his hanging rope as a neck brace, and his body is burned and wrecked, but he becomes part of the group thanks to his vocal chops. Their father uproots the family to California to pursue their recording career, but a violent act by the ghost dooms the group's chance at fame. Heartthrob River goes solo and becomes a megastar, making fans swoon with a dance move he picked up from Christmas, but the others founder. Roman enlists in the Army and fights in Vietnam, while Rocco, who is neurodivergent, is institutionalized against his will. The story becomes increasingly hard to follow as it stretches into the 1990s, with myriad continuity problems, but Reed pulls at the reader's heartstrings with her depictions of the characters' early promise and misfortune. It's a mixed bag.
