John of John (Oprah's Book Club)

Cal’s gaze tainted the things John had always loved and made him feel like he should apologise for the life he had built. She died in bed, a few days after she had given birth to John, who she had named with the Anglicised version of Iain, in the hope that the family would soon emigrate to Detroit where her husband had been promised work as a panel beater. Claire Moss had a sweet, serene face, with sad brown eyes, but her parents were elderly and her future lay in caring for them. In the end it had been a rare day away from the sheep that left him feeling optimistic about the future.