Is Johnny Cruel an angel or a demon or just an ordinary boy with an unusual birthmark? In Mark Mustian’s literary novel Boy With Wings (Koehler Books 2025), characters often struggle to make sense of Johnny Cruel’s unusual wings—and readers may feel the same. At times, Johnny is heroic; at others, vengeful. In this novel of magical realism, religion, and morality, the lines between good and evil blur.
Mustian’s writing is rich with imagery and symbolism, enhancing the novel’s mystery and religious undertones. Haloes, prayers, scripture, ghosts, stables, birds, and wings create a vivid world of contrasts—light and dark, fate and free will. Names evoke both Greek mythology and biblical figures, while a one-armed man recalls a famous television character.
Convinced by the townspeople that her winged son is dangerous, Johnny’s mother buries him alive in a box—only to later dig him up and hide him. From there, his life spirals into an even greater nightmare. After his mother dies, Johnny is taken in by a Black community that offers him shelter and belonging. But when White townspeople discover him, they remove him from this safe haven. Mustian spares readers the grim details of the abuse Johnny suffers at the hands of depraved White men, leaving much to the imagination. In a dark twist of fate, Johnny is eventually purchased by Tot, a midget who runs a traveling freak show. There, among fellow outcasts, he finds a sense of family.
Yet, the novel forces readers to confront the ugliness of human nature—the way society turns “freaks” into entertainment. Midgets, bearded ladies, giants, and those with deformities are paraded for public amusement. Johnny’s stage performances are “a monstrous success,” providing “interest and excitement to what are dull and brutal lives” during the Great Depression. Over time, Johnny begins to question his existence. Will he still be performing at sixty, “still showing [himself] so that others stare, still an object to be seen and used”? He feels “shown but not seen.”
Within the freak show, Johnny meets an intriguing cast of characters. There’s the tattooed lady who loves him—but is it a motherly affection or something more unsettling? There’s Zorat, the sword swallower and former college student, who teaches Johnny about religion:
“He even understands, to a degree, the source of Zorat’s passion—how religion can be a guidebook to manage, shape, and run your life. There’s so much to accept: repentance and love; doing good works; grace shown to the needy; faith in things you can’t see.”
Yet, once again, Mustian leaves readers questioning whether Zorat’s passion—for both religion and Johnny—hides something unseemly.
Among Johnny’s companions, Alfred offers perhaps the most practical wisdom: “You work with whatever life gives you. You just do your very best.” Even Tot, despite exploiting Johnny for financial gain, offers a hard truth:
“You want your freedom! You want to be left alone, to just be you and be normal, but there is no normal, Johnny. You want to be everyone else, and yet they’re all of them strange and different, unique to each other whether you know it or not. There is no normal life.”
Romance enters the story through Winifred, Tot’s beautiful daughter. Readers of Mustian’s first novel, The Gendarme, may recall its female lead had one dark eye and one light. Winifred, too, has striking eyes: “Blue eyes snap, a streak of brown in one iris. . .” Perhaps her eyes symbolize the duality within each character—including Johnny himself.
At its core, Boy With Wings explores the masks people wear to appear “normal.” While Johnny binds his wings and hides beneath heavy coats, so-called normal characters conceal their true selves—especially Florida’s governor. Readers will find layers of meaning woven into Mustian’s lyrical prose, rewarding close analysis. In the end, the novel suggests that love has the power to strip away all disguises, revealing the deepest truths within.
About the Author
Mark T. Mustian
Mark Mustian is an author, attorney, and former elected official, as well as the founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida. His debut novel, The Gendarme, received critical acclaim. He has served on the National Policy Council for AARP, the Board of Directors of the Florida League of Cities, and co-hosted a public television show about fiction. He divides his time between Florida and Michigan.
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