Book Tour and Guest Post: Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian

 

Join us for this tour from Nov 24 to Dec 12, 2025!

Book Details:

​Book Title:  BOY WITH WINGS by Mark Mustian
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  324 pages
Genre: historical fiction/magical realism/literary fiction
Publisher: Koehler Books
Release date:  March 2025
Content Rating: PG-13: There is adult content, use of the f word and (in limited context) the n word 

“Boy With Wings is a brilliant fever dream of a novel, a haunting coming of age story reminiscent of both Franz Kafka and Charles Dickens. Depression-era America and the carnival life is rendered vividly, but so is the beauty and courage of, yes, a boy with wings." — Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times Best-selling Author of The Jackal’s Mistress

 

Book Description:

​What does it mean to be different? When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he’s a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny’s yearslong struggle to find a place he belongs. From a turpentine camp of former slaves to a freak show run by a dwarf who calls herself Tiny Tot and on to the Florida capitol building, Johnny finds himself working alongside other outcasts, struggling to answer the question of his existence. Is he a horror, a wonder, or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life? Accompanying Johnny’s journey through love, betrayal, heartbreak, and several murders, Boy with Wings is a story of the sacrifices and freedom inherent in making one’s own special way—and of love and the miracles that give our lives meaning.​

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Meet the Author:

Mark Mustian is the author of the novel The Gendarme, an international bestseller shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing and published in ten languages, and the new novel Boy With Wings, winner of the 2025 Grand Prize for Fiction from Next Generation Indie Book Awards. He's the founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Florida and Michigan.

connect with the author:  website ~ substack ~ facebook ~ bluesky ~ goodreads

Guest Post:

Books and Music

There’s something magical about words and music—it’s why popular songs burrow into our minds and ears. It’s what we at the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music seek to tap into. Poetry has rhythm. Musical tracts tell a story. It all blends together, often into something profound, odd, or sublime.

Like maybe most authors, I listen to music when I write. Usually classical works, sometimes jazz—I find that pop or music with words tends to distract me, and I’m there to write. I go through phases that correspond loosely to the book: for The Gendarme I listened to a lot of dissonant 20th century stuff: Schoenberg, Stravinsky. I was big into Messiaen. For Boy With Wings, it was more 19th century romantic, Mahler and Brahms but also some jazz, Miles Davis, Mingus, Adderley, Coltrane.

This may sound somewhat strange, but sometimes I can hear the words on the page as I write them, as they seem to belong to some structure beyond the page. Maybe I’m to be faulted for this—I can’t really say. I saw somewhere that the writer Richard Ford reads every word of his novels aloud to his wife before he completes the work. I don’t do that, but to an extent I guess I do, as I listen to them bang around in my head as I read and revise, revise and read. Occasionally I’ll utter a phrase aloud that seems awkward.

Reworking it, I hear music, that gift that seems to arrive from beyond logic. Mixed with the beauty of language, to create between them something else. Something incredibly special. Until I look back on it later and think, “Who wrote this crap?”

My Review:

Boy With Wings is the first novel I have read by Mark Mustian. I found this Depression era tale to be an interesting read about finding where you belong and how to accept yourself. My heart broke for Johnny as he tries to navigate being outcast in his hometown and making a new start. I wanted to see what he would find along the way. His story leads to variety of emotion, such as, love, loss, betrayal, courage, anger, happiness, and sadness. Just when he thought he found where he belonged, something else happens. I was rooting for him all throughout the book. I admired his determination to continue to survive during the worst of times he experiences. I enjoyed taking this adventure with him in hopes he will discover who he truly is and what is important in life. It covers a lot of the "norms" of the era: diversity, racism, and religion. 

I am going to give Boy With Wings a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy reading historical fiction/magical realism/literary fiction. I would be interested in reading more books from the author, Mark Mustian, in the future. I believe this one is most definitely worth reading and not to be missed. I loved it. 

I received a paperback copy of Mark Mustian's Boy With Wings from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.