Johnnie, Cary's phenomenal first foray into literature, is the coming of age story of a young writer and scholar. As a genuine 21st century kunstlerroman, Johnnie allows for the reader to witness the actual development of a young writer through its lucid revelation of the actual process of writing a novel along with the accompanying thoughts and anguishes of an angst-ridden, analytic mind all while delivering a poignant critique of life in the 21st century for an aspiring young intellectual."