Reviews - Il giovane Mungo

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7.23k reviews for:

Shuggie Bain was one of my favorite reads of last year and it was very clear why that particular book won the Booker Prize. When I found out about Young Mungo it quickly became one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and I was nervous that it would be a let down - but that fear quickly flew out the window. Stuart once again delivered prose that is in equal turns beautiful, heartbreaking and hilarious. Is it dark? Yes. Is it also hopeful? Absolutely. I need more queer Scottish literature and I need it now!

annakittel's review against another edition

3.0

this book was objectively good and absolutely deserves 4 stars but i just felt like i could’ve been more invested. didn’t vibe as hard with this one as i wanted to

hananap1nk's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

onmelsshelves_'s review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

kipepeo's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a really difficult book to read. It’s raw, brutal and violent, towards a gentle protagonist. I enjoyed Mungo’s character a lot. The Glaswegian dialect really threw me for the first half of the book, I managed to settle into it after a bit. It’s an incredibly graphic book so look up trigger warnings. James is a wonderful character, as is Jodie. The ending frustrated me a little, as the “before” and “after” chapters seemed to lead to a much bigger buildup than what ended up happening.