Reviews - Il giovane Mungo

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7.23k reviews for:

Il giovane Mungo

Douglas Stuart

4.38 AVERAGE

lssteward's review against another edition

4.25

emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I really enjoyed this. Prior to listening, I hadn't read any descriptions of the book, only heard someone on booktok briefly talk about it so I went into this fairly blind. I had just finished "A Little Life" before listening to this and I was ecstatic to come out of this book reminded that you can write a raw, tragic book about a queer person and the story still not feel exploitative or distasteful.

nikki_marie13's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

vilma12345's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

shaunagor's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ahennen's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rsmalls25's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

spommerening's review against another edition

5.0

Wow.

I loved this book and I very much did not expect it. The emotional toll it took on my heart and the way Mungo's story weighed on my mind is a testament to this story.

This novel was beautiful and heartbreaking. I haven't felt so bad for a character in a while.

Following the story of sweet and innocent Mungo, we learn about his alcoholic and absent mom, his sister Jodie who aspires to escape, and his kingpin brother Hamish. Mungo (who is Protestant) soon finds a friend in James (who is Catholic). They quickly fall in love and terrible things happen to both of them.

This story had a lot of trauma. Rape, sexual molestation, street fighting, homophobia, xenophobia, and domestic violence made this novel really hard to read at some points. However, it was beautifully written. This was my first Douglas Stuart novel and I really enjoyed it. It transported me to the impoverished Glasgow slums.

It took a bit to get used to the hard Glasgow accents and colloquial language. But I learned so much about the religious conflicts that still shape the nation today.

I felt so bad for both Mungo and James. I like how the author ended their stories. I also have deep hate in my heart for Mo-Maw and her victim commentary the entire story. Hamish was runner up for the worst human in the novel until the last few pages where he, for the first time, did something truly good for Mungo.