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4.38 AVERAGE
4.38 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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
There a layers in this book.. You have Mungo who comes from a broken, council estate protestant family with a mother who drinks heavily and an older brother who is a gang leader... Mungo falls in love with a catholic boy his own age.
It's a story of fixing your identity and how difficult that can be since you are living in a very closed environment and atmosphere where being gay is still wrong.
There are difficult moments where Mungo is assaulted and raped by people his mother trusted him to and even then they use his homosexuality against him as a justification for their actions.
I loved the way it was written. I loved the fact the author was proud and true enough to write in a glaswegian accent. I believe that is really important.
It's a story of fixing your identity and how difficult that can be since you are living in a very closed environment and atmosphere where being gay is still wrong.
There are difficult moments where Mungo is assaulted and raped by people his mother trusted him to and even then they use his homosexuality against him as a justification for their actions.
I loved the way it was written. I loved the fact the author was proud and true enough to write in a glaswegian accent. I believe that is really important.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
This book often feels like Mungo was a martyr saint. I don't know exactly how to explain the experience of reading this book... There's a certain calmness in the chaos, perhaps that's Mungo. He often feels still amidst the rapid movement that blurs around him. I guess sometimes in the calmness of the forest you dont register the silence as a warning sign. And I don't know really what to say about it..
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
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
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Abortion, Outing
Well that was heartbreaking in so many ways! The book deals with a lot of really heavy themes, alcoholism, poverty, unemployment, domestic violence (and a few others that I don't want to spoil). Like damn, it really felt like tragedy after tragedy, but it's the happy in-betweens that really make it shine and that left me wanting more and more. The double timeline kept me gripped until the very end. Also having grown up in the UK in the 1990s early 2000s it all felt so fucking realistic. Like my experiences are completely different from the characters in the book, but the Glasgow of the book felt so REAL, and saw so many similarities with people I've met in the UK. I also really appreciated that the book is written in Scottish English, and not in a "foreign" way where the vocab is explained and baby fed to you, which, thank god.