Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

62 reviews

jessebaronne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Violence, and Abortion

shaleen64's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

A beautifully written but heartbreaking portrayal of poverty, alcoholism, sexuality, homophobia and sexual abuse. 

Stuart explores all of the issues above in a completely open and raw manner that does not sensationalise or trivialise.

The book captures life in Glasgow during the 80’s exceptionally and whilst some may struggle with the language used it is, within the limits of fictional writing, accurate.

I would recommend this book to anyone and believe I will be thinking about it for a long time to come, but for most it will be worth reading the trigger warnings prior.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death

carinaantonia's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Outing, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

cecereads__'s review against another edition

4.5

It took me a while to fully get into this story and have some of these characters get under my skin. I thought it was tender and beautiful and raw and hopeful - and shattering as well, let’s be honest. Some ppl don’t get what they “deserve (not that it can be quantified or sth like that but more karma-wise, good and bad, iykyk).
I don’t want to compare it to Shuggie Bain though there are many crossovers. However, I feel like the author has honed in on his craft and found sth that works for him. I’d like to think I could tell of a progression.
Themes of neglect, isolation, violence and alcoholism to be aware of. 

I hope to f**k Mungo and James are enjoying a quiet and happy life together. And that Jodie is at Uni living it tf up and finally on her own

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hannahwishart's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Another heartbreaking story from Douglas Stuart. This was bleak, tense and graphic.
The characters are well fleshed-out - most of them vile - and the setting is immersive. It’s uncomfortable and feels claustrophobic, in the sense that you struggle to imagine how Mungo might ever get out of this environment. Jodie is a protective factor for Mungo despite having her own traumatic events. I liked that there were a few supportive male characters who appeared to show Mungo kindness, empathy and safety, e.g chickie, Calum. I also enjoyed the development of Mungo and James’ relationship.
The cultural references were interesting, as was the portrayal of sectarianism and gang violence.
This book covers very heavy topics in graphic detail but I didn’t feel it was done in a tasteless, sensational way. 
I struggled somewhat with the timeline at times and I felt that the ending wasn’t completely clear - maybe that’s just me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent

jkneebone's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Told in dual timelines that take place within the same year, Young Mungo follows 15-year-old Mungo, who lives in the East End of Glasgow with his mother, Mo-Maw, his older sister Jodie, and his older brother Hamish. Mo-Maw is an alcoholic who frequently abandons her children for weeks on end, Hamish is a gang leader who torments his younger brother, and Jodie is doing her best to balance her academic promise and desire for the future with caring for herself and Mungo in light of Mo-Maw's frequent absences. Youngest child Mungo is sensitive and different; he dislikes violence and lets his mother coddle him, unable to resent her behavior in the same way Jodie does. In the bulk of the timeline - the 'before' - we see Mungo struggle through school (he's not a good student), confrontations with Hamish, and trying to help Jodie; he also befriends another boy who lives in a neighboring tenement building. James is seven months older and occupies himself with raising pigeons while his father, who works on an oil rig, is away for months at a time. Mungo and James quickly become close, but the fact that James is Catholic while Mungo is Protestant puts them at risk if anyone discovers their relationship, especially Mungo's brother Hamish, who leads a Protestant gang.

In the shorter timeline - the 'after' - Mungo is sent by Mo-Maw on a fishing trip with two men she knows from AA. Calling themselves St Christopher and Gallowgate, they take Mungo on a multi-bus journey to a remote loch. The men are former convicts and heavy alcoholics, but only after Mungo is there does he realize the real danger he might be in.

I read this for a book club, as it is not the kind of book I would pick up normally, and though I was glad to have the chance to branch out, it was still not my cup of tea. I think it was well written, if perhaps a tad longer than it needed to be (although despite the length, it felt like a quick read; the writing was very engaging). All of the characters were so well developed and interesting, even if most of them were more unlikable than not. The setting was quite vivid as well, although it threw me off that the era wasn't made clear earlier on - maybe there was a hint that I missed, but while I got that it was the 90s eventually, I spent way too much time wondering at the beginning. 

Overall I interpreted this as a sort of commentary on poverty and abuse, the cyclical/heritable nature of trauma, and the deep claws of homophobia. Mo-Maw got pregnant young and holds this against her children; we see this pattern playing out with Hamish and Sammy Jo

and with Jodie's aborted pregnancy

. The impact of alcoholism and drug addiction can be seen in myriad characters both major and minor.

Mungo fears his life taking the same path as Mr. Calhoun's, another example of repetition throughout the ages, and the response that James and Mungo's families have to their queerness show how fearful they are of it. Not to mention the extreme irony of Hamish calling James a child molester and how the family knows that is Bad and wants to use it as an excuse to blame him for corrupting Mungo, but don't actually care that they are sending Mungo away with two known child molesters.

This book definitely leaves you with a lot to think about, and I really felt for (most of) the characters, Mungo especially, who is being squished and fit into a role that doesn't fit him, but can't see any way out given the opportunities life has presented to him.

I'm conflicted about the ending - it definitely improved my feelings on the book overall, but I wish that it hadn't taken so long to get to that point.

I'm also not sure how I feel about the author leaving what actually happens to Mungo up in the air - on the one hand, I liked being shown a glimpse of the changed Mungo without seeing him definitely doom himself to that future; on the other hand I think it's a bit of a cop-out to leave such an open ending.

This book was definitely good, and interesting; I'm looking forward to talking about it with others, but I still wouldn't say it was my cup of tea. It was good, but I didn't love it; I'm sure many readers will.

Heavy, heavy topics throughout - definitely read the content warnings if you're sensitive about pretty much anything. There is a lot of sad, bad stuff going on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

torismazarine's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

oscarlavista's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reading Young Mungo was like slowly moving your hand closer and closer to a hot stove; You know it's going to hurt, it's probably going to leave a mark, you might cry, but at the end of that you're going to have learned something even if it was the most painful way to learn. It's tense, stomach knotting writing that was an unbelievable joy to read even if it hurt the entire time. 

It's simply a masterpiece. I've not read anything like this before and I will probably never read anything like it again. It's the best worst time I've ever had. Now I'm off to have a good cry 😢

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Incest and Self harm

adrienne_rennie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Abortion

Minor: Pregnancy

blues's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Che viaggio spettacolare. Questo libro mi ha catapultato in una Scozia degli anni 80-90, in un ambiente chiuso, iper-mascolinizzato e religioso (con annesse lotte tra la parte protestante e la parte cristiana) e me l'ha fatto sentire a 360 gradi. Mi ha fatto conoscere Mungo, ma con lui anche tante altre persone con cui sono riuscito ad empatizzare, nonostante questi non fossero sempre personaggi molto positivi. Vediamo questi personaggi sia nei momenti "pieni" di trama, sia in quei momenti di quotidianità (soprattutto Mungo ovviamente), il che ci aiuta molto a capirli meglio, a capire come ragionano e quali sono i loro punti di forza e le loro insicurezze. 
Ho adorato particolarmente tutte le metafore che Douglas Stuart ha utilizzato per descrivere i sentimenti di Mungo e di tutti questi personaggi, facendomi sempre capire appieno la sensazione che voleva trasmettermi. 
Un'altra cosa che ho amato sono le descrizioni degli ambienti: riuscivo davvero a sentirmi dentro ai posti che raccontava. Non solo li vedevo nella mia testa, ma ne sentivo anche gli odori, i rumori e i sapori. Ero davvero insieme ai personaggi.
Questo libro mi ha preso il cuore e me l'ha strappato in mille pezzi, ma mi ha anche lasciato una parte di Mungo, che si muoverà con me ovunque io andrò. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent