Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

439 reviews

mattgroot1980's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Abandonment

bubblegum_or_books's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Mental illness, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

aurie1000's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Hard hitting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

cida's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Violence

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Suicide

technicolour's review

challenging dark funny sad slow-paced

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

4.0

A bit of a slow burn but really builds into something complicated and heartbreaking. 

Was really glad I listened to the audiobook for this one, read in Scottish accent really does it proper justice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia

lwgreen1's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Possibly my favorite book of the year. I liked this story more than Shuggie Bain. The characters are complex — at times I was empathetic towards Hamish and Mo-Maw, but at times they angered me. I related to Mungo in his sexuality struggle. I loved the side characters like Mrs. Campbell and Chickie Calhoun. Overall a gritty, heartbreaking, tender, nuanced, and well-paced story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Violence

ls_alexiou's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

It had been a while since I'd read fiction, and this was the book that made me fall in love with it all over again. It's really phenomenal what Douglas Stuart manages to do.

Warning: this book will break your heart into pieces and then slowly stitch them back together.

It's an incredibly challenging depiction of a love between two young boys from different sects (one is protestant the other catholic) growing up in working-class Glasgow. It's a story about poverty, alcoholism, and the violent expectations of masculinity.

To be honest I don't think I can put it all to words how beautifully powerful this book is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Classism

There should be a CW tag for sectarianism.

kers_tin's review

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Abortion

skudiklier's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

Please read the content warnings before reading this book.

It's written well, and Mungo is a likable and sympathetic character (especially his autism, which I immediately related to). But overall this book is just too sad, dark, and upsetting to me. I didn't get enough out of it for the darkness to be worth it. I might have DNF'd it if it wasn't for a book club I'm hosting; the time pressure was my only real motivation to keep reading. I didn't even necessarily want to know what would happen, because I knew it wouldn't be good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Outing

Minor: Fatphobia

cluckieduck's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

 I have been sitting with my thoughts on how to review this book for some time now, as I grapple with my feelings. How do you rate something that is unspeakably tragic, yet utterly captivating? Seriously, this is Shakespearean-level tragedy here, equally one of the most horrible books I've read this year (possibly ever) but also one of the best.

What it did do, however, was reinforce my love for romance novels because the amount of despair & anguish that poor Mungo goes through is too much for my poor heart. Seems I can only take one piece of contemporary fiction like Young Mungo each year! Thankfully it ended on a somewhat hopeful note, otherwise I don't know how I would have coped. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Excrement and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent