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laurxndxx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
First of all this book requires a trigger warning for practically everything from start to finish. There were moments when I had to take a break out of shock. Despite that, it was an extremely emotive story about navigating being gay in a housing estate in Glasgow, whilst having to deal with his alcoholic mother and his overbearing brother. A lot of the characters were unlikable. I feel like this was too graphic for me, and might be better for someone else. I definitely recommend looking into the themes of this before reading it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Douglas Stuart for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and Douglas Stuart for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
andireadsawesomely's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Violence
meganannah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A story of two boys who never got the chance to love each other. Mungo is a 15 year old boy from Glasgow and this book follows two aspects of his life: his relationships with his family and a new-found friendship with James. The story is set in two separate timelines, which we flick between as we learn about Mungo's past and present, before they eventually merge to one. The book tackles some difficult topics so people should definitely check trigger warnings before reading. Nonetheless Stuart creates beautiful imagery throughout the story, whilst still addressing these important topics. Whilst following the developing love story between Mungo and James, we also learn about Mungo's relationships with each family member, creating a clear picture of his life. Mungo faces hardships for a variety of reasons such as homophobia, religious tensions and being surrounded by violence. As the book is written phonetically in order to portray the Scottish accents, it becomes incredibly immersive and fun to read. Ultimately the book follows Mungo getting repeatedly broken down, until he loses any hope he had remaining, but ends with a cliffhanger that leaves multiple possibilities open, rekindling the hope you (and Mungo) lost throughout the chapters. Young Mungo is heartbreakingly beautiful and I will be recommending it to everyone I know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry
clem's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with an ARC of one of my most-anticipated 2022 releases!
At first glance, <i>Young Mungo</i>'s premise seems similar to <i>Shuggie Bain</i>: we have a soft-hearted gay boy growing up in working class east Glasgow, the youngest of three siblings and still clinging to the love of his absent alcoholic mother while the other two have detached from her. But the plot veers in an entirely different direction.
There are two timelines here: one follows Mungo's life in Glasgow as he struggles to live up to the expectations of his brother Hamish, a gang leader, and sister Jodie, who wants to escape her working class life and for Mungo to find a way out too. The novel is billed primarily as the love story between Mungo, who is Protestant, and James, a Catholic. But the relationship between Mungo and James is only a small fraction of the story - tender and well-developed despite its economy. The family dynamics, the cycle of poverty, violence, and addiction, and Mungo's struggles to survive as a soft, loving teenage boy in a harsh world are all equally important aspects of the novel. I personally would say the narrative of loss of innocence is the primary dynamic here.
James's greatest desire is to leave Glasgow and his homophobic father, and Mungo dreams of joining him. When we do see Mungo outside of the city, it is in the second timeline: he is on a fishing trip with two older criminals. I don't want to say much about this timeline because I think it's best to know very little about it, but it functions as scaffolding for the entire novel and it's very effective.
Though at times the writing was a little bit clunky, in general I find Stuart's prose both readable and evocative. The dialogue in <i>Shuggie Bain</i> brought the whole thing to life for me, and he continues to excel there. Glasgow lifts off the page, vibrant and in constant motion. Stuart's character work is wonderful - compassionate, complex. Even minor characters come to life at his hands. Though the story is sad, though there is trauma coursing through the pages, the novel never feels maudlin. The way Stuart depicts the social failings that create violence, the moments of levity, the humour in the characters' banter all make the book feel like much more than a voyeuristic window into suffering.
I'm confident that those who loved <i>Shuggie</i> will love this one. Stuart remains a fantastic chronicler of queer life and love in 80s and 90s working class Glasgow.
At first glance, <i>Young Mungo</i>'s premise seems similar to <i>Shuggie Bain</i>: we have a soft-hearted gay boy growing up in working class east Glasgow, the youngest of three siblings and still clinging to the love of his absent alcoholic mother while the other two have detached from her. But the plot veers in an entirely different direction.
There are two timelines here: one follows Mungo's life in Glasgow as he struggles to live up to the expectations of his brother Hamish, a gang leader, and sister Jodie, who wants to escape her working class life and for Mungo to find a way out too. The novel is billed primarily as the love story between Mungo, who is Protestant, and James, a Catholic. But the relationship between Mungo and James is only a small fraction of the story - tender and well-developed despite its economy. The family dynamics, the cycle of poverty, violence, and addiction, and Mungo's struggles to survive as a soft, loving teenage boy in a harsh world are all equally important aspects of the novel. I personally would say the narrative of loss of innocence is the primary dynamic here.
James's greatest desire is to leave Glasgow and his homophobic father, and Mungo dreams of joining him. When we do see Mungo outside of the city, it is in the second timeline: he is on a fishing trip with two older criminals. I don't want to say much about this timeline because I think it's best to know very little about it, but it functions as scaffolding for the entire novel and it's very effective.
Though at times the writing was a little bit clunky, in general I find Stuart's prose both readable and evocative. The dialogue in <i>Shuggie Bain</i> brought the whole thing to life for me, and he continues to excel there. Glasgow lifts off the page, vibrant and in constant motion. Stuart's character work is wonderful - compassionate, complex. Even minor characters come to life at his hands. Though the story is sad, though there is trauma coursing through the pages, the novel never feels maudlin. The way Stuart depicts the social failings that create violence, the moments of levity, the humour in the characters' banter all make the book feel like much more than a voyeuristic window into suffering.
I'm confident that those who loved <i>Shuggie</i> will love this one. Stuart remains a fantastic chronicler of queer life and love in 80s and 90s working class Glasgow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Abortion
_bookishbella's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
mybookcorner's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
My expectations were quite high and I was left pretty disappointed with this one. Two intense plot lines mixed with a very predictable storyline of a main character made this quite a sludge for me to get through. It wasn’t breathtaking and wasn’t very riveting. Stuart writes his characters with charm and it’s easy to get attached to them, but it would’ve been easier to not have two storylines mixed in together. It made the pace struggle. I wanted to know more about James and Mungo. But in my opinion, this was such a minimal portion of the novel. And I was disappointed.
After hearing such rave reviews about Shuggie Bain I was looking forward to this being my first Stuart (this proof was gifted my way), but I was honestly so bored. I’m sure those who loved Shuggie might love this. I wish I could be more eloquent but I just didn’t enjoy this as much as I’d hoped.
Thank you Picador for sending this my way for an honest review.
After hearing such rave reviews about Shuggie Bain I was looking forward to this being my first Stuart (this proof was gifted my way), but I was honestly so bored. I’m sure those who loved Shuggie might love this. I wish I could be more eloquent but I just didn’t enjoy this as much as I’d hoped.
Thank you Picador for sending this my way for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism
winedarkwords's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I already know that Young Mungo is going to be one of my top 3 books of 2022.
Douglas Stuart has my loyalty for life; I’ll read anything he writes from here on. This was a book that had me setting my alarm for hours before I needed to wake for work, because I was so desperate to carve out time to read.
In my review for Stuart’s first book, Shuggie Bain, I called it my version of A Little Life. For all of its complexity and skill, the book is so suffused with a feeling of tense devastation that never releases, to the point where both during and after reading I was trapped in a great ball of gross feelings somewhere between sadness and loss.
By comparison, Young Mungo is every bit as tightly written, and exists in a similar world to Shuggie’s (the setting: 1980s working-class Glasgow. The topics: alcoholism, toxic masculinity, sexuality, classism, a teen boy’s love for his mother), but the intimate details and voice of the story vastly differ; I was worried that this book would only be a re-vamped version of the previous, but that is not the case at all.
Mungo is near-16, his mother disappears for weeks at a time either on benders or in pursuit of men (sometimes both) and he survives his days in the tenement with his older siblings: 18 year-old Hamish (a Glaswegian Peter Pan, high on speed and in charge of a vicious group of lost boys armed with broken glass and homemade tomahawks, who has tasked himself with the responsibility of apprenticing Mungo to himself as his future lieutenant); and 16-year old Jodie (the Wendy Darling of this analogy, who has tasked herself with the responsibility of raising Mungo as if he were her own child - feeding him, setting baths, plying him with sketchbooks and working so that bills are paid and social services won’t sniff him out before he comes-of-age).
For all of the seedy violence and danger written into the story, there is also a level of adventure and even humour, at times. Mungo’s world is a harsh and realistic one, but the multi-faceted nature of the characters makes for surprising scenes displaying their vulnerability and capacity for showing their version of love and loyalty (I’m thinking of Hamish, as terrible as he is, taking Mungo on a joy-ride to a castle, or coming back to save him every time he falls in a fight - despite it being clear that he would never do so for anyone else, to the extent of what he does for Mungo on the very last page; he’s an extremely skewed person, but richly drawn in every way that the characters are in <i>Shuggie Bain</i>).
As for the love story, it is every bit as real as promised and I don’t want to spoil anything by detailing it any further.
This is a book I need for my personal shelves because I know I’ll be reading it more than once. No doubt I’ll come back to this review and feel embarrassed over how inadequate it is, but for now I don’t have the vocabulary to cipher the jumbled mess that is my brain after finishing <i>Young Mungo</i> for the first time.
(I received this arc from Netgalley in exchange for an open and honest review).
Douglas Stuart has my loyalty for life; I’ll read anything he writes from here on. This was a book that had me setting my alarm for hours before I needed to wake for work, because I was so desperate to carve out time to read.
In my review for Stuart’s first book, Shuggie Bain, I called it my version of A Little Life. For all of its complexity and skill, the book is so suffused with a feeling of tense devastation that never releases, to the point where both during and after reading I was trapped in a great ball of gross feelings somewhere between sadness and loss.
By comparison, Young Mungo is every bit as tightly written, and exists in a similar world to Shuggie’s (the setting: 1980s working-class Glasgow. The topics: alcoholism, toxic masculinity, sexuality, classism, a teen boy’s love for his mother), but the intimate details and voice of the story vastly differ; I was worried that this book would only be a re-vamped version of the previous, but that is not the case at all.
Mungo is near-16, his mother disappears for weeks at a time either on benders or in pursuit of men (sometimes both) and he survives his days in the tenement with his older siblings: 18 year-old Hamish (a Glaswegian Peter Pan, high on speed and in charge of a vicious group of lost boys armed with broken glass and homemade tomahawks, who has tasked himself with the responsibility of apprenticing Mungo to himself as his future lieutenant); and 16-year old Jodie (the Wendy Darling of this analogy, who has tasked herself with the responsibility of raising Mungo as if he were her own child - feeding him, setting baths, plying him with sketchbooks and working so that bills are paid and social services won’t sniff him out before he comes-of-age).
For all of the seedy violence and danger written into the story, there is also a level of adventure and even humour, at times. Mungo’s world is a harsh and realistic one, but the multi-faceted nature of the characters makes for surprising scenes displaying their vulnerability and capacity for showing their version of love and loyalty (I’m thinking of Hamish, as terrible as he is, taking Mungo on a joy-ride to a castle, or coming back to save him every time he falls in a fight - despite it being clear that he would never do so for anyone else, to the extent of what he does for Mungo on the very last page; he’s an extremely skewed person, but richly drawn in every way that the characters are in <i>Shuggie Bain</i>).
As for the love story, it is every bit as real as promised and I don’t want to spoil anything by detailing it any further.
This is a book I need for my personal shelves because I know I’ll be reading it more than once. No doubt I’ll come back to this review and feel embarrassed over how inadequate it is, but for now I don’t have the vocabulary to cipher the jumbled mess that is my brain after finishing <i>Young Mungo</i> for the first time.
(I received this arc from Netgalley in exchange for an open and honest review).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
saestrah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A free advanced reading copy of this title was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review:
Despite already having three other books to read via NetGalley and a small army of library paperbacks on my desk, I was so excited to read Young Mungo that I couldn't let it wait for more than the time it took my phone to download the book. Having studied in Glasgow, the phonetical spellings of Glasweigan English and vivid descriptions of the city submerged me into the city I loved. More than just pointing out street names I walked down or lived on, there's a tangible nature to the setting that makes Glasgow feel like another character in the novel, neither a hero no antagonist, but an omnipresent being that shapes the lives of Mungo and those he interacts with.
Speaking of Mungo, here is a protagonist I whole-heartedly loved. He's used to being babied by those around him and I never questioned why: he's incredibly kind, loyal, and has a forgiving nature which could have been written as his downfall but, while it did bring him a lot of grief, it wasn't written as a flaw to overcome. Mungo's softness is something to protect. Although Mungo is the character that leads us through the story, he's not the only narrator and I never found the other narrators as lesser storytellers. Throughout the two timelines of the novel—one being Mungo on a fishing trip with two alcoholics, the other being Mungo in Glasgow with his family—every character is developed enough that each of their decisions makes sense. There is never the feeling of things happening for the sake of a plot, but rather the plot organically growing from the characters' worldview and actions.
As for the plot, I was a little trepidatious of another story of trauma and pain, where LGBT characters are used as fictional punching bags and are reminded how much the world hates them. While Douglas Stuart doesn't shy away from writing the cruelty and abuse that gay men face, this coming of age story has as much tenderness as it does tragedy. It definitely gets bleak and depressing at times, but the chosen pacing of the story (switching seamlessly between the two timelines) does offer the reader a temporary escape. As the two timelines begin to come together, a sense of cautiousness develops in the reader as enough hints have been given to explain how Mungo found himself on the fishing trip. We can guess what happens to Mungo and James before it happens, and the knowingness doesn't lessen the blow. Having said that, and without spoiling anything too much, the ending is still optimistic. While there's no explicit future laid out for Mungo's happy ending, there's definitely hope for one. I for one, imagined a 'and they lived happily ever after.'
All in all, I loved the characters and enjoyed the writing style. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book (but browse the content warnings beforehand) and while I would like to reread this at some point, I also look forward to whatever Stuart writes next.
Despite already having three other books to read via NetGalley and a small army of library paperbacks on my desk, I was so excited to read Young Mungo that I couldn't let it wait for more than the time it took my phone to download the book. Having studied in Glasgow, the phonetical spellings of Glasweigan English and vivid descriptions of the city submerged me into the city I loved. More than just pointing out street names I walked down or lived on, there's a tangible nature to the setting that makes Glasgow feel like another character in the novel, neither a hero no antagonist, but an omnipresent being that shapes the lives of Mungo and those he interacts with.
Speaking of Mungo, here is a protagonist I whole-heartedly loved. He's used to being babied by those around him and I never questioned why: he's incredibly kind, loyal, and has a forgiving nature which could have been written as his downfall but, while it did bring him a lot of grief, it wasn't written as a flaw to overcome. Mungo's softness is something to protect. Although Mungo is the character that leads us through the story, he's not the only narrator and I never found the other narrators as lesser storytellers. Throughout the two timelines of the novel—one being Mungo on a fishing trip with two alcoholics, the other being Mungo in Glasgow with his family—every character is developed enough that each of their decisions makes sense. There is never the feeling of things happening for the sake of a plot, but rather the plot organically growing from the characters' worldview and actions.
As for the plot, I was a little trepidatious of another story of trauma and pain, where LGBT characters are used as fictional punching bags and are reminded how much the world hates them. While Douglas Stuart doesn't shy away from writing the cruelty and abuse that gay men face, this coming of age story has as much tenderness as it does tragedy. It definitely gets bleak and depressing at times, but the chosen pacing of the story (switching seamlessly between the two timelines) does offer the reader a temporary escape. As the two timelines begin to come together, a sense of cautiousness develops in the reader as enough hints have been given to explain how Mungo found himself on the fishing trip. We can guess what happens to Mungo and James before it happens, and the knowingness doesn't lessen the blow. Having said that, and without spoiling anything too much, the ending is still optimistic. While there's no explicit future laid out for Mungo's happy ending, there's definitely hope for one. I for one, imagined a 'and they lived happily ever after.'
All in all, I loved the characters and enjoyed the writing style. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book (but browse the content warnings beforehand) and while I would like to reread this at some point, I also look forward to whatever Stuart writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence
the_literarylinguist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
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