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owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
I loved this! It was sad and brutal but not without beauty. I think it avoided a lot of sentimentality in romance by focusing on the physical and the unglamorous, and then working hard to draw out the tenderness within that realism. The imagery and lyricism made this a beautiful, if slightly dense, novel.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
kato_dg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
alisonannk's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Terminal illness, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Fatphobia
thegayrobotsfromstarwars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Outing, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Pregnancy
stayathomereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Douglas Stuart's sophomore novel has a lot in common with his debut, Shuggie Bain. Both feature young queer characters in Scotland during the 80s. Both feature an alcoholic mother and complicated sibling relationship, and both deal with class issues and tension between the Protestants and Catholics.
Once again I was very impressed with the way Stuart writes- he crafts such complete characters and builds an atmosphere so real you feel like you're there, too.
Young Mungo is told over two timelines which converge by the end of the book. At the very beginning we know that Mungo has been caught with another boy, beaten by his brother, and sent away by his mother to go camping with two men (who are basically strangers) to straighten him out, toughen him up... give him some manly guidance.
The other timeline follows Mungo prior to this camping trip- giving us a chance to get to know him and his family, and watch as he developed a friendship (and more) with the slightly older Catholic boy who steals and raises fancy pigeons.
One thing to note about the dual timelines is that there is no visual signifier to the reader when switching between the two. The setting and characters make it obvious enough, but towards the end of the novel, as the time gap closes it becomes a little less obvious... then again, that could have been a mistake I made reading past my bedtime! 😉
Unlike Shuggie, who is a young child for most of his book, Mungo is 15 years old and on the cusp of manhood- by 16 he can be considered emancipated and is free to go where he wants with whomever he wants. My problem with his age is that the way he is so infantilized by his mother and sister made it hard for me to visualise him as a teenager ready to fall in love, run away, and be self sustaining.
Getting past that issue, (which is minor really, because I'm sure if I think about it long enough I can come up with some reasoning as to the roles he plays inside and outside of his home life), I found the characters to be so fully developed that I could feel their emotions and struggles pouring off the page; which was exactly my experience with Shuggie Bain. If I could adopt Shuggie and Mungo both I absolutely would! My mothering instinct aches for them.
So while the writing is beautiful, and here and there are wholesome character relationships, the story is full of sadness and violence that had me grimacing while reading. Portions of this book were literally a visceral experience.
I preferred Shuggie Bain to Young Mungo, honestly; but that is like asking if I want cake or ice cream.... both, please!
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Misogyny, Excrement, Abortion, Abandonment, and Classism