Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Shuggie Bain

I really don't know what to make of it all. I don't have much experience with alcoholism but, being from Glasgow, I am well aware that it is a problem in the city. It goes without saying that it made Agnes a very dislikable character and despite the author's efforts to make us sympathise with her, I found it difficult to like her. I especially didn't like her air of superiority, nor that she valued herself as better than other women for having 'pride' in her looks. I hated that she tried to embody the role of the good wife, but I also can't blame her for longing for what society says women should strive to be and do. The sexual violence suffered by the character was difficult to read, although it didn't go into much detail, and I felt that it was brushed past too easily. Too many traumatic events happened that could have been delved into further but weren't (I mean the aftermath, not the actual events...). That goes for some of the things that happened to Shuggie too.

On the contrast, it was hard not to love Shuggie. I don't know how to sum him up. What child doesn't love their mother? It's hard to grow up and accept that they aren't the heroes you once thought them to be. Parents can be very flawed people and, as in Shuggie's case, so flawed that there is nothing you can do to help them. The whole book felt like a journey into Shuggie's letting go of his mum, he couldn't keep her here for him. I think ultimately letting her go was the best he could have done.

In this sense, the theme of recurring self-harm and inability to recover reminded me of A Little Life, and both share similar endings in this regard. The tragic comparison between Leanne's mother and Shuggie's is something to comment on, but I won't go too much into it. Essentially, it just shows the possible paths alcoholism can lead a woman down, neither of which are positive. For this reason, I think the book has a very depressing overall tone to it, there isn't a fairytale ending but sometimes that is the reality of things. Clearly this was never entirely Agnes' fault, but in the world we live in she didn't have much choice. Eugene must feel eternal guilt.

It is difficult to finish the book and not know where Shuggie ends up, or what exactly the outcome of the journey with his sexuality will be, but I am comforted with his friendship with Leanne. I hope they both find love and happiness.

Content Warnings

annicanns's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

I really loved the writing in this book.
I picked it up after reading A Little Life in hopes of finding something as emotionally exhausting as I tend to find comfort in reading books where characters have experienced similar things to me.
For the majority of this book, I was completely enticed and wrapped up in the book.
A little more than half way through, I hit a stump. I got a little bored of the same old same old in the section and had to force myself to push through in hopes for the ending to be amazing.
The ending? Amazing.

Pros: Great writing, pacing, and overall a great story
Cons: A little difficult to read at some parts because of the way the accent is spelt out, the amount of time centered around Shuggie as a boy was much much longer than I thought (I thought the book would be about him as an adult learning to cope with life after trauma from his childhood)

Content Warnings

merle98's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

It is not often to come across a book that so brilliantly and intimately portrays the gritty realities of poverty and addiction, neither romanticising its subjects and their lives nor vilifying their actions. Would highly recommend for people in a mentally stable place.

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