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mona_ambt's review
I am unfortunately unable to finish Young Mungo because it's too emotionally challenging and I'm so not in the right state of mind for it, but i do want to know the ending. (Probably means I'll never come around to reading A Little Life either, which is sad)
I went into it not really knowing what it's about and maybe, just maybe I should've thought of checking the trigger warnings.
With all that said, this book follows the story of Mungo in Glasgow. He meets James with whom he falls in love, or feels an illicit attraction for. He is sent away to a fishing week-end with 2 men from the AA, after being found out by his mother.
The story is cut into two times intermingling: Mungo and James's meeting and the week-end away.
I quickly enough got attached to the characters and their (ever-present) struggles and I could have cried too many times to be counted.
If you want to be sad and revolted against the whole world, read Young Mungo.
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, and Abortion
stephanieroc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Abortion, and Outing
smera90's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, and Murder
vidyasargeant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
jkneebone's review
- 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
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
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.
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.
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
reneest's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Pedophilia
petyapav's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
torismazarine'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? Yes
4.5
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
matildacc's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, and Abortion
martaonherown's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Rape