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mona_ambt's review against another edition
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: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Rape, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, and Abortion
jkneebone's review against another edition
- 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: Homophobia, Outing, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Classism, Cursing, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion
petyapav's review against another edition
- 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: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Bullying, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Murder, Alcohol, Death, 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: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Outing, Violence, Abortion, Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Police brutality
senoyreve'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Pedophilia, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Outing, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Addiction, Bullying, Rape, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence
oscarlavista's review against another edition
- 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
It's simply a masterpiece. I've not read anything like this before and I will probably never read anything like it again. It's the best worst time I've ever had. Now I'm off to have a good cry 😢
Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Pedophilia, Confinement, Cursing, Hate crime, Violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Animal death, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Alcohol, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
Minor: Incest and Self harm
nineinchnails's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
all of the characters were well developed and fleshed out but jodie was particularly interesting to read about. she was one of the only characters to treat mungo with love and care relatively consistently. she was something of a mother figure to him, despite only being a year older - to me this shone a light on mungo's naivete as well as jodie's parentification. they had a teenage brother but the responsibility of raising and caring for the two of them still fell on her shoulders alone. jodie "hated" their mother, but
mungo seems to be endlessly loving, endlessly obedient, and endlessly forgiving. it's painful to see him repeatedly get taken advantage of by the people in his life. his mother has pretty much no redeeming qualities and just seems to take and take with no regard for the wellbeing of her own children. getting to the end and finding out
the ending of the fishing trip did feel a little dissonant considering the overall tone of the novel and the characterisation of mungo up to this point. of course, he was put in a situation where he had few options and i am more than relieved that he ended up
i didn't expect to tear up for the reason that i did when i finished this. it was very shocking while also making complete sense for
Graphic: Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Animal death, Sexism, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Abortion
Minor: Terminal illness, Infidelity, Death of parent, Cancer, and Pregnancy
Child sexual abuse, Grooming, Child neglect, Poverty, Student/Teacher relationship, Backstreet/unsafe abortion, and Prostitution/sex workjupytwo'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? It's complicated
4.5
read the content warnings! i did not.
Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, Murder, Rape, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abortion
adrienne_rennie'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Murder, Alcoholism, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Abortion, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Animal death
Minor: Pregnancy
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I have never felt so absolutely gutted after finishing a book, nor have I wanted to give a character a hug as much as Mungo. Stuart writes such a devastating story of a sweet soul who deserved so much more than what he was given. After checking trigger warnings, I would highly recommend, this is a new favorite for me.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Sexual assault, Rape, Outing, Murder, Homophobia, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, and Pedophilia