Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

11 reviews

emilybr's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Heart wrenching, the characters are wonderfully complex and the book managed to tell such an intricate story in under 400 pages. It is not a joyful story, the events Mungo and those around him go through are horrific but so incredibly believable, once i started reading i couldn’t stop. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Homophobia

Moderate: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Racism

aislingmoconnell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Racism

exquis's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Child abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

firstknight's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Hate crime, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Abortion, Vomit, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Racism, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

joeykills's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Classism, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Mental illness

milkfran's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Was very keen to read this after adoring Stewart’s first prize winning novel, Shuggie Bain.  
Like Shuggie, it’s a grim portrayal of the real struggles faced by working class people in a post-Thatcher Glasgow and the painful reality of alcoholism.
It’s not a spoiler to say that it has strong LGBTQ+ themes and comes with a content warning for homophobia along with a long list of other things.
Beautifully written but I’m still not sure what to make of it- it feels very much like Shuggie part two. Grim and brutal and certainly not an easy read if you’re feeling emotional. Ooft. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, and Racism

helen777's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Best book I’ve read in a long time. Stopped watching tv for a week because I was just reading this. The characters were so well written, and the themes and plot were really captivating. It covers some really tough adult themes - these should not be taken lightly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual content, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Abortion

Minor: Racism and Police brutality

snowydaze's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I received an audiobook copy of Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I enjoyed some parts of the book, but I felt that most of it dragged on quite a bit. This made it very difficult to get into the book and get to know the characters in any meaningful way. Additionally at times, it seemed like Mungo did things that seem uncharacteristic of him or contradicted what his character was made out to be like. 
I also found that most of the feminine characters were treated and acted the same way besides a handful of them. I understand that their actions represent the truth of what can occur in some instances, but the way these issues are discussed and treated in the book comes across negatively. 
I also feel like this book should include some form of a trigger warning list as there are numerous things I would have loved a warning about regardless of the effects knowing about it would have on the story. Therefore, I highly recommend looking up a trigger warning list before reading this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Cursing, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Outing, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Abortion

lena_loves_reading's review against another edition

4.0

I recieved an ARC of the audiobook via NetGalley  :)

Young Mungo was unlike any other book I've read. It takes place in Glasgow during the 80s and I struggled with adapting to the accent of the narrator. The accent adds to the atmosphere but could make it quite hard for readers with English as their second language to understand.

I loved the tender love story, the boys feeling safe with one another even when everyone around them was toxic and abusive. It felt like reading about a small light surrounded by so much darkness. The writing style was beautiful. 

This is one of these books that doesn't just have one very sad incident: the whole novel is depressing. From the violence Mungo grows up with to unwanted teenage pregnancies to being surrounded by extreme homophobia to so much more. If you want to read this, make sure you're in a good place as this will certainly drag down your mood ;-;

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Homophobia, Murder, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Racism

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Outing, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Violence