Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

8 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I think the author may have had a very sad life based on the two books I’ve now read. But both those one and Shuggie Bains have great protagonists - young men with the deck stacked against them since birth but who continue to learn their value and insist that they matter and eventually figure out how to hang into the most important part of themselves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Abandonment, Abortion, Kidnapping, Addiction, Confinement, Physical abuse, Bullying, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Classism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

juliep810's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Abortion, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Abandonment, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Outing

rose_reads_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.75

What an interesting listen! It took me quite a while to get into the book and some parts were quite slow but overall it was a really good book. Definitely check the content/trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Abandonment, Violence, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual violence, Animal death, Torture, Classism, Bullying, Homophobia, and Animal cruelty

pkc's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

At the half way point, I couldn’t have envisioned giving this book five stars. Some of the subject matter is harrowing and tough to read, but tell me why I finished reading it, feeling, of all things, hopeful? Mungo as a protagonist is sweet and complicated. His journey of discovery is as joyful as it is harrowing in places and seeing him endure what he does filled me with a deep sense of anger and hurt and seeing his transition at the end of the novel left me feeling conflicted.

No one should endure what he has to, but the result is that he survives his ordeal with his brother and the loch and comes back with a sense of perspective - he will fend for himself and do what is right for himself.

 

All in all, a much bleaker picture than ‘Shuggie Bain’ but definitely more complex and engaging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Animal death, Bullying, Vomit, Rape, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Death, Medical trauma, and Outing

maggiemaryamos's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Murder, Physical abuse, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Torture

hypocrisis's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

4.0

felt like i was being wrung out like a wet towel, truly gut wrenching passages in there which is why i had to shelve it for a couple of months before reading the second half. there are beautiful moments of hope but you never get to savour them as the inevitable next chapter looms over peaceful scenes like a dark cloud. 
what i love about stuart's work is the realistically complex full characterisation of the families in his books, once again the mother figure sticks out in this regard. definitely worth a read if you can stomach it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Blood, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Classism, Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Torture, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Violence, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Outing, Excrement, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Minor: Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

belfrybatz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Murder, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, Violence, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia

alisonannk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Excrement, and Torture

Moderate: Gore, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, and Terminal illness

Minor: Fatphobia