Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

112 reviews

foxglovefairy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

Extremely sad story of alcoholism and its devastating familial, social, and economic effects. A portrayal of parenting your parent and the love and strength it takes to never give up on those whose present and futures are wrought with addiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Bullying, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Classism, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Rape, Homophobia, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Cursing, and Alcohol

bethtrigg's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Rape, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Sexism, and Violence

aaannina's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Death

antananarywa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Bullying, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Self harm, Cancer, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Mental illness

mashedpotatoandsaladcream's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

if you hate a bleak and depressing read then you’ll hate this, however if you do like those kind of books you’ll probably love this. 

it mainly follows shuggies relationship with his mother as he grows from 5-15 watching and caring for his mother as his siblings draw away, forced or willing, as she falls into alcoholism and poverty in 1980s scotland -not only does he struggle with this but he also has to struggle with being an effeminate and seemingly clearly gay kid during a time rampant with homophobia and strict acceptance on what a man should act like. it does have a major list of trigger warning so look at them first if needed but although i said the book is depressing -it almost doesn’t feel that way when you read it. like yes it’s sad and it’s hard reading it at parts and yes it starts sad and ends slightly less sad and i think there’s only like a year period of his life when things are actually happy? but the way he’s written the scenes feels different to me. certain scenes will strick for me (the dancing scene, eugene and the fancy meal with agnes, etc) but the characters just had character and they felt like people to me. 

one of these being agnes herself someone who annoyed me so much with how she’d seemed to never try to get better for the kids she seemed to genuinely care for but alcohol seemed to just matter more in its control over her and yet even as she lived in pitshead and all of what happened she still had a pride that was almost inspiring if it didn’t mean it would only lead to her drinking more and pushing her kids away. 

and yet when he’s young she relies on him so much that as he grows up we barely ever know anything about him as a person, there were few scenes where shuggie was just shuggie and his identity revolved around his mother -that you wouldn’t know something happened to him until it was referenced once in his narration when with his mother and yet at the end he’s changed and he finally has a friend -something he never had during the rest of the book, in fact most would be shown once and no longer appear and yet by the end he actually calls them a friend. 

anyway it’s a good choice if you like a bleak read and i’d recommend for that but not really if you hate them because you’ll just hate this even more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexism, Drug use, Pedophilia, Cursing, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Classism, Rape, Death of parent, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Blood, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

stephh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I really wasn't sure I'd enjoy this - everyone said it was an incredibly depressing read, and the list of trigger warnings is one of the longest ones I've ever seen. HOWEVER, I found that, although the book is bleak it isn't a miserable read by any means, and some of the content the trigger warnings were there for wasn't graphic at all.

Shuggie's a young boy in the early 80s living in Glasgow just after Thatcher has closed the mines. His mother Agnes is an alcoholic and, despite Shuggie's best efforts, they live a tumultuous life together with his grandparents, father and older brother and sister. We watch Shuggie grow up across the book and learn to navigate a world that's stacked against him throughout his childhood.

I feel like I can't do justice to just how good this book was. It's given me one of the biggest book hangovers I've ever had, and has been all I can think about for a good week now. I found that, although the book was dark and gloomy, there was always a thread of hope running through it keeping you going. I'm not usually a fan of a book where a lot of the main characters are flawed, but this one was so incredibly well written that I loved following the entire Bain family. I can't wait to read Young Mungo now, and see if that lives up to the lofty heights of this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Pedophilia

butlerebecca's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• 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

I put this down for a few months because 1) it is very sad 2) the pace tends to drag a bit. I'm glad I returned to it because overall it's beautifully written. Ideally, the book would be shorter but all in all a good read! That being said definitely read the trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Death of parent, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

chloec27's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism

amy1608's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Bullying, and Homophobia

Minor: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, Excrement, Cancer, Grief, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship

tilla's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.25

 This was a heartbreaking read – I am very glad that I read it, but I don’t think I can ever read it again, though if I did, I would listen to it on audiobook to get the experience of the Scottish accent.
 
 I wanted so much for these characters. I want it to be easier – to get better, but even when there is a second of light it is quickly snuffed out. I want the siblings to stick together. To get out but do it together but they each seem to feel alone in their shitty situation. Even as you kinda hate Agnes for how she treats herself and leaves her children to fend for themselves, you, like Shuggie and probably Leek, cannot help to root for her to get out, get better, be happy 

After a few chapters of good times, lighter times, it is heart breaking reading about how a man that seems good, and means well, leads Agnes to break her sobriety, and what that means for the family. 
 And even though most of the book is sad and hard and heartbreaking, it manages to end on a somewhat hopeful note, even if it is not perse happy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Self harm, Pedophilia, and Homophobia