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A review by stephbysteph
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
5 gut-wrenched stars.
This is one that stays with you and makes you ask yourself/the author/the universe unanswerable questions.
Shuggie is a complicated boy with - to put it extremely mildly - a complicated upbringing. The love he has for his family is heartbreaking at times. At many times.
There are a few nice and/or funny moments that make you feel ok about continuing, and it's written so expertly today you actually really want to keep going. I audio read this one, and kudos to the reader for bringing the Glaswegian accents and slang to life, and for differentiating the characters' voices enough that you could tell who was speaking - but not so much that it was forced or weird.
I don't think this is a book for someone who isn't in a good mental/emotional place. It's HEAVY. But it's also incredible.
This is one that stays with you and makes you ask yourself/the author/the universe unanswerable questions.
Shuggie is a complicated boy with - to put it extremely mildly - a complicated upbringing. The love he has for his family is heartbreaking at times. At many times.
There are a few nice and/or funny moments that make you feel ok about continuing, and it's written so expertly today you actually really want to keep going. I audio read this one, and kudos to the reader for bringing the Glaswegian accents and slang to life, and for differentiating the characters' voices enough that you could tell who was speaking - but not so much that it was forced or weird.
I don't think this is a book for someone who isn't in a good mental/emotional place. It's HEAVY. But it's also incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury