A review by bookishbrighton
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

medium-paced

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

5.0

Why does Douglas Stuart want to make us miserable? And why is he SO bloody good at it? He has an incredible talent when it comes to his characters - to make you feel intense and frustrating hopelessness but somehow hold out so much hope for them at the same time. 

I was a bit sceptical when I started reading Young Mungo, that it was very similar to Shuggie Bain - similar family set up, themes, etc…, and to be honest that is still true even now I’ve finished it, but the story itself became quite different - it just stomped on my heart the same way Shuggie did.

Stuart’s beautiful and brilliant way with words allows him to describe the most heinous things without going into blatant detail - you are left with that specific kind of heaviness in your heart that you only get from a well written, hard-hitting book. Plenty of TWs in this one, so check them out before you pick it up.

I am really interested to see what Douglas Stuart brings out next - I really hope he’s not a one trick pony because his writing style is stunning and, whilst both of his novels have been exceptional IMO, I would like to see him write a slightly different narrative and see how he does with it.