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A review by renniewest
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“Yet Mungo had all this love to give and it lay about him like a ripened fruit and nobody bothered to gather it up.”
this book is devastating and it really fucks with you. it deals with very heavy topics.
mungo struggles from the pressure of toxic masculinity, homophobia, trauma, the neglect of his mother and his broken home life, the list goes on. what gets me is that in the end he’s still just a kid, a young boy who has been dealt with too much and deserves so much better. he feels emotions so fully and loves so strongly and yet it seems like he can never win. i saw a review saying that the novel was too dark for no reason and i understand that perspective, but the ending made me feel hopeful. i really enjoyed mungo and james’ relationship and the softness of it all and i like to think that they ended up happy.
this book is devastating and it really fucks with you. it deals with very heavy topics.
mungo struggles from the pressure of toxic masculinity, homophobia, trauma, the neglect of his mother and his broken home life, the list goes on. what gets me is that in the end he’s still just a kid, a young boy who has been dealt with too much and deserves so much better. he feels emotions so fully and loves so strongly and yet it seems like he can never win. i saw a review saying that the novel was too dark for no reason and i understand that perspective, but the ending made me feel hopeful. i really enjoyed mungo and james’ relationship and the softness of it all and i like to think that they ended up happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism