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A review by afterglobe
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.
4.5/5 - Loved it.
"It was like hot buttered toast when you were starving. It was that good."
If that sentence doesn't send shivers down your spine, you must not have read "Young Mungo." This book is incredible. I feel at loss to even put into words what reading this was like, because I genuinely felt plunged into Mungo's world - the vulnerability and devastation, the beauty in the brokenness, the hope in a space that feels entirely desolate. As many readers have commented, "Young Mungo" strikes similar chords to "A Little Life" with a main character who is just too pure for this world and a painful narrative in which this character is faced with trials far too cruel for their kindness.
Yet despite the dark themes of this book - homophobia, violence, nationalistic conflict, addiction, rape - there are such intense rays of hope and light and brilliance that come in the form of characters who keep their basic goodness in the face of all the evils that the world can throw at them. This book is simultaneously heart-wrenching and inspiring. And I could not stop thinking about Mungo the entire time I was reading it. I wish I knew Mungo. I wish I could hug him and keep him safe. I completely fell in love with him and with James, with the intense goodness of these two boys.
Although I got a copy of this book to review, I went out and bought it today because I need to own it so that I can read it and re-read it and re-read it again. If I can't have a Mungo on my life, I need a Mungo on my shelf.
4.5/5 - Loved it.
"It was like hot buttered toast when you were starving. It was that good."
If that sentence doesn't send shivers down your spine, you must not have read "Young Mungo." This book is incredible. I feel at loss to even put into words what reading this was like, because I genuinely felt plunged into Mungo's world - the vulnerability and devastation, the beauty in the brokenness, the hope in a space that feels entirely desolate. As many readers have commented, "Young Mungo" strikes similar chords to "A Little Life" with a main character who is just too pure for this world and a painful narrative in which this character is faced with trials far too cruel for their kindness.
Yet despite the dark themes of this book - homophobia, violence, nationalistic conflict, addiction, rape - there are such intense rays of hope and light and brilliance that come in the form of characters who keep their basic goodness in the face of all the evils that the world can throw at them. This book is simultaneously heart-wrenching and inspiring. And I could not stop thinking about Mungo the entire time I was reading it. I wish I knew Mungo. I wish I could hug him and keep him safe. I completely fell in love with him and with James, with the intense goodness of these two boys.
Although I got a copy of this book to review, I went out and bought it today because I need to own it so that I can read it and re-read it and re-read it again. If I can't have a Mungo on my life, I need a Mungo on my shelf.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder