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A review by allymute
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
I am super privileged and thankful to receive an e-galley from Netgalley!
The way Stuart constructs the novel's environment is remarkable to read, particularly with the balance of nuance and empathy he creates in regards to the questionably ethical behavior that is necessary to survive this unforgiving world. He places great care into the provenance of socio-economic and political suffering, and the justification of sectarian violence that is in Scotland's history. From gang violence, alcoholism, to teen pregnancy, it is a world that in many ways, reflects our everyday sufferings of capitalism. From his prose, it seems impossible for Stuart to write a dry and callous novel.
However, I have a difficult time digesting why Mungo is molested by the two men. The plot is inevitable, as many LGBTQ+ people know the consistent threat of intimacy and violence that is present in private spaces. Isolated spaces have historically been a beacon for our community, like the reader witnesses with James and Mungo in the doocot, or abusive, like Mungo's experiences on the fishing trip. While it is most likely realistic for his mother to place Mungo carelessly out of her way, I still question the motives on Stuart's device with this plot. Does the reader need to see that this abusive form of heterosexual masculinity is more socially acceptable than the intimate, gay love between Mungo and James, or Chickie's bachelor life? Perhaps, for some readers, but there are plenty of readers who probably enter the novel with this mindset.
The way Stuart constructs the novel's environment is remarkable to read, particularly with the balance of nuance and empathy he creates in regards to the questionably ethical behavior that is necessary to survive this unforgiving world. He places great care into the provenance of socio-economic and political suffering, and the justification of sectarian violence that is in Scotland's history. From gang violence, alcoholism, to teen pregnancy, it is a world that in many ways, reflects our everyday sufferings of capitalism. From his prose, it seems impossible for Stuart to write a dry and callous novel.
However, I have a difficult time digesting why Mungo is molested by the two men. The plot is inevitable, as many LGBTQ+ people know the consistent threat of intimacy and violence that is present in private spaces. Isolated spaces have historically been a beacon for our community, like the reader witnesses with James and Mungo in the doocot, or abusive, like Mungo's experiences on the fishing trip. While it is most likely realistic for his mother to place Mungo carelessly out of her way, I still question the motives on Stuart's device with this plot. Does the reader need to see that this abusive form of heterosexual masculinity is more socially acceptable than the intimate, gay love between Mungo and James, or Chickie's bachelor life? Perhaps, for some readers, but there are plenty of readers who probably enter the novel with this mindset.