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A review by shivani_n
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"it could be the last time he ever saw james. mungo knew it now. he turned because he wanted to look on him for as long as he possibly could, to remember the smile that made everything better, the mouth full of happy gappy teeth. he wanted to see if his cheeks had turned their usual bluish-pinkish tartan in fresh air."
this book, though gut wrenching, is so, so beautiful. it covers topics like the protestant-catholic divide, pressures of working class boys to “man up” and the damage it can do, the horrific violence faced by queer people, and the struggles of growing up with an alcoholic mother and absent father.
it seems, from the blurb, very similar to stuart's previous novel, "shuggie bain", but i think it's quite different in a lot of ways. for one, i liked this book a lot better because of its elevated prose and much more developed characters. they were all so unique and well crafted, it made you wanting to read more about them when the book is over. the plot was more engaging, with stuart switching seamlessly between time frames. it’s also much more focused on mungo and james rather than the relationship between mungo and his mother, and there’s more scenes with the siblings as well.
i personally felt so connected to mungo because i feel like we were similar. i really saw myself in him sometimes, with endless love to give to people who often don't reciprocate as much. also just being a very sensitive person when people tell you that that's a bad thing and that you need to "toughen up". i really love him and feel for him, which is another reason i enjoyed the book as much as i did.
something else i liked was how stuart portrayed mungo and james and how they felt about their queerness in an environment where they were taught it was bad or unnatural. instead of making them hate themselves and constantly feel guilty for what they feel (though those stories are of course valid and need to be told), they revel in it and recognise their love for what it is. it was lovely to read and i thought their characters were so well written.
this is an amazing book but i would check the trigger warnings before reading because some of the scenes are quite graphic. would recommend if you want to read something sad and emotional--the ending is up to interpretation.
this book, though gut wrenching, is so, so beautiful. it covers topics like the protestant-catholic divide, pressures of working class boys to “man up” and the damage it can do, the horrific violence faced by queer people, and the struggles of growing up with an alcoholic mother and absent father.
it seems, from the blurb, very similar to stuart's previous novel, "shuggie bain", but i think it's quite different in a lot of ways. for one, i liked this book a lot better because of its elevated prose and much more developed characters. they were all so unique and well crafted, it made you wanting to read more about them when the book is over. the plot was more engaging, with stuart switching seamlessly between time frames. it’s also much more focused on mungo and james rather than the relationship between mungo and his mother, and there’s more scenes with the siblings as well.
i personally felt so connected to mungo because i feel like we were similar. i really saw myself in him sometimes, with endless love to give to people who often don't reciprocate as much. also just being a very sensitive person when people tell you that that's a bad thing and that you need to "toughen up". i really love him and feel for him, which is another reason i enjoyed the book as much as i did.
something else i liked was how stuart portrayed mungo and james and how they felt about their queerness in an environment where they were taught it was bad or unnatural. instead of making them hate themselves and constantly feel guilty for what they feel (though those stories are of course valid and need to be told), they revel in it and recognise their love for what it is. it was lovely to read and i thought their characters were so well written.
this is an amazing book but i would check the trigger warnings before reading because some of the scenes are quite graphic. would recommend if you want to read something sad and emotional--the ending is up to interpretation.