Young Mungo: The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller

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Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who was her Scottish secretary from 1986-1990, famously said in one interview about the Scottish view of Thatcher: "She was a woman, she was an English woman and she was a bossy English woman and they could probably put up with one of these but three simultaneously was a bit too much." Okay, maybe my expectations were too high after Shuggie Bain, but while Stuart still excells at atmospheric writing and nuanced dialogue, the plot is frustratingly predictable and the main character is simply another version of Shuggie, but a bit older, so the aspect of him realizing that he is gay becomes central to the story. Mungo grows up in 1990's Glasgow, the youngest of three siblings with a neglectful, alcoholic single mother whom he feels responsible for. His older brother is a violent criminal, his sister has an affair with a teacher (the outcome of which is exactly what you would expect). Around the siblings, the city and its working class population are still struggling due to de-industrialization, poverty, and hopelessness. When 15-year-old Mungo, a Protestant, falls in love with James, a Catholic, what happens is what you would expect. When his mother sends Mungo to a fishing trip with two pals from the AA so Mungo would man up, what happens is exactly what you would expect (this is no spoiler, this episode starts right at the beginning of the book and is then sprinkled within the chronologically told story of what happened before).

In terms of geographical setting – both are in of course set in the author’s birth town of Glasgow (albeit "Shuggie Bain" more on the outskirts for much of its time and this having a second strand some way North).The novel opens with Mungo Hamilton, a 15-year-old Scottish teenager, preparing for a trip with two men who his mother met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, St. Christopher and Gallowgate, who plan to take him fishing to learn how to be a man. Months earlier, Mungo was living at home being cared for by his sister Jodie, with the constant threat of being taken away by social services in the absence of his mother, Maureen. One day, he sees James, a Catholic boy who lives across the street from him and who built a dovecote to raise poultry, through his window. The two become friends and soon develop a romance, which becomes their first relationship that does not involve constant acts of violence. Thomas-Corr, Johanna (27 March 2022). "Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart review — the Shuggie Bain author's new novel". The Sunday Times . Retrieved 25 March 2022.

He grew up in Glasgow, from a working class-dysfunctional-protestant family. His sister, Jodie is only a year older—but she adopted the role as surrogate-mother to Mungo. (for good reasons)…Jodie doesn’t want Mungo to turn out like their older brother, Hamish- a gang leader. (personally, I loved Jodie’s character). It was a funny thing to observe; near strangers who had shared some of their deepest shames, their most vulnerable moments, were now gathering to make small talk about the weather or if Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Abuse (Sexual, Physical, Emotional, Child, Domestic), Grooming, Murder, Violence (including anti-religious and homophobic hate crimes), Homophobia, Addiction, Death, Alcohol, Abortion, Blood/InjuryI haven’t yet read Stuart’s Booker prize winning novel Shuggie Bain, but this appears to be set in a similar setting with similar themes of post-Thatcher poverty in 1990s Glasgow, single families, alcoholism and violence. The focus of this novel is the adolescent Mungo rather than the younger Shuggie and his mother Agnes. The writing is evocative and liberally sprinkled with colourful similes and descriptions and the authentic dialogue very much captures the mood of the time. The main characters are so well drawn we would recognise them in an instant and even the minor characters have an authentic individuality about them. In many ways this is a hard book to read and review, as what happens to young Mungo is painful and depressing. The ending is particularly dark and disturbing and left me feeling sad, but really hoping that there will be some light in both Mungo’s and James’ futures after all they have endured and lost. We’ll look after ye, Mungo. Nae worries. We’ll have some laughs, and you can bring yer mammy some fresh fish”.

To my younger self. I was incredibly self-loathing and self-doubting, and I’m still undoing that damage 30 years later. Dinnae worry, grinned Gallowgate. We’ll get you away free that scheme. We’ll have a proper boy’s weekend. Filled with heavy issues - dark as dark ever was - this novel is incredibly seductive…..encompassed by the mastery-passionate-storytelling.It’s a deeply felt - heartbreaking-powerful & beautiful complicated story of a young gay man dealing with traditionalism, tolerance, open-mindedness, responsiveness, observance, freethinking, noncompliance, and ‘young love’….. When I read Shuggie Bain I at least thought that there was an attempt at something in the storytelling... The blurb makes it seem like it's a forbidden love story between a Protestant boy and a Catholic one. This forms just a small part of the storyline. The main story is more like a bildungsroman, but not in a good way. I didn’t understand that the conflict between Protestants and Catholics raged in Scotland as Ireland. It’s the 1990s and fifteen year old Mungo lives in a Glasgow housing estate. He’s a soft soul in a hard world. His older brother is the leader of a gang and is trying to toughen Mungo up. His mother is a drunk and more absent than present. His sister tries to run the household while living her own life. Mungo meets James, a Catholic, and they fall in love. The only thing worse in this milieu than a cross sect romance is a queer romance. Molly Young for The New York Times noted the "mad grandeur" of the novel and the "beauty" of the language employed by Stuart, while also criticising the descriptions of the characters' emotions, since the plot, according to Young, gave the reader enough information to understand them without needing to reiterate them. She also spoke negatively of the violent events in the story and stated that some readers might feel like "misery tourists." [25] The violence of the plot was also criticised by Kevin Quinn of Post Magazine, who said it risked overshadowing Stuart's literary skill, while praising the construction of Mungo's inner life. [26] Television adaptation [ edit ]