‘No day ever started well with six dozen raw chickens, and today of all days it was stealing the sweetness out of his daydreams.’

Glasgow, 1992. We meet Hugh ‘Shuggie’ Bain working at a supermarket. He has just turned sixteen and is trying to combine schooling with a part-time job. He does not receive adult wages and struggles to keep his things neat in the boarding house where he lives. But Shuggie has dreams.

‘Tomorrow was something to look forward to.’

But what about the past? The story shifts back to 1981, to public housing in Sighthill, Glasgow, to Agnes Bain, Shuggie’s mother:

‘To be thirty-nine and have her husband and her three children, two of them nearly grown, all crammed together in her mammy’s flat, gave her a feeling of failure.’

Unemployment is rife, housing is scarce. Agnes is used to getting what she wants, but it is never enough for her. She craves different, excitement, more. She left her first husband for Shug Bain (‘Big Shug’) a philandering taxi-driver and dreams of having her own house. Agnes is bored, and when she is bored, she drinks.

Things become worse when Shug moves her to Pithead in 1982. She is away from family and friends. Living in a house in an area mostly occupied by unemployed miners and their families. After her older children leave, Shuggie tries to look after her. He feels, as so many children in his situation feel, responsible. He is sure that he can make her better if only he tries harder. He knows how to help her:

‘Shuggie arranged three tea mugs: one with tap water to dry the cracks in her throat, one with milk to line her sour stomach, and the third with a mixture of the flat leftovers of Special Brew and stout that he had gathered from around the house and frothed together with a fork. He knew that this was the one she would reach for first, the one that would stop the crying in her bones.’

If Shuggie is 16 in 1992, then he can only be 6 in 1982. He is carrying the weight of responsibility for his mother and of being different from the other boys. Agnes makes a sad attempt to get one of her male neighbours to be a role model for Shuggie, trading in the only currency she has. To no avail.

This is a heartbreaking story of addiction and love. Agnes is not unaware of the impact of her drinking, but she is in the grips of an addiction. She manages to stay sober for a period, which makes her eventual relapse even harder to bear.

The best advice given to Shuggie is from his brother ‘Leek’ (Alexander):

‘Don’t make the same mistake as me. She’s never going to get better. When the time is right you have to leave. The only thing you can save is yourself.’

What does the future hold for Shuggie? I’d like to think that his story continues on, he acquires the education he wants and finds a place for himself. He did his best for Agnes, but she was beyond help. Addiction is a devastating, destructive, sneaky condition. Especially alcoholism, where some vulnerable people can slide from acceptable social drinking into the abyss of dependency.

This is such a powerful novel with origins in Mr Stuart’s own experience. It’s a novel based in a sad, gritty reality.
It’s a novel that will stay with me. I have read it twice. I have bought my own copy.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Trigger warning: alcohol abuse, domestic violence.
Wow! This book took me a bit to get through because of the dark content. This story is emotionally draining and weighed heavy on my soul. That being said, it’s one of the things I enjoyed about it. Any story that can evoke strong feelings is a work of art. My heart broke for Shuggie, as well as his mother. She struggles immensely with alcoholism and Shuggie took on a lot of the burden for “curing” her.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & Grove Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for a sincere review.

This was a lot. I’m not usually one to shy away from heavy topics or books, and there’s not really anything in terms of content that would keep me from reading something. But Shuggie Bain was just a little too much for me, and I had a difficult time getting through it. Based on author Doulas Stuart’s own life growing up in working-class Glasgow in the 80s, we follow Shuggie, a young boy who lives with an alcoholic mother that can’t ever seem to make it work.

Clearly this was going to be really depressing. The cruel mundanity of poverty is on full display, not a huge surprise as they are living the Thatcher-era, but it still is painful to observe. One of the toughest aspects to stomach is the just constant stream of sexual assault and domestic violence throughout the book. It’s so numerous and widely done across the board for so many characters that I came to expect it at some point in every chapter.

What’s so bleak about this story is how there never seems to be any moments of reprieve. They never find joy or peace, they just keep trudging through their misery, which can make this a bit of a miserable experience to read. I’ve read other novels that were similarly harsh, like Betty or The Nickel Boys, but there were lighter parts mixed in with the devestation. And there seemed to be a *point* to the suffering within the story. To me, Shuggie Bain felt like suffering for suffering’s sake.

The book is well-written and utterly transporting—I just happen to not enjoy the setting we’re transported to. Especially as a debut, I’m sure this was cathartic and healing for Stuart to write, but I don’t think I’d recommend this to the average reader. Not unless they’re really looking for something to grind themselves down with.

This is a difficult book to read because of its subject matter but it is very compelling and hard to put down. It is about a family living in poverty and devastated by abuse, trauma and the difficulties of living in abject poverty. It is a debut novel and the author really makes you feel invested in the characters. I recommend it but it is very heavy.

Discomforting, heartbreaking, gripping, gritty, and very, very dark.

I have to admit, until a week ago, I didn’t know this book. Well, I saw GR friends adding and reading Shuggie Bain, but I found the cover too sentimental. Wrong! So wrong! Never judge a book by its cover! I should know that by now. Last week I read another book (Boys don’t cry by Fiona Scarlett, so incredibly beautiful, please, put it on your TBR!), and reviewers compared that one to Shuggie Bain. Then I read the blurb and found out Shuggie Bain is far from sentimental. Although the book is already available in my native language (Dutch), I could still request it on NetGalley, and I got the ARC within an hour. Thank you so much, Grove Atlantic, for providing me an ARC a year after the publication date! If I hadn’t gotten the ARC, I’d definitely buy the book (in English).

So Shuggie. Like I already mentioned above, this is a dark story. Shuggie’s life is harsh. Living with his grandparents the first five years of his life might have been the happiest years. The story is divided into several parts, starting with Shuggie being sixteen and renting a room in a boarding house. It ends with that part too. In between, the story shows us aspects of Shuggie’s life when he was much younger; the main part is about his life between five and twelve years old. This means the book is not only about Shuggie; in large parts, it’s more or less Agnes’ story.

I found the book a little hard to get in, especially the first chapters of 1981. I wanted to find out more about Shuggie’s life, and at the same time, I sensed I needed to slow down. Usually, I am a fast reader and a little impatient (read: very impatient), so slowing down is sometimes hard for me. But I’m glad I did so I could feel the atmosphere and understand the Glasgow language.


This is a story about unconditional love. Shuggie loved his mom, no matter how hard his life was—being called a poof at seven years old, taking care of himself at the same age, asking his mom if she was alright when she bought beer instead of food; he was such an incredibly brave boy. And I want to mention Leek too. Although he was much older than Shuggie and wasn’t always nice to Shuggie, he stayed with them for a long time, hiding razors and knives, decorating the room when Agnes was sober for a longer period, etc. I have a soft spot for guys like him, acting tough but at the same time sensitive and introverted.

Although Shuggie Bain is a sad and dark read, there were also times I smiled. Reading about stiff and shellacked hair in the first chapters made me remember the smell of Elnett, the hairspray older women used when I was a kid. Thatcher might have used that hairspray as well. It made every women’s haircut an Iron Lady 😂.

This story is not for everyone. I don’t add trigger warnings often in my reviews, but in this case, it’s necessary. Every trigger you can think of is in it. It’s graphic, gritty, and incredibly dark. So, if you get triggered easily, or get depressed by dark books, don’t read it. There are other gritty and heartbreaking books (like the one I mentioned above) that are less graphic and more tender than this one.

This is a story of a young boy growing up with an alcoholic mother. It takes place in Glasgow but this same story plays out all over the world. A tough read. Slow at times, but stick with it. A meaningful read. I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a story about alcoholism, abuse and poverty in the 19880's. It starts in the present day with Shuggie Bain and quickly goes back to the 1980's returning to the present day just at the end.
In my opinion this book should be titled Agnes Bains (Shuggie's mother) as it is more about her life. I did not fully enjoy this book as I didn't engage with the characters and didn't really like the storyline. I did however enjoy the present day parts end would like to read what happened next to Shuggie and his sisters.
Thanks to netgalley & the publishers for this read.

An amazing read. At times quite difficult and certainly heartbreaking, but the characters of Shuggie and Agnes can't fail to get inside of your heart.
This is a poignant and honest account of life in a working class community in 80's Scotland - where poverty and alcoholism run side by side. A powerful read.

A well written compelling story of alcohol addiction & the effects it has on a family. Not an easy read but I can see why it was a Booker Prize winner. Quite a dark and depressing read but a story that will stay with you long after finishing the book.

Before you finish the first chapter you already know that this is going to be a heart-breaking read. This is not a light read. It's real and raw and a must read for everyone. Douglas Stuart is a master at writing as he spins this story you get to know the characters so well that you experience their experiences, feel their emotions and just hope that life gets better for all of them.

This story deserved my attention completely yet I could not read it on consecutive days I read it in chunks, to ponder and process that life for some people is not plain sailing. Agnes is a product of her surroundings, with very little support in the way of comfort and genuine care, and the only true love she receives is from her little boy Shuggie. Stuck in a cycle of poverty, abandoned by her partner, neighbours and friends coming round only if they can get something out of her, her life is bleak and no way up and out of her situation so she drowns herself in alcohol to escape the pain of her real life. Shuggie on the other hand is raising himself and looking after his mother, he loves it when she is sober and this is when you see him his happiest. He is different though and gets bullied for this at school.
The narrator of the story changes many times and you see life through the eyes of the character. if this was told in the 3rd person, I may not have been able to empathise so much with Agnes and her choices, I would not have felt Shuggie's vulnerability so much and his confusion over why he is so different and maybe I would have blamed Catherine and Leek for leaving Shuggie but yet I understood their choices because of the way the story was narrated.
#ShuggieBain #NetGalley

A slow start, but bear with it.

It's a good read, but not an comfortable one. The subject matter may be familiar to some (poverty, alcoholism, drugs) and may may difficult reading because of their experiences; for others, it may be unfamiliar to others, in which case it will be shocking and eye-opening.

It's so easy to condemn people who use drugs or who are poor, and a recent survery in Britain found that many citiizens think that if you're poor it's entirely your own fault. I truly hope that some of them read this book and have their little minds opened to how easy it is to get stuck in the world of poverty, and how hard it is to get out of it.

Definitely worth reading, but be prepared for the raw and often heartbreaking tale of Shuggie and his family.

This book is so beautifully written and it pulled at my heartstrings in so many ways. I was here for all of it. It was difficult to read about the effects of alcoholism but it was done in a very great way. To turn to alcohol instead of taking care of your children and leaving them to fend for themselves was just heart wrenching however this is such a real thing unfortunately. Overall this was a very good read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

What to say about this extraordinary book that hasn’t been said before? Yes, it is a heartbreaking story, and one which the reader can imagine being played out in struggling families the world over. Yet somehow, it is full of hope too - there is an intrinsic goodness and warmth in Shuggie which develops throughout the story and is still there at the end, after all he has been through throughout his short life. My feelings towards his alcoholic mother veered from pity to loathing and back again, but the real hatred is reserved for Shuggie’s despicable father, although even he only left his wife and child because living with an alcoholic destroyed any hope of happiness or stability in his life and he was too stupid, ignorant and self centred to do anything to help. Yes, this is a wonderfully written story, full of darkness and tragedy, but one which will stay with this reader for a long time.

Shuggie Bain, a boy struggling to fit into the world. And his mother Agnes, proud and beautiful, whose hopes and dreams have been dashed by a succession of ambition less, feckless and unfaithful men. Shuggie's older siblings, Catherine and Leek, whose own ambitions are thwarted by their mother's alcoholism and their poverty.

Shuggie's ambition is to make his mother better, to make the brief moments of love and affection the norm. The wretchedness of home life is matched by his experiences outside. His effete manners make him the target of bullies and predatory men.

The story of the effects of alcoholism is unflinching. The desperation for during and the callous disregard for family, the poverty and the hunger, the pride and the shame, the emotional damage to family members.

Men do not come out well in this story. They are selfish and self-serving, faithless and proud, and perpetuating an image of masculinity which excludes the likes of Shuggie, who is urged to be more 'normal'.

The setting is the poor streets and schemes of Glasgow, still divided by religion and where male identity revolves around drink, football and sex. The language, bar a couple of Americanisms, is authentic, and real places form parts of the backdrop.

This is not an easy read. At times, it is unremittingly bleak. The story is told with a sense of melancholy rather than bitterness and the reader is afforded a glimpse of hope that Shuggie might find a way to survive in this grim and unfriendly world.

This was slow to start but gosh what a harsh read. Knowing the book was set in Glasgow in the 80s about a young boy growing up with an alcoholic mother I knew it wouldn't be an easy read. Kept thinking this story has played out in real life all over the country to plenty of children. So so sad. Would love to know what Shuggie does next. Highly recommended. Can see why it won the Booker prize.

Shuggie Bain is a little boy growing up in a grim pit-head estate in Glasgow. His homosexuality marks him out as different from other kids, and he gets a hard time over it. To make matters worse, his mother is an alcoholic, who has been abandoned by Shuggie's philanderer father. His sister leaves the family to get married, and his older brother withdraws into himself rather than deal with his mother, so Shuggie is quite alone in his attempts to protect his mother and keep their little family afloat.

This is a sad and affectionate novel that paints a grim and realistic picture of a woman despairing of the disappointments in her life, and her inability to face them. Agnes' struggles with the drink are recounted in a clear-eyed manner that neither judges her nor spares her. Shuggie's gradual path to acceptance of his difference from other boys is also tenderly and gently recounted. It is no surprise to read that this story is based on Stuart's own childhood.

This book reminded me quite a lot of Angela's Ashes, with its story of a poor family struggling to deal with their circumstances, and with an alcoholic parent. I'm not at all surprised that Stuart won the Man Booker with this first novel; hopefully he will write another one very soon.

Five heart-wrenchingly beautiful stars.

This story of the unforgettable Shuggie Bain and his wistful, compassionate, innocent love of a mother struggling with the ravages of addiction will tear you up but somehow also manage to lift your soul to a magical place.

The story is based in the bleakness of the tenements lining the underbelly of the poorest areas surrounding Glasgow, in the 80’s, and is populated with characters that ring so true you can almost see them, laying out their washing, taunting, gossiping, sometimes supporting but mostly banding together against each other with ice-pick cruelty in an effort to liven up their dismal lives.

Through the years we follow Agnes Bains, Shuggie’s mother, along with her men, her family, and her children as she battles the ravages of shame, poverty and alcoholism, throughout it all standing tall and with fierce pride, carefully cultivating her beauty and dreaming of better days, as she looks out for the man, the escape that will re-define the harshness of her reality to one of the loveliness which she believes to be her due.

Shuggie, her youngest child, a sweet and effeminate boy, worships her as he struggles with dreams of his own about becoming a “real boy”, one who is “normal” and fits in with the world around him. “A soft boy in a hard world”, he works tirelessly to care for his mother as she descends into a world where she can no longer care for him, or herself.

Though, at times the story is so tinged with despair that it’s hard to read, at the same time, it is stunningly beautiful and Shuggie is so sweet, so endearing, that it is hard not to let him into your heart. And strangely enough, i found the same thing to be true of his mother, Agnes.

I could not recommend this one more strongly.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Grove-Atlantic, and the author for an advance digital copy of this book for review.

As a result of my various committee appointments and commitments I am unable to disclose my personal thoughts on this title at this time. Please see my star rating for a general overview of how I felt about this title. Additionally, you may check my GoodReads for additional information on what thoughts I’m able to share publicly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and any other titles you are in charge of.

I enjoyed this book. I would rate it like a 3.75/5. The only negative was it felt too long. I enjoyed the authors voice, the complexity of the characters and their situation. But at times it felt repetitive. I can see why it received such high praise because it is an extremely compelling story.

What an unforgettable book! What an unforgettable character!
Shuggie Bain is a lonely, young boy who we watch grow up in Glasgow in the 1980's. His mother, Agnes, is an alcoholic, an addiction which renders her so severely hindered facing life. People he know can be so cruel to the extent that only his suffering and hurt will make them happy. Yet, above all, Stuart brilliantly portrays Shuggie to remain untainted and courageous.
The book is dark and describes addiction so realistically. The writing is memorable as is Shuggie. The descriptions of Glasgow, in all its decadence left me viscerally feeling that unsavoriness. What talent Stuart exhibits.!