I have an admission to make. I started to read an advance copy of Young Mungo way back in January of 2022, got to a certain grim section (you can probably guess where it was if you read the book), and could not read any further, for almost six months. It was all just Too Much - too much violence, homophobia, poverty, alcoholism, sadness, dire despair, and lack of hope in Young Mungo. Since I wanted to be able to discuss it at least somewhat intelligently during our upcoming Zoom online book club, I made myself finish it last weekend. It was much, much better than I had feared, and I might even have liked it better than Shuggie Bain. (That is saying something since it is one of the books I've enjoyed the most among recent reads.) It is Too Much, but because of that, it's also a powerful book. Now I'm really looking forward to our upcoming discussion!

Thank you to Grove Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

I really enjoyed reading Stuart's previous novel Shuggie Bain. Young Mungo didn't quite measure up to that award-winning book, but it was still worth the read. Young Mungo explores the romantic relationship between two boys - one Protestant and one Catholic - growing up in Glasgow. Like Shuggie Bain, it's pretty bleak, but well-written.

Heartwarming and heart-wrenching, captivating and horrific; Stuart's "Young Mungo" is a raw depiction of suffering, love and identity.

What a book! I tend to specialize in crime fiction, or have in the past, and while I don't think this might be viewed this way by everyone, I definitely think it's a crime novel, and what an important one at that. Mungo's story is beautiful, and the way these narratives all strand together, come together, combine, explode--it's all so beautiful. I loved reading this book, with its sparse language, its beautiful, heartfelt story about characters yearning and wanting, and the way Stuart can provide sympathy and understanding for even the most despicable characters. He goes above and beyond in this follow-up to the Booker Prize winning SHUGGIE BAIN, with his own Glasgow and the surrounding areas (including some beautiful descriptions of the loch in the novel) really coming to life in his words. He provides such a wonderful, uplifting, emotional and often provocative queer love novel, in all senses. It's both a novel about queer love and a love story to queer people including the protagonist Mungo, such a brilliant and sympathetic character. I loved this book. 4.6 stars

this was a long, hard read for me. i didn't cry but it left me feel heavy few times and i had to stop reading it. it's a strong book with lots of difficult moments, a story of a young, delicate boy who needs to "man up" in order to survive in the city of glasgow.

what i loved about the book was the feeling of how real everything is, obviously times change but we all know that every country has it's glasgow. where life isn't colourful and you need to hide your real self in order to live.

douglas stuart did an amazing job with this and i'm definetly going to read shuggie bain one day.

I realize that this book has been out for a minute ( a little under 2 months) so please bear with me on this. Last year I read and fell in love with Shuggie Bain By Douglas Stuart and I finally read and adored A Little Life By Hanya Yanagihara ( both books that are currently being compared with this book) and while yes all three have a gay male character, that has a bit of trauma bonding and eventual love story,( kinda) that is where the stories start to change paths. In Young Mungo I really wanted to get more into his family and maybe a little less of a reminder that both men and women can be victims of rape. (don't worry if it slips your mind for two pages it will come back up) also a major warning for unsafe abortion through punching. I think that by now you have a better idea of why this review has taken me so long.

Much like the author's book, Shuggie Bain, this one centers around a youth growing up in a housing estate in Glasgow in the 80s, under dire circumstances. With an alcoholic mother, an absent father, forced to get into fights between the Protestant's and the Catholic's and his struggles with his sexuality, this is a hard book to read at times.

Incredibly well written, but not for the faint hearted.

DNF at 25%

I am very sorry I am dnf-ing this book, but I truly did try to read it. I've been trying to read it for months at this point, and I've just not been able to get into it. I was very excited when I got this book on NetGalley, as I heard nothing but praise for the author's other book, Shuggie Bain. There is a very long "introduction", by which I mean there is quite a lot being said but nothing is actually happening. I perhaps expected something different, or this might be a case of the wrong mood striking again, but I simply can't get through the book. Maybe at a different time, I will get back to it and actually finish it! If you are still interested, don't let me deter you, but it just didn't work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Shuggie Bain was one of my favourite reads from last year. When I started Young Mungo, it felt like it was going to retrace the themes of Shuggie Bain. Child raised in poverty, in Glasgow, by alcoholic mother.

However it is so much more than this! Based in a 1990s working class Glasgow, Protestant Mungo and catholic James live on the housing estates filled with masculinity and sectarian violence.

Mungo and James should be sworn enemies, but instead their love story unfolds in a very unforgiving and brutal landscape.

This is even better than Shuggie. It paints a picture of what sectarianism looked like in Glasgow so vividly and highlights how homophobic a time it was. Only Stuart’s writing could bring these subjects to life.

The book is told in a dual narrative. We begin with Mungo on a camping trip and then we start to hear his story leading up to this trip. This duel timeline really helps the pace and keeps it a page turner.

This is an absolute must read. I was so absorbed in it, absolutely adored it. I think the next book should focus on wee chickie Calhoun. I loved him! I’d def recommend this one

This book was an entire emotional rollercoaster. I had to put off reviewing this stunner because I just couldn't.
Apart from the sometimes hard-to-apprehend Scottish slang, this book was beautiful, moving, heartbreaking, tear-jerking but incredible.

Brb, sobbing

Douglas Stuart's sophomore novel has a lot in common with his debut, Shuggie Bain. Both feature young queer characters in  Scotland during the 80s.  Both feature an alcoholic mother and complicated sibling relationship, and both deal with class issues and tension between the Protestants and Catholics.

Once again I was very impressed with the way Stuart writes- he crafts such complete characters and builds an atmosphere so real you feel like you're there, too.

Young Mungo is told over two timelines which converge by the end of the book. At the very beginning we know that Mungo has been caught with another boy, beaten by his brother, and sent away by his mother to go camping with two men (who are basically strangers) to straighten him out, toughen him up... give him some manly guidance.

The other timeline follows Mungo prior to this camping trip- giving us a chance to get to know him and his family, and watch as he developed a friendship (and more) with the slightly older Catholic boy who steals and raises fancy pigeons.

One thing to note about the dual timelines is that there is no visual signifier to the reader when switching between the two. The setting and characters make it obvious enough, but towards the end of the novel, as the time gap closes it becomes a little less obvious... then again, that could have been a mistake I made reading past my bedtime!

Unlike Shuggie, who is a young child for most of his book,  Mungo is 15 years old and on the cusp of manhood- by 16 he can be considered emancipated and is free to go where he wants with whomever he wants. My problem with his age is that the way he is so infantilized by his mother and sister made it hard for me to visualise him as a teenager ready to fall in love, run away, and be self sustaining.

Getting past that issue, (which is minor really, because I'm sure if I think about it long enough I can come up with some reasoning as to the roles he plays inside and outside of his home life), I found the characters to be so fully developed that I could feel their emotions and struggles pouring off the page; which was exactly my experience with Shuggie Bain.  If I could adopt Shuggie and Mungo both I absolutely would! My mothering instinct aches for them.

So while the writing is beautiful, and here and there are wholesome character relationships, the story is full of sadness and violence that had me grimacing while reading. Portions of this book were literally a visceral experience. With that said, there are trigger/content warnings for homophobia, addiction, alcoholism, abandonment, homophobic slurs, sexual violence, pregnancy, abortion, rape, sexual assault of a minor, blood, violence (with detailed injury description), domestic abuse, animal death, murder, etc.

I preferred Shuggie Bain to Young Mungo, honestly; but that is like asking if I want cake or ice cream.... both, please!

If you've read Shuggie Bain, then the world of Young Mungo will be familiar to you: the poverty, the drinking, the benign neglect, the rigid gender roles. Like Shuggie, Mungo is a young man who doesn't quite fit in the world he inhabits and is frequently subjected to bullying. His father is out of the picture and his mother, an alcoholic, is mostly absent, leaving Mungo to be looked after by his older sister, at least until she can find her own way out of their situation, and his older brother, who is the leader of a local gang and whose life is full of drugs and violence. And then Mungo finds James, a boy also much on his own, and together the boys are able to find love and beauty in their rough surroundings. But being gay in this time period is not an acceptable thing to be, and there are tragic consequences.

This is a hard book to read, but it's one that's beautifully written and feels true to life. Stuart shows his ability as a writer and how his skills have grown since his debut novel. Prepare for your heart to be broken for Mungo -- but know that you will end the book with hope for him as well.

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

I’ve been putting off writing this review for weeks now because I didn’t believe I could do it justice.

I still don’t but here it goes…

Douglas Stuart’s previous book, Shuggie Bain, took ten years to write, was rejected by around 40 publishers and went on to win the Booker Prize in 2020. So you might wonder whether he could do it again. Well he did.

When we first meet Mungo in ‘The May After’ he has been sent away on a dubious camping trip with two men, by his mother Maureen, or Mo-Maw as she is known.

He describes one of the men as having “too much skin over too little fat” and having clothes that smelled “as though he wore them through smirr and shine.”

We then go back to ‘The January Before’ and Mungo, who is protestant and whose older brother is a ‘Billy Boy’ with a penchant for getting into trouble, meets James, a Catholic boy who keeps pigeons.

The story goes back and forth between the two timelines. There are some very tense and harrowing scenes, but above all this is a love story. It is a rollercoaster of emotions and is every bit as beautiful, deep, tender and heartbreaking as Shuggie Bain.

It’s hard not to draw comparisons - both books feature a young working-class Scottish boy and we meet Mungo at around the age we left Shuggie, but Young Mungo stands very much on its own.

It’s a five star book and one I will re-read in the future. If you loved Shuggie, read Mungo. If you haven’t read Shuggie, read Shuggie and Mungo.

Young Mungo was published by @groveatlantic on 5 April 2022 (US) and @panmacmillan on 14 April 2022 (UK & Ireland). I received an advance digital copy courtesy of the publishers, and bought myself a hardback copy on publication day.

#NetGalley #YoungMungo #DouglasStuart #NetGalleyShelfDestruction
#TiredMammyBookClub #NotJustForMammies #TiredMammy30minutes

TW: violence, abuse, paedophilia, rape

Young Munro is the kind of book hard to read, but, at the same time, truly important. It's an intense, heartwrenching story about queer people and queer love and the violence that can, and do, happen to them. A story about the wounds of maschilism, sectarism and the desire to be free and to love who you want to love. A gripping and sometimes graphic story about the danger of loving someone and to be seen as different. A heartbreaking and strong novel by the brilliant Douglas Stuart.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and Grove Press, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

TW: abuse, violence, paedophilia, rape

Mungo and Hames are born under different stars. Mungo is a Protestant, James a Catholic and they should be sworn enemies, but they become best friends and then fall in love when they both find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote James built for his prize racing birds. Trying to find somewhere to belong, while trying to keep themselves safe, hiding their true selves from the others, expecially Mungo, whose older brother Hamish is a local gang leader with a brutal reputation. Expecially after a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland with two strange men, Mungo will have to fight to get back to a place of safety and try to have a future with James.

Reading this book was heartwrenching and devastating. A gripping story, told by a brilliant voice with intense characters, dealing with abuse, maschilism, violence and queer love, a story able to destroy and rebuild you after.
Young Mungo is intense, not an easy read since the author dealt with many important issues, like abuse, rape, violence and paedophilia, but always with care and sensitivity. A story important to read, that shows how damaging maschilism can be, its bounds, how queer people face violence and the dangers in being queer, but also queer love, bond and deep connection.
It will stay with you for a very long time.

In the sense that this narrative is about misery, violence, and the hazards of love, it reminded me of A LITTLE LIFE, SWIMMING IN THE DARK, CLEANNESS and many more. The intricate story of a young gay guy dealing with traditionalism, tolerance, open-mindedness, responsiveness, observance, freethinking, noncompliance, and 'young love' is tragic, breathtaking, and highly memorable.....

My review is a little late but I found this book so deeply and incredibly moving I could barely put it down.

Setting again acts as a character of it’s own in Douglas Stuart’s follow up to Shuggie Bain - with a rich, engaging plot following a young Mungo Hamilton, growing up through a devastating childhood in Glasgow.

What follows is an intimate look at his life and the impact his decisions and upbringing have on his relationships and future.

It’s rare a book has such a profound impact on me but Stuart continues to beautifully and poetically tear my heart up and piece it back together.

I am not articulate enough to express how much I love Douglas Stuart's prose. He deserves every award and accolade that is bestowed upon him for his genius. I've enjoyed both novels I've read and selfishly can't wait for the next.

Okay, a very unpopular option here. I’m afraid this was not for me.
I’ll keep this short and sweet. While Stuart’s writing is sublime, and I thoroughly enjoyed Shuggie Bain, this one took on a new level of writing about the dreary side of human existence. I can understand how most readers love this book, and I tried really hard to look beyond my frustrations over the characters and “non events” but unfortunately I just couldn’t. Without giving spoilers, the way that gentle, meek Mungo snapped … It seemed too far fetched. Snap yes, but to that level?
Sorry this didn’t land higher. I will definitely read this author again, and look forward to what he comes out with in the future.

With many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for this eArc.

Like his previous novel, Stuart sets his second novel in working class Glasgow. Readers watch gay, quiet, Mungo come of age amongst a hectic family replete with an alcoholic mother, a brutal brother, and a whip smart sister. Mungo you a observant and the current that runs under his reserved character is compelling and complex.

Stuart pulls no punches in this book. Bad things happen to Mungo, and readers will flinch and the life he lives. That said there is an abundance of beauty that we see through Mungo’s eyes, in Mungo, and in the clear and honest prose delivered by Stuart.

I enjoyed this difficult and good book. Worth the read.