*I was provided with a free ebook copy of this book to review via NetGalley. Thank you to the author, NetGalley and the publishers for this great read.

Young Mungo is the second novel from Booker Prize winner, Douglas Stuart. It follows Mungo, a 15 year old boy living in the East End of Glasgow in the 1980s. Raised by his alcoholic, often absent mother and studious elder sister, Mungo is trying to navigate life as a gay teen whilst trying to avoid the pressure to become involved in gans like his older brother. Mungo meets James, a local catholic boy at his pidgeon hut and they strike up a friendship which leads to a forbidden romance.

At the start of the book, we see Mungo leave for a fishing trip with two men his mother knows from AA, and it hints that something bad has happened before the trip starts. The story then flits between both timelines in the run up to the event that caused Mungo to be sent on the trip in the first place.

Those who enjoyed Shuggie Bain will surely appreciate this book. Douglas Stuart does a fantastic job at portraying life in sectarian Scotland and I think all Scots will read this and recognise themselves and their peers in the characters of this book. I have seen some reviews that have said it is too similar to Shuggie Bain and whilst there is a lot of overlap in topic, I think this book stands well individually. Mungo is a bit older than Shuggie, so there's a different perspective with age and Mungo's mother is much more of a side character than the main event of Agnes Bain.

This book is sad and deals with difficult topics but is beautifully written and paints very vivid imagery. I would strongly encourage people to look up the trigger warnings for this book before reading it. Specifically, the descriptions of sexual abuse and pedophelia are much more vivid than they are in Shuggie Bain. On reading this, I wanted happiness for Mungo and James, for most of the characters really, and couldn't stop turning the page to find out if they would get it.

This is Douglas Stuart's second novel, following on from his (well deserved) success with his 2020 Booker Prize 'Shuggie Bain'. This book explores some of the same themes in so much as it based around working class Glasgow characters, a young boy and an alcoholic, not always present mother, masculinity and love, but at the same time this is still a very different story worthy of it's own success. At the heart of it, it is a very tender love story between two teen boys on two sides of a divide (catholic and protestant areas backing on to one another), a modern day Romeo and Juliet. At the same time, it also explores the other relationships the young boy, Mungo, has with other characters like his sister who is left to bring him up, his unwavering love for his mum despite her constantly leaving them, his devotion to his brother, the gang leader, despite knowing and understanding the consequences of this. Even the minor characters are made to have great importance, so beautifully done. Whilst this is a dark and disturbing book, it is also hopeful.

This is an excellent book, a very enjoyable book but it is not a happy book.
This is the story of how life with their single mother in a deprived area of Glasgow robs not one but 3 children of their childhood and innocence. Abuse of alcohol and child abuse are told in the voices of the children themselves, the participation in gang culture and having to fend for themselves. If it's wearying for the reader it must be absolutely draining for those involved. As tough as this was to read it was a story which I was unable to put down such is the investment in the characters. I'll need time to recover from it though and the next book for me to read will need to be much more light hearted.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the advance copy of this novel in return for my honest review.

I am going to need a moment to recover, because… wow.

I loved Shuggie Bain and it was hands down my best read of 2021, and as soon as it was announced, Young Mungo became my most anticipated read of 2022.

Douglas Stuart has done it again. Young Mungo is a raw, brutal and captivating coming-of-age story. Just as with Shuggie Bain, the characters are so well written they could have easily been real people you’d heard of through friends. Not all characters are likeable, especially Mo-Maw and Hamish, however Stuart’s skill means that you are still capable of pitying and sympathising with characters who seem to have little to no redeeming qualities. Stuart also did a brilliant job at making Glasgow a secondary character, with its the sectarian and working class culture presented as facets of the city’s complex personality.

Although the book explores similar themes as his debut, such as growing up in a dysfunctional household with an emotionally immature, addict single mother, this book is a lot darker than Shuggie Bain. I don’t want to share too much of the plot out of fear of spoiling it, but I will say that it is heavy with some light, tender moments in between. I was hooked from very early on, but I had to put the book down at several points just to give myself some breathing space before continuing.

I loved the ending though I’m not sure if many will feel the same since it doesn’t offer the reader the same cautiously optimistic and hopeful ending that things might turn out alright like Shuggie Bain did. Instead. I was left mourning for the innocence that Mungo was so violently robbed of, the ending being reminiscent of the working class Glaswegians who were surrounded by sectarianism, addiction and gang violence.

I’m now going to make myself a very strong cup of tea and nurse this book hangover (which was absolutely worth it). Thank you NetGalley, Picador and Douglas Stuart for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Shuggie Bain. (I have read it three times now!) and I love Douglas Stuarts writing style.. If you asked me to choose a favourite I would struggle. This book is my favourite read of 2021.

The story introduces us to Mungo. A gay teenager who finds love and all the complications that come with that in Glasgow in the early 1990s. We are introduced to a complex set of characters and the reality of living in the working class area, with a religious divide..

Please check content warnings for this book as Mungo does end up in situations that is heart wrenching and shocking.

Douglas Stuart has a way of writing characters that are complex and showing how one persons choices have a ripple affect through families and communities,

Young Mungo is a must read and can't wait for publication day. I already have read number two planned with some bookish friends.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #PanMacmillan for an eArc of the book for an honest review.

‘Young Mungo’ is a heartbreaking story of a 15 year old Protestant boy who falls in love with a Catholic boy in a working class area of 1990s Glasgow and is a new take on the Romeo and Juliet theme. Mungo’s life is bleak and his relationship with new found friend James brings him the love and affection that he craves from his alcoholic, neglectful mother. He is a kind boy who is forced into violence by his family’s attempts to turn him into a “ real man”.
Douglas Stuart’s depiction of Mungo’s neglect by his mother, his brother Hamish’s brutish and violent actions and flashbacks to a fishing trip with older alcoholic men makes for difficult reading but engages us to become emotionally involved. It is wonderful writing which immerses us into a world which we fervently hope Mungo can escape from.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

Triumphant follow up to the Booker-winning Shuggie Bain. Very excited to see what's next from the author.

“Hamish was far from Glasgow and the glare of the Protestant boys who expected so much from him, and the rest of the scheme who expected so little. Here, Mungo could remember the boy Hamish had once been, mischievous and brave, full of impetuous ideas and never afraid of falling, so long as he could fly first. In this moment it was as if he had not yet soured.”

It’s not at all a surprise that Douglas Stuart is a Booker Prize winner, his writing is flawless. Without a doubt my favourite read of the year so far. With echoes of Shuggie Bain in its portrayal of the working class, family and personal struggles of a young Glaswegian boy, with the added complexity of dealing with religion, sexuality and abuse. An easy 5 stars from me.

Mungo Hamilton is a 15 year old boy living in the east end of Glasgow in the 1990s. Family plays a key part in the story. Mungo is raised by his sister, who has pain and struggles of her own. He has to try to survive the fury and expectations of his older brother and the toxic masculinity that comes with being the brother of a gang leader. Mungo’s mother (Mo-maw) has for the most part abandoned him for a more desirable life, having issues with alcohol and resentment for her child-bound existence. The book is split into two timelines, one on a fishing trip with two unknown men and the other half in the past, navigating daily life and his coming of age.

The hope in the story comes when Mungo meets James. James is young Catholic boy who, like Mungo, has a difficult family life. The two boys form a strong bond which eventually blossoms to romance, something unimaginable in the society they are growing up in. Not only from a sexuality perspective but also from a religious, and the ever-present sectarian conflict makes the relationship even more complicated. The juxtaposition between this first love that is new and tender, with everything else in Mungo’s life is what made this book so moving.

I found some of the book incredibly difficult to read, especially the fishing trip sections which dealt with both sexual and physical abuse, but it was well written and added to the overall plot.

The setting was one of my favourite parts of the book, for the most part it was set in the area of Glasgow where I currently live so I felt absolutely immersed and like I was living in the story. The characters were also all so well written and realistic.

Overall, a truly brutal and heartbreaking story. I needed a break from reading to recover from this book. Like Shuggie, Mungo will remain in my heart and in my thoughts for a long time.

The themes of alcoholism, homophobia, and poverty are what this book has in common with Stuart's previous Shuggie Bain. The setting of Glasgow (this time in the early 90s vs Shuggie's 80s) with the main voice of a teenage narrator with mammy issues are also in the middle of that Venn diagram.

You might be apprehensive once you start to read or read the premise that it is just a rehash of the same story, but they really are two different books. Both are bleak, but this is definitely the more hopeful of the two in my opinion. Mungo is a soft, loyal and brilliant boy - I liked him a lot more as our main character over Shuggie. Every character is well developed, with plot devices and decisions making sense for each one.

Young Mungo also implements one of my FAVOURITE styles of story telling - two timelines! We follow Mungo, who is a bit beat up, on a fishing trip with two men his ma met in AA, and his life in Glasgow's East End that leads up to this trip and how he gets into the state he is in.

I can't wait for everyone to pick this up.

"She said she named ye after a saint. That after she did, ye never once made her regret that. She said that you were the softest, sweetest boy she had ever known."

🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuary is released on 14 April. Thank you so much @PanMacmillan & @PicadorBooks for allowing me to read Young Mungo early via @NetGalley.

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Young Mungo is both a vivid portrayal of working-class life and the deeply moving story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James.
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I want to keep this review short, because I don't think I can write a review that'll do it justice.

This book broke my heart. The end.

I haven't experienced as many emotions reading a book since I read A Little Life in 2020. It's a roller coaster of love and joy, but also of deep hurt and distressing events.

Young Mungo has been dubbed a gay Romeo & Juliet - two boys from different backgrounds - one Protestant (Mungo), one Catholic (James), who fall for each other. Based in Glasgow, Mungo is dealing with a lot in life - an alcoholic, mostly absent mother, a toxically-masculine older brother who heads up a local gang and tries to drive Mungo to violence and sectarianism. It seems the only person Mungo really has in his life is his sister Jodie, but she's hardly having the time of it either!

The book is set over two timelines, one where Mungo deals with his family, his life and falling for James - the one hopeful thing in his life. The other timeline is after Mungo's family find out he's been seeing James, and his mother sends him off on a camping trip with two strangers - men from her Alcoholics Anonymous meetings - to "make a man of him".

Going into this book, I had expected James & Mungo to be older than they are - 15/16. I had expected a story of young men falling in love even though society was dead set against it, but fighting for it anyway. What we get is an extremely dark tale, it's not easy to read at times and by the end I was left wanting more.

The writing is brilliant and every character, whether in multiple chapters or we only meet them once, feels real. I haven't read Shuggie Bain yet, but from what reviews I've read, Shuggie & Mungo are very similar. I think it's a safe bet that if you read and loved Shuggie, you'll also love Mungo.

I'll admit I thought this was going to be a different story, but I loved Mungo & James, and I'll never forget them.

Thanks again to PanMacmillan & Picador for allowing me to read this early!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blurb:

Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation. They should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold.

But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. When Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, with two strange men behind whose drunken banter lie murky pasts, he needs to summon all his inner strength and courage to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future.

Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism, Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the meaning of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by so many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much.

Bravo Douglas Stuart, you’ve done it again! 👏 Shuggie and Mungo are two characters I’ll hold close to me forever, and that’s down to such powerful storytelling and genuinely gorgeous writing - once again!

This is an amazing book set in the not so distant past but showing the divides in a city and the bigotry that existed (and still exists for many). It is a book that is harrowing and reminded me a lot of the feel of a classic like Kes.
To say much would give a lot of the plot away but you really empathise with the characters. Douglas Stuart reminds me of the classic storytellers who give well drawn out characters that are believable. You end up really wanting Mungo to do well and are rooting for him.
I would not be surprised if this gets nominated again for a Booker and it rightly should.

Like everyone, I loved Shuggie Bain and couldn’t wait to read Douglas Stuart’s follow up. I wasn’t disappointed.
Young Mungo is the immersive tale of two young men embarking on their first relationship.
Young Mungo deals with homophobia, toxic masculinity, alcoholism, religious conflict, sexual abuse and the Thatcherite destruction of Glasgow in the raw, unflinching and stunningly descriptive style you’d expect from Stuart.

Whilst Young Mungo was heartbreaking and at times a difficult read, the scenes between Mungo and James are so beautiful and tender, it provided a much needed break from the unflinching reality outside.
“He allowed his thumbs to slowly creep under James’s Fair Isle jumper and brush against the warm skin. It was a nothing that felt like an everything”.

I’ve read reviews that expressed some disappointment in the similarities between Shuggie and Mungo. And yes, there are some - they’re based in a similar time and place, both boys are dealing with alcoholic mothers and absent fathers. But I felt they were different in a lot of ways too, and structured so differently that while they are in the same world, they are absolutely not the same novel.

I can’t say enough about just how much I loved Young Mungo, I can’t wait to read more from Stuart.

Young Mungo - like Shuggie Bain - is a challenging read and tells the story of Mungo and his teenage life that included violence ,alcoholism, abuse and ultimately love. The story’s key focus is the love story between Mungo and James from different sides of the religious divide. Their adolescent exploration of love is sensitively explored whilst the violence imparted upon Mungo during a fishing trip is harrowing but told with depth of understanding and compassion towards Mungo. Douglas Stuart has an incredible for the minutiae of everyday life and it is this detail that lifts this book and it’s predecessor to higher levels of literature. Another tough read of triumph over adversity and worth persevering with.

Incredible! Douglas Stuart, what a writer! This book will break your heart. From the outset when Mungo gets on a bus with two dodgy looking men you know bad things are going to happen. Set in the 1990's the story follows Young Mungo from the outset of his fateful journey and then jumping back a year or so to relate the events leading up to the trip and finally, culminating in the sort of violent climax where you feared the story was always headed but hoped it wouldn't go. Douglas Stuart creates Mungo's world bounded by just a few streets in Glasgow and tells the story of his family living in the thrall of their erratic often disappearing alcoholic mother, their stoic sister trying to keep the ship afloat and their violent sectarian gang leader brother. The narrative just flows. I could clearly picture all the characters and almost smell the musty flat and clothes, the tang of stale alcohol and. see the violence in Hamish's (Mungo's brother) eyes. I often didn't want to know what was going to happen, but couldn't put the book down. I devoured it. This (for me) is what great writing is all about. Just superb.

After reading and falling in love with Shuggie Bain, I had very high hopes for Young Mungo and Douglas Stuart did not disappoint. 5 out of 5 stars just doesn’t feel like enough. With beautiful and, at times almost lyrical, writing, this was an absolute joy to read. This book reads like a gay, Glaswegian Romeo and Juliet - with a much grittier underbelly. At times beautiful and full of love, and at others, difficult to read yet impossible to put down. A masterful exploration of masculinity, love, family and social status - Young Mungo details Mungo’s journey to find and protect himself in a world that is not yet ready for him and holds danger at every turn.

A love story but quite a very dark novel which is set in Glasgow. The book explores how being different can make people vulnerable. If you love Shuggie Bain then you’ll love Mungo too

I can’t stop thinking about this book, it is utterly extraordinary. Take the grimmest setting possible with the constant threat of violence and never being able to let your guard down, take woeful parenting and poor nutrition and produce a love story. Every single character has depth and there are no cliches. Some of it is too ugly to bear but it all reveals parts that make up the whole. I will never forget Mungo and his sister Jodi but Mo Maw and Hamish reveal surprising sides too and Among the tears and despair I am daring to feel hope. Douglas Stuart must surely be a genius.

Nothing could have prepared me for the brutality, the absolute raw beauty of this book. Unlike many people this is the first book of his that I had read - I instantly bought Shuggie Bain not long after - but I fell in love with it. Young Mungo takes us into this brutal and cruel world and makes us feel a part of it. 5/5 stars for this,

This book is dark and gritty and can see it divide opinion but liked the language used to show emotion and feelings in a hard working area in Glasgow and how reaction to being different can cause danger.