Romeo and Juliet meets Shuggie Bain. Great characters and dialogues, a lot of suffering and heartbreak.

#spoilerfree thoughts

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

When you adore a debut authors book so much that it went straight into your top five books of all time, reading their follow up can feel pretty terrifying to be honest.
Of course, my fears of not liking or connecting to Young Mungo were entirely unfounded.

Set against the backdrop of a gritty and dark early 90s Glasgow, the gentle and playful love story of young Mungo and James sits at a juxtaposition to the poverty, mindless sectarianism, homophobia and horrific violence experienced throughout the book.

The rich lyricism and vivid imagery bring this book and it’s beautifully layered and complex characters to life in a way that sometimes felt almost too real and raw; my heart ached reading this.

Full of abhorrent violence, pain and the gut wrenching uncertainty of trying to find yourself in a world that seems to hate who you really are, this is also a story of love, familial bonds, survival and redemption.

Shuggie Bain will always hold a special place in my heart because of how I connected with the book on a personal level but also because it was the first book that Natalie @scottiesandbooks picked to start the Scottish Bookclub. With his second novel, Douglas has managed to carve out a special place there too for Mungo….and James and Jodie….and Hamish.

Shatteringly beautiful ❤️💛💚💙💜

Young Mungo will be released in the UK on the 14th of April 2022 - more detailed thoughts to come closer to publication day!

Can’t wait to see you on the tour @douglas_stuart with all my #scottishbookclub pals 💛

A huge thank you to the lovely folks at @picadorbooks and @netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading an advanced eBook copy. I can’t wait to get my hands on my pre-ordered hardback - mostly so I can just give it a big hug.

A special thanks also to my pal @bookishjenx for sharing late night spoiler chats and tears ❤️

#youngmungo #scottishauthor #scottishbooks #queerbooks #representationmattersinbooks #lgbtqiaplusbooks #arc #netgalley #picadorbooks #mustread2022

What a book. Wow. The notes I wrote as I read this in anticipation of my review show the journey it took me on.

My first comment - “it feels like I’m home”. I used to live in a tenement flat in the East End of Glasgow, and world building was so visceral and real that I felt that I was back cutting down Duke Street, walking down The Parade. I saw people I know in these characters; how many Mo-maws have I known? How many Mungos? At times I felt I was back in my flat, looking out the window.

Later, as I got into the guts of the book, I felt rubbed raw. It’s dark. It’s gritty. It’s unpleasant. That too is visceral, and I felt what the characters felt, and I ached for them. At points, this book is not an easy read.

And yet, I flew through it. I didn’t want to put it down. I wanted to know what was coming next at every turn.

I did find the dual timelines a bit jarring at times, I felt I spent too much time thinking ahead and trying to figure out where they would join up. But that’s a minor gripe in an otherwise beautiful book.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy. I need to return to this book, to take it in again.

A few chapters in to reading this I messaged a friend who’d also read it and asked if it was just “another Shuggie Bain?” He replied no, it was more than that. And he was totally spot on. To begin this was a story of a poor young boy growing up in poverty with his siblings and alcoholic mother in Glasgow…. but that’s really where the similarités end. This is deeper and darker and more terrifying than Shuggie, and the dark themes stretch far further than in Stuarts Prize winning Shuggie.
Real tension throughout, particularly in the second half, but balanced with a rich cast of totally memorable characters, Stuarts perfect Scottish prose that captures the country so brilliantly.
I’m bereft to have finished, but will immediately go out and pre order a hardcover for my bookshelves when it is published in April, and between now and then will sing its praises to all I know.

Fantastic. I’ve not read Shuggie Bain but, based on this tremendous book, I’ll definitely be fast tracking it. Young Mungo is equal parts beautiful, terrifying and upsetting, with rich characters, gorgeous prose and a compelling sense of place. A new favourite.

Growing up in the the Glasgow schemes, Protestant teenager Mungo Hamilton falls for a Catholic boy across the sectarian divide but in the ultra-masculine working class atmosphere their love brings danger and violence. ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫/5.

Douglas Stuart's second novel is another brilliant evocation of time and place. The writing really brings to life the conflicts and struggles of the Glasgow housing estates. It highlights addiction, sectarianism, domestic violence, homophobia, poverty and abuse. While definitely darker than Shuggie Bain, though dealing with many similar themes, it still retains that miraculous sense of hope that is a feature of Stuart's writing.

Some of the characters, or at least some of their features, are familiar from the earlier work, Mo-maw's alcoholism and her difficulties balancing her needs and her family's has shades of Agnes, Jodie's determination to better herself through education, Mungo's journey with masculinity and sexuality. This time the titular character is the heart of the novel, with more attention paid to Mungo, a dreamy, sensitive boy who loves his mother fiercely and forgives all her sins and is under constant pressure to "be a man". The power of a mother's love to destroy and heal is again, a key heartbreaking theme.

Stuart himself said that Shuggie left him with questions about sexuality and masculinity in the tough Glasgow working-class environment. He absolutely answers them in Mungo, and though the answers are bleak his writing is vivid in both light and dark, with those brilliant flashes of humour and humanity to brighten lives dominated by struggle. While I would say that I preferred Shuggie, it's by a very small margin and it is almost as though the two novels are two sides of the same coin

I don’t think this is spoilery, but if you like reading a book knowing little about it, I’d avoid reading this for now. I will say I do think trigger warnings are very important going into this book. It will make you feel rage, distraught and helpless at times.

‘He was Mo-Maw’s youngest son, but he was also her confidant, her lady’s maid, and her errand boy. He was her one flattering mirror, and her teenage diary, her electric blanket, her doormat. He was her best pal, the dog she hardly walked and her greatest romance. He was her cheer on a dreich morning, the only laughter in her audience’.

‘Her brother was her mother’s minor moon, her warmest sun, and at the exact same time, a tiny satellite that she had forgotten about. He would orbit her for an eternity, even as she, and then he, broke into bits’.

The first thing I noticed in this story, and love, is that Douglas Stuart’s stories always have semi-autobiographical elements. I’ve never heard him speak in person, and have only listened to a couple of interviews, but I get the sense through the lens of Shuggie and Mungo that Stuart is an artistic, incredibly kind and perceptive dreamer. I love that these stories feel real because they have elements of Stuart’s character within, and because any Glaswegian can feel the stories come alive in a setting that feel so familiar. It is the innocent and dreamy qualities of both Shuggie and Mungo that make their stories so sad and poignant. Douglas’s books feel like one world, where the characters from each book could meet. The themes in Young Mungo are similar to Shuggie Bain, yet almost shifted in focus; Shuggie’s relationship with his mother is to the forefront, whilst Mungo is older and growing to focus on his sexuality.

Class and the cycle of poverty continues to play a large role in this book, which I feel is highlighted particularly strongly in this quote:

‘You know, that’s not for boys like you;’…’’You’re not cut from university cloth’’.

Cycles of poverty and class are contained by the unjust society we live in, a society where people who stigmatise and believe in their own prejudice aim to segregate those who live in poverty from a young age, pushing them into boxes. The class division in Glasgow and Scotland remain strong today, and I realise that this is something incredibly difficult to break. I am privileged in that I have never had to worry about money to this extent, and that I have grown up with a loving, nurturing family. I know that there is not much I can do as one person, but as a teacher, I aim to always work in areas of deprivation like the one I grew up and live in, and I hope to use my voice to be the nurturing figure that some children are reaching out for. It is very important not to ignore privilege, and not to imagine that hope alone can overcome these barriers, but it is equally important to teach every children that dreams and ambitions are theirs to have.

A strong theme within Young Mungo is future, and choice within constrained options; or rather, what feels less like choice but may be predetermined fate due to the social structures of this family. Choices surrounding a sense of family loyalty, the bounds that can hold us when someone we love is suffering, the impact of making these choices- or rather, lack of choice- at such a young age, and how these can limit your own sense of identity. Choices become tied up with burden. I was therefore interested in the part minor characters had to play in this story. For example, Poor-Wee-Chickie’s reflections on his past choices and the life he leads now will resonate for lots of people, but I feel particularly people living in areas like Glasgow, where prejudice still exists. I believe his reflections will also resonate with many LGBT people. My choices have been impacted by my sexuality- consciously or otherwise, growing up hearing the negative connotations of being gay. This has resulted in a hesitancy in myself and a fear of taking chances. I enjoyed the parallels between Poor-Wee-Chickie and Mungo, and his part in the story of pushing Mungo to contemplate his own future.

‘Poor-Wee-Chickie has been surrounded by love. Where had it all turned for him?... ‘’What should I do, Mister Calhoun?’’… ‘That’s easy son. Put yourself first for once’.

I also love Mungo and Jodie’s relationship with Mrs Campbell. She is facing deprivation amongst other issues and strives to support these children despite barely being in a better off situation herself. I believe this strongly shows the character of Glaswegian communities. This is why I feel that is so important that Douglas is a Glasweigan writer; this first hand knowledge, and love of Glasgow allows this story to be so nuanced. Douglas knows what it’s like to live here, and really explores the different levels of deprivation within this community. This story is not a 2-dimensional account with the theme ‘Glasgow is poor’. Encounters from Mrs Campbell and James highlight that the characters in this story experience differing degrees of deprivation, but that their other experiences can still equate to an equal impact on mental health and opportunity. And this story highlights that people in these communities will always help each other despite the burden of their own pain. In this way, I feel that Young Mungo discusses two of the most famous or infamous paradoxical impressions of Glasgow: that it is a city of violence and poverty, and that people make Glasgow.

I will admit, I found this book a little intimidating. I’ve not read Shuggie Bain yet but as a Booker Prize winner I knew Douglas Stuart was an impressive writer.

Young Mungo is a heart wrenching portrait of a Protestant young man dealing with an absent, alcoholic mother, a violent gang leader of an older brother and romantic feelings for young Catholic James, all against the back drop of a brutal and unforgiving east end of Glasgow.

Stuart paints a vivid picture of Glasgow, I could clearly imagine the streets, the tenements and the people. Glasgow seems to be as big a part of the story as the characters, who themselves are memorable; I for one won’t forget them in a hurry.

Mungo is sweet and full of care; for his mother, for his sister Jodie and for James, but rarely for himself. This endears him to me from the start.

He is faced with family ties with his brother pressuring him to join him fighting the Catholics, his sister Jodie telling him to be more of a man and his own need to look after his mother. Man up, grow up or face a lifetime with his detached mother-these seem to be his only options until he meets James.

Young Mungo explores the meaning of masculinity, of being a man, alongside the constant threat of violence faced by the LGBT+ community. Heart breaking, harrowing at times, with glimmers of hope and love shining through, Young Mungo is as moving ad it is memorable.

Mungo and James will stay with me for along time.

If you loved Shuggie Bain you going to love this book, I loved how this book played out between 2 different timelines , I won’t ruin this book with any spoilers

With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this amazing arc of this book

Absolutely heartbreaking.
I was worried it was going to be too similar to Shuggie but I think the story was just different enough that he gets away with it.
Both the "then" and "now" stories are absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking and when I wasn't reading this book I was thinking about this book. Has left it's mark on me for sure.

Young Mungo is a deeply moving tribute to the children it almost perfectly represents and to the children before them and the ones after.

A love story between two young boys trying to navigate life, toxic masculinity, religion and the crushing expectations of their families.

If you have followed me for a while you will know I have had this book on preorder since it was announced. My most anticipated book of the year by far and it did not disappoint. In a way it exceeded expectations.

Douglas Stuart is a master of his craft, but we already knew that! The thing that makes this novel, dare I say it, better than Shuggie Bain was the relationships. They felt defined and sharp edged. They radiated off the pages, especially between Mungo, Jodie and Hamish. Their dynamics are so beautifully laid out, the softness of their love for one and other hidden behind the harshness of their realities. It defined the entire novel.

The stories are ones someone could have told me, plainly, as I sat on a landing of the flats of my childhood, legs poking out between railings and swinging above the littered overgrown gardens below. It felt all too real. I cried for the characters that could have so easily been my neighbours, my friends, myself.

And maybe this very fact makes me biased.

As much as this book broke my heart for it’s vivid reality of youth and love, it didn’t feel weighed down by it’s exploration of dark and fragile themes. Instead the writing was addicting and the interwoven stories had me watching the clock at work hoping for moment I could sneak a few more pages.

Literary fiction at its finest. His writing delicate but rough, like our own voices, poetic but steeped in reality. The prose is decadent as it built the brutally beautiful Glasgow in which the story was told. Every detail glimmered and every character was so carefully considered, it all felt too real.

Read if you are heartbroken and looking for company.

Thank you to the people at Pan Macmillan for allowing me to read and review this wonderful book.

I had such high hopes for this book, having seen (but not read) all the hype surrounding Shuggie Bain. However, I really struggled. I just could not get into this. Just short of half way through the book, I still can't work out if we're actually supposed to like Mungo? I didn't, and therefore struggled to feel any emotion towards or for him at all. I couldn't form any relationship with any of the characters at all. The dialect was lost on me which just contributed to my lack of interest in the story. A disappoint for me but I may well return to it at a later date.

#YoungMungo by #DouglasStuart is a deeply engrossing novel with beautifully fleshed out characters, vivid descriptions, and some strikingly original similes. With that said, it’s impossible not to draw parallels with Stuart’s #BookerPrize winning debut novel #ShuggieBain. An alcoholic mother, an absent father, three siblings, the youngest child devoted to his mother, set in a working class housing estate in Glasgow, and more. I think the challenge for Stuart will be to divert his immense writing talent away from this familiar setting for his third novel, which apparently is in the pipeline.

Douglas Stuart brings you into a dark world, painting it with hope and light until he continues to rip it away from you as ever. If you loved Shuggie, you'll fall in love with Mungo too. This story adds more the world Stuart has already created and shows more sides to it.

I loved that it's that much queerer, it highlights confusion and young love in an honest way. You know these characters already, and there's comfort in that. You are cheering them on and warning them as you read.

This book is another success and I look forward to more!

What a stunning book! I loved the writing and there were so many moments where it broke my heart. I can't wait to read more by this author.

Excellent although pretty relentless in its grueling account of cruelty and hopelessness. He has a wonderfully easy to read style.

This is a book where the author dictates the ground rules, insisting that the reader fully experiences the numerous and contrasting emotions, and the pulls on the heartstrings that this story elicits. There are no hiding places from the pervasive toxic masculinity, the strains of family loyalties, the ever-near violence, and the dangers of falling in love. The prose is powerful and necessary; the storytelling authentic and piercing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

I received a lovely physical proof of this from the publicist at Pan Macmillan, and also an e-arc on netgalley, all in return for an honest review (and, I have had it on pre-order for ages, a signed copy too!).

Ok so everyone pretty much knows now that Shuggie Bain is my favourite book, and I tell everyone who hasn’t read it that they need to. When I heard the news about Young Mungo, I knew I had to read it and was so excited when Camilla gave in to my cheekiness and sent me a proof (thank you).

I started reading Young Mungo as my first book of 2022. I read a few pages the first night, a few more the second, then devoured the last ¾ of the book in one day! I couldn’t put it down. Douglas Stuart writes with so much love. The book is filled with it, yet so much heartbreak too.

Young Mungo is 15, but he seems so much younger. My heart broke for him so many times during the story, I cried for him, and cheered him on. The book gives you so many emotions, it easily flips you from sadness to happiness in the same sentence. I loved the other characters too, James seems like a proper little Jack the lad, quietly mischievous, but not very noticeable to others. Jodie was one of my favourites. I love how much she cared for Mungo, she practically raises him, she’s like a mother to him. But their mother is also there, when she’s there. A strange one for sure, but as you read you see how she is in the situation she is and why, and even though sometimes you hate her, you also feel sorry for her. But Hamish, Mungo and Jodies older brother, wow. I pictured him so clearly. A bully with a secret heart.

The scene with the fighting had me on edge, my heart was in my throat. I will say no more. But the last third of the book was the best, it had me glued to the pages and I honestly didn’t move until I finished it all.

I’ve since been nursing a book hangover, and need Douglas Stuart to wrote another very quickly! Please read this book, it’s amazing, heartbreaking, warm and beautiful. And if you haven’t read Shuggie Bain already, why the hell not?!

Thank you Mr Stuart for another amazing book that will stick in my mind for a long long time.

This such a beautiful book, telling wonderful story of 15 years old Mungo in a hypermasculine city (Glasgow here). Stuart wrote it before his booker winner Shuggie Bain. I cannot wait for the book to publish so I can gift it to people around me.

Despite already having three other books to read via NetGalley and a small army of library paperbacks on my desk, I was so excited to read Young Mungo that I couldn't let it wait for more than the time it took my phone to download the book. Having studied in Glasgow, the phonetical spellings of Glasweigan English and vivid descriptions of the city submerged me into the city I loved. More than just pointing out street names I walked down or lived on, there's a tangible nature to the setting that makes Glasgow feel like another character in the novel, neither a hero no antagonist, but an omnipresent being that shapes the lives of Mungo and those he interacts with.

Speaking of Mungo, here is a protagonist I whole-heartedly loved. He's used to being babied by those around him and I never questioned why: he's incredibly kind, loyal, and has a forgiving nature which could have been written as his downfall but, while it did bring him a lot of grief, it wasn't written as a flaw to overcome. Mungo's softness is something to protect. Although Mungo is the character that leads us through the story, he's not the only narrator and I never found the other narrators as lesser storytellers. Throughout the two timelines of the novel—one being Mungo on a fishing trip with two alcoholics, the other being Mungo in Glasgow with his family—every character is developed enough that each of their decisions makes sense. There is never the feeling of things happening for the sake of a plot, but rather the plot organically growing from the characters' worldview and actions.

As for the plot, I was a little trepidatious of another story of trauma and pain, where LGBT characters are used as fictional punching bags and are reminded how much the world hates them. While Douglas Stuart doesn't shy away from writing the cruelty and abuse that gay men face, this coming of age story has as much tenderness as it does tragedy. It definitely gets bleak and depressing at times, but the chosen pacing of the story (switching seamlessly between the two timelines) does offer the reader a temporary escape. As the two timelines begin to come together, a sense of cautiousness develops in the reader as enough hints have been given to explain how Mungo found himself on the fishing trip. We can guess what happens to Mungo and James before it happens, and the knowingness doesn't lessen the blow. Having said that, and without spoiling anything too much, the ending is still optimistic. While there's no explicit future laid out for Mungo's happy ending, there's definitely hope for one. I for one, imagined a 'and they lived happily ever after.'

All in all, I loved the characters and enjoyed the writing style. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book (but browse the content warnings beforehand) and while I would like to reread this at some point, I also look forward to whatever Stuart writes next.