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A review by mothumn
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Arc review for audiobook
Young Mungo is beautifully written and heartbreaking to read. I read Douglas Stuart’s first novel, Shuggie Bain, earlier this year and loved it, but I think that Young Mungo is somehow even better. So much is captured, both beauty and ugliness, violence and hatred and also love. It was at times difficult to read, I had to put it down for a bit because of what happened in it. But it was a very good, but difficult, read. Douglas Stuart is an incredibly talented writer who is able to capture the beauty in what many people would only see as ugly.
Young Mungo is beautifully written and heartbreaking to read. I read Douglas Stuart’s first novel, Shuggie Bain, earlier this year and loved it, but I think that Young Mungo is somehow even better. So much is captured, both beauty and ugliness, violence and hatred and also love. It was at times difficult to read, I had to put it down for a bit because of what happened in it. But it was a very good, but difficult, read. Douglas Stuart is an incredibly talented writer who is able to capture the beauty in what many people would only see as ugly.
I also received an arc for the audiobook which I played along while reading. I don’t have much to say about it, I thought having a Scottish narrator helped to transport you into the story. Although at some points I felt the narration was a bit flat and lacked emotion, overall I didn’t have much of an effect on my reading experience.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism