Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart

60 reviews

clellman's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is emotionally devastating. While the title character is Shuggie, Agnes is arguably the more central figure. There is intimacy, love, denial, self destruction, and wanting yourself to be different. It was super engrossing in a particular time and place ('80s Glasgow council housing) and the written out dialect was incredible and had me reading out loud to myself. Best book I've read in a while.

For me, it evoked A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, En finir avec Eddy Belleguele, and A Little Life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Addiction, Sexual assault, Violence, Bullying, and Homophobia

emilymdxn's review

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Vomit

mj_trearty's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 This is not an easy read but it is a very worthwhile read.

The book focuses on the Bain family, mainly Shuggie, the youngest son, and Agnes his alcoholic mother, living in 80s and early 90s Glasgow. It shows the desperation of many without work due to the mines closing and the fall of the ship building industry amongst others. What life was like in the council houses and tenements and how it was dealing with alcoholism.

The character of Shuggie does not fit in, smaller and more effeminate than other boys, he is bullied throughout his life while having to deal with hunger and desperation as his mother spent the dole and child support on cans of Special Brew. All he wants is his mum to get better and if he tries hard enough she will, in his young mind that is enough.

This is a beautifully crafted and harrowing account that brought tears to the eye on more than one occasion., definitely one of the best books I have read in years.

I think this line sums it up "the more you love someone the more they take the p**s out of that. They will do less and less of what ye want and more and more of just as the f****n' please." That is definitely how life was for Shuggie 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Rape, Self harm, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

aralu's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide, and Rape

lindsayseddon's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Pedophilia, Bullying, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Racism

cos_is_me's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Self harm, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Abandonment, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Blood, Rape, and Sexual assault

bps's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Injury/injury detail, Infidelity, Violence, Death, Sexism, Vomit, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

artemisg's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 This book is a very sad, bleak read, but so so good. It follows a poverty-stricken family living in council housing in Thatcher-era Scotland. Now, I was not alive in Thatcher’s time, and I’m not from the United Kingdom, so don’t have a particularly intimate understanding of the political climate of the book, but the combination of my limited knowledge of the era and its consequences, and the state of the ex-mining settlement in this novel, I can come to some conclusions. I understand that this book paints an unfortunately accurate picture of the state of lower- and working-class households at that time. It also paints a heartbreakingly accurate and multi-faceted picture of living with alcoholism, whether that be being the addicted, being the child of the addiction, or simply being surrounded by it. 

 

"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." 

 

The story primarily centres around the relationship between Agnes Bain and her youngest son, Shuggie. The other members of the family are expertly depicted and fleshed out - I have to commend Stuart for his incredible character studies, but the story is, at its’ core, a study of the relationship between Shuggie and his mother. It tackles the ideas of loving an alcoholic, being dependent on them, and then suddenly becoming their keeper. It tackles the ideas of having an incredibly insular and co-dependent relationship and how other people can sour that relationship. 

 

She'd looked as happy as he could ever remember, and he was surprised how this hurt. It was all for the red-headed man. He had done what Shuggie was unable to do. 

 

Overall, this is a story about hard times, about needing to be someone you are not, about sacrifices and selfishness, and about how sometimes, love can't get you through everything. A truly incredible debut, beautifully written, filled with multi-faceted and sympathetic characters and complex relationships. So so good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Homophobia

abbielcraw's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Vomit and Suicide attempt

Minor: Rape

kobra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Ableism, Self harm, Drug abuse, Classism, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent, Rape, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Bullying

Minor: Racism