Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

24 reviews

firstknight's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Hate crime, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Abortion, Vomit, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Racism, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

rose_reads_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

What an interesting listen! It took me quite a while to get into the book and some parts were quite slow but overall it was a really good book. Definitely check the content/trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Abandonment, Violence, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual violence, Animal death, Torture, Classism, Bullying, Homophobia, and Animal cruelty

tolu_odejide's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

You can’t live for other people. My heart ached for all the characters in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Vomit, Abandonment, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying and Abortion

pkc's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

At the half way point, I couldn’t have envisioned giving this book five stars. Some of the subject matter is harrowing and tough to read, but tell me why I finished reading it, feeling, of all things, hopeful? Mungo as a protagonist is sweet and complicated. His journey of discovery is as joyful as it is harrowing in places and seeing him endure what he does filled me with a deep sense of anger and hurt and seeing his transition at the end of the novel left me feeling conflicted.

Spoiler

No one should endure what he has to, but the result is that he survives his ordeal with his brother and the loch and comes back with a sense of perspective - he will fend for himself and do what is right for himself.

 

All in all, a much bleaker picture than ‘Shuggie Bain’ but definitely more complex and engaging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Animal death, Bullying, Vomit, Rape, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Death, Medical trauma, and Outing

remimicha's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Addiction, Abortion, Ableism, Abandonment, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Classism, Bullying, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Child abuse, Blood, Animal death, Murder, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Homophobia, Hate crime, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Infidelity

vifed's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The book was slow paced, but in a really good way. I kept coming back to this book, even when it was slow.

This book made me sad, angry, frustrated, and just overall emotional. And it should. Young Mungo is heartbreaking. But it’s hopeful, with little glimmers of love and happiness, told from the perspective of the working class. It’s insightful, detailed.

Maybe a little too detailed? I felt like the author kept harping on about insignificant things in some areas, as if to give the most detailed background information. Maybe I just haven’t deep-dives into the book. Maybe I just haven’t looked for the symbolism yet.

I liked this book. I feel so sad, but I have hope. I have hope for Mungo. I’m attached to the characters in so many ways. I have hope for everyone in the book.

That is, the characters that remain alive, anyways.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Abortion, Child abuse, Homophobia, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug use, Abortion, Homophobia, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Outing

hypocrisis's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

felt like i was being wrung out like a wet towel, truly gut wrenching passages in there which is why i had to shelve it for a couple of months before reading the second half. there are beautiful moments of hope but you never get to savour them as the inevitable next chapter looms over peaceful scenes like a dark cloud. 
what i love about stuart's work is the realistically complex full characterisation of the families in his books, once again the mother figure sticks out in this regard. definitely worth a read if you can stomach it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, Addiction, Violence, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Torture, Sexual assault, Murder, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Bullying, Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Rape, Blood, Classism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Outing, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Infidelity

Minor: Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

tabear's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Outing, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Murder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit

rebeccaddnti's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Child abuse, Cursing, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Vomit

katiechasingchapters's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-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

5.0

Douglas Stuart has done it again. His debut book Shuggie Bain was one of my favourite reads of 2021 and I'm sure Young Mungo will be a favourite of 2023. As I'm sure others have noted, there are similarities between both books. Working class Glasgow, an alcoholic mother and a teenage boy struggling with his sexuality are themes in both, but Young Mungo feels like a totally new world to me. 

Mungo is an outlier in the violent and aggressively heterosexual world he lives in on a Glasgow housing scheme, raised mainly by his older sister Jodie due to their mother's neglect and alcoholism. Toxic masculinity and violence is rife, with men and boys expected to toughen up as many lose their livelihood and sense of self due to Thatcher era cuts.

Mungo's gang leader brother Ha Ha makes it clear the nervous and artistic Mungo is a disappointment to the family name. Mungo knows all too well the violence and hatred he'd be faced with if Ha Ha found out about his burgeoning relationship with James, a boy who lives in a  flat behind theirs. Not only is James a boy but Catholic, and the sectarian divide is a clear one Protestant Mungo knows he can't cross without drawing the wrath of his brothers gang. 

The story is beautiful, and utterly heartbreaking. It's full of despair and pain but has moments of such hope and strength, and I found it incredibly moving. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Violence, Rape, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship