Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Young Mungo

This was a book of two halves for me. I loved it as an ethnography slice of life from the East End of Glasgow in the 90s, which I found very interesting. The characters were very well fleshed out and the 'world' felt incredibly vivid and visceral. Douglas Stuart is clearly very talented at world building.

However, the flashes forward to the plot at the loch veered into misery porn in a way that felt unnecessary. I hate the countryside as much as it is, and I don't feel like the events that transpired really added anything to the book, nor did it really inform the plot. I feel like it would have been a total triumph had it completely erased that sub plot, including the ending.

Overall the excellent parts outweigh the part I resented having to read, and I'm keen to read Shuggie Bain off the back of this.

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mai_books27's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book took me by the throat and broke my heart and i still couldn't put it down. The storytelling is atmospheric and phenomenal, the characters are so tangible and human. I cannot recommend this book enough, but due to the weight of the subject matter it's one you have to pick up in your own time. A new favorite, for sure. Violen but soft and loving, this book is worth every penny. Please read it.

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tarnya_smith's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

We follow Mungo, the youngest of 3 siblings to an absent father and a drunk mother who is intermittent and unreliable. Mungo tries to stay in school, navigate gang expectations from his older brother, keep connected with his mother and make friends. You really feel for Mungo and his want to escape this life and when he finds his reason and chance, you can't help but hope it's not too good to be true.

I'd never read anything before with such a distinctive Glaswegian voice and the audiobook really helped with that.

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tashmachin's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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helen777's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Best book I’ve read in a long time. Stopped watching tv for a week because I was just reading this. The characters were so well written, and the themes and plot were really captivating. It covers some really tough adult themes - these should not be taken lightly.

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aleksanski's review against another edition

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dark hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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alouette's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad 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

CHECK CWs

this is a very difficult, very beautiful novel. i don't think i would've been able to make it through if i related any more to the characters (or was less able to numb myself to their pain). they are all such complicated, broken people and the fact that no one could protect Mungo had me in tears. even when he had to do what he did to protect himself, all i felt was sadness. i had to hold on really tight to the comfort of Mungo's relationships with James and with his sister <3

for all the darkness, my favourite part was the chance for us as readers to choose a happy ending in the implications of the very last scene. the world was and is and will be fill of terrible cultures and places and people, but we will find reasons to keep going.

my second favourite part was when Mungo kissed James and thought "maybe if lord of the flies had been more like this he would've paid more attention." same, bud, same

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cluckieduck's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-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

5.0

I have been sitting with my thoughts on how to review this book for some time now, as I grapple with my feelings. How do you rate something that is unspeakably tragic, yet utterly captivating? Seriously, this is Shakespearean-level tragedy here, equally one of the most horrible books I've read this year (possibly ever) but also one of the best.

What it did do, however, was reinforce my love for romance novels because the amount of despair & anguish that poor Mungo goes through is too much for my poor heart. Seems I can only take one piece of contemporary fiction like Young Mungo each year! Thankfully it ended on a somewhat hopeful note, otherwise I don't know how I would have coped.

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