Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

27 reviews

sachairi's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Religious bigotry

emmaisabelle's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I wish this book hadn’t beaten Real Life by Brandon Taylor for the Booker because I LOVE that book and unfortunately couldn’t stop myself from comparing the two even though they’re so different. 

I loved the way the book zeroed in on Shuggie and Agnes’s relationship. I went in thinking it was more going to be about Shuggie but it really is about them
both and their relationship and the havoc addiction wreaks on a family. This book is just… so heartbreaking and raw. It does a great job of evoking the pain of being a child of an alcoholic. I may be alone in this but I deeply felt for Agnes throughout.

When she relapsed, my heart broke and like Leek, I was ready to beat up Eugene too.

I really devoured the second half and finished it in a day. I think Stuart did a great job of also helping readers deeply understand Leek, Catherine and the other side characters without really having to go or their heads or focus on them. Shuggie isn’t the most reliable narrator but we can really feel their emotions and motivations despite that through the whole book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Racism, and Pregnancy

itsjustbethg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

euphemia's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

this is gonna send me into some state but the writing. please, yes.

when shuggie let his mum die because he gave up the hope that she'd change?? goodbye, i jumped out several windows

 

maybe the singular issue i saw here is the scottish slang. like, it's realistic but still it took me a while to get the hang of it and i even resorted to a glossary of slang i found online. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Racial slurs, Blood, and Religious bigotry

bersblue's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

lenin_lover_69's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Shuggie Bain is relentlessly grim, but the evocative and poetic prose used to sketch out the city of Glasgow made it a worthwhile read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

stayathomereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

alissa_m's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Religious bigotry

hollieebeee's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

Despite the subject matter, I found this book easy to read. The story of Shuggie and his family was heartbreaking. The novel follows the life of Shuggie against the backdrop of working class Glasgow in the eighties. The things that the characters go through just to survive are shocking, but told in such a way you feel for them and their struggle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Pedophilia and Religious bigotry