This retelling of a childhood amidst the tenements and forgotten pit towns of 1980's Glasgow is such a visceral, immersive book, worthy of all it's awards. Everyone seemed to have their head stuck in ‘Shuggie Bain’ by Douglas Stuart at the start of 2021, at a time when reading seemed like one of the few pleasures we had left.

Agnes

At the start, it put me in mind of 'Paddy Clarke Ha Ha' or maybe 'Angela's ashes' but it moved beyond those books in that I didn't feel there was a barrier between the storyteller and the reader; it utterly transported me. There's one scene where Agnes and a few other alcoholics have gathered in the living room of her house for an afternoon's drinking - I swear I could actually smell, taste and touch as I was reading - I felt I was sitting in the corner.

So many heartbreaking, emotional scenes - one which got me was when Agne's father returned from the second world war, a short chapter that had a devastating ending. The scene in Blackpool. And the scene with Agnes and Eugene, in the unfamiliar surroundings of the local golf club, made me put the book down and go for a walk. There's no doubting at times that this is not an easy read.

As I was reading I felt that Douglas Stuart couldn't have described these events unless he had lived them, as it was so utterly realistically described. Indeed, it seems that although the book is not an autobiography, the author experienced a similar upbringing.

I genuinely felt for this family, for Shuggie Bain and the heartbreaking descent of his mother, though I did feel that Agnes used him because of his love for her. There were flickers of hope, and black comedy, but it always felt there was to be an inevitable ending to the story, which is fairly emotionally heartbreaking.

Shuggie Bain Summary

This book was fully deserving of it’s Booker win and every award that came its way. Emotionally involving, devastating and always utterly authentic, this book will break your heart.

There’s no doubting that it’s bleak, harrowing and raw but that’s because it is always real. It’s also illuminated by momments of humanity and humour, as life is like that. It’s also incredibly accurate in its portray of addiction and co-dependency, which many readers will be familiar with.

I wonder what we’ll be reading in January next year - will we all be in the mood for something as gritty and bleak as this? Though maybe that’s exactly what we need - a story about survival and love.

Book review - Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart

430 pages, Hardcover

January 1, 2020 by Picador

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By the same author - Young Mungo