Details:
- author: Douglas Stuart
- full title: Young Mungo
- narrator: Chris Reilly
- genre: literary fiction
- topics: #family #love #lgbt
- publisher: Recorded Books
- publish date: 05.04.2022
- timing: 13:41:00
My Rating of the Audiobook:
- content: 💙💙💙💙.5
- narration: 💙💙💙💙💙
 |
| Goodreads |
Excerpt from the Book:
Mungo knew fine well that people had demons. Mo-Maw’s showed itself whenever she jangled for a drink. Her demon was a flat, eel-like snake with the jaw and beady eyes of a weasel and the matted coat of a mangy rat. It was a sleekit thing on a chain leash that shook her and dragged her towards things that she ought to be walking away from. It was greedy and it was cunning. It could lie dormant, wait for the children to leave for school, to kiss their mother goodbye, and then it would turn on Mo-Maw, throttle her as though she was some shivering mouse. At other times it coiled up inside her and sat heavy on her heart. The demon was always there just under the surface, even on good days.My Thoughts:
Mungo is a 15-year-old teenager. He never knew his father, and his alcoholic mother, Mo-Maw, is rarely at home. Mungo has two siblings: Hamish and Jodie. Each of the children is different and is coping with the situation differently. Hamish is driven by violence, Jodie is ambitious and wants to go to university, and the youngest, Mungo, is a naive and obedient teen.In one word: breathtaking. And I mean this in multiple meanings. Young Mungo is a well-written novel, but also it is sad, brutal, and frustrating. There are two different timelines, a story jumps from the camping trip to before that. The novel is slow-paced, especially in the first half. If you are looking for a heartwarming queer love story, this novel is not for you. The love between a protestant and a catholic boy is just part of the story. More than that novel deals with abuse, violence, and child neglect. So no, this, in its essence, is not a beautiful (love) story.
If you are used to American accent, you will need some time to get used to the thick Scottish accent. But after a while, I learned it is the accent that makes this audiobook even better. So, excellent narration by Chris Reilly.
About the Author:
Douglas Stuart is a Scottish - American writer. He is the author of 'Young Mungo.' His debut novel, 'Shuggie Bain,' is the winner of the 2020 Booker Prize.
‘Shuggie Bain’ won the Sue Kaufman award from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. It won the British Book of the Year, and The British Debut of the Year, at the British book awards in 2021. 'Shuggie Bain' was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction, the Pen Hemingway Award, the Kirkus Prize for Fiction, The Rathbones Folio, the LA Times Art Seidenbaum Award, and the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize.
His short stories have been published by The New Yorker. His writing on Gender, Class and Anxiety was featured on Lit Hub.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, after receiving his MA from the Royal College of Art in London, he has lived and worked in New York City.
