Shuggie Bain: The Million-Copy Bestseller
As seen:
By Douglas Stuart
avg rating
3 reviews
WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF ‘BOOK OF THE YEAR’ AND ‘DEBUT OF THE YEAR’ AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS
THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER
‘An amazingly intimate, compassionate, gripping portrait of addiction, courage and love.’ – The judges of the Booker Prize
‘Douglas Stuart has written a first novel of rare and lasting beauty.’ – The Observer
‘Shuggie Bain means so much to me. It is such a powerfully written story . . . I love a heartbreak book but there is so much love within this one, particularly between Shuggie and his mother Agnes.’ – Dua Lipa
It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life, dreaming of greater things. But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and as she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves.
It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different, he is clearly no’ right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place.
Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. For readers of A Little Life and Angela’s Ashes, it is a heartbreaking novel by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.
‘A heartbreaking novel’ – The Times
‘Tender and unsentimental . . . The Billy Elliot-ish character of Shuggie . . . leaps off the page.’ – Daily Mail
TweetReviews
Fiction
Set in Glasgow so reading the dialect takes a bit of getting used to!
Lots of discussion about it in other book clubs I belong too so felt the pressure to give it a go for myself!
Such a roller-coaster of a book where the trials and tribulations of a disjointed family are retold, mostly through the eyes of the youngest child. Mothers battle with drink is the central theme but there is an overriding theme of survival at all costs. As a teacher, it has touched my heart strings.
This book was not an easy read, as the subject matter was often heart breaking. However, I am very glad I did read it. It gave a fascinating insight into the social history of the era, and how political decisions affected everyday families.
Well, what a tough read! I live in Glasgow and was brought up in the tenements in the 80s and this book really resonated with me. Shuggie, Agnes and all the characters could have been anyone living around me at that time. I was so lucky my mum didn't "take a drink," although my dad did and I had a few friends where alcohol was a big part of their upbringing. I recognised a lot of the settings, I still live just along the road from The Grand Old Opry, where pre-pandemic sheriffs, cowboys and cowgirls still queue outside at the weekends.
As I say, a tough read, I struggled with the first 200 pages but a very worthwhile one.
