Shuggie Bain is the New York Times bestselling debut novel by Douglas Stuart, published in 2020.
I was a bit late to the party when it comes to Shuggie Bain. It’s a book that sat on my bookcase for a long time before I finally decided to read it. I think after seeing it discussed on Between The Covers and hearing how bleak it was, I felt I had to be in the right frame of mind before I began it.
It’s been a hugely successful literary fiction novel and has won multiple awards including the 2020 Booker Prize and Book of The Year at the British Book Awards. Not bad for a first novel!
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Plot
The book is set in Glasgow and follows the story of Shuggie Bain and his alcoholic mother Agnes. We are introduced to Shuggie at the beginning of the book when he is 15 years old before we are taken back to the 1980s when Shuggie is just five years old.
Shuggie lives a working class life in a flat with Agnes, his father Shug, his maternal grandparents and two half-siblings. Life is tough for Agnes Bain and she wants more for herself and her children. She dreams of greater things and feels she deserves them.
Shug abandons her after they move away from her parents’ flat and Agnes finds herself with only alcohol as a comfort. Her children do their best to save her but they too eventually have to abandon her in order to save themselves.
Shuggie, however, never gives up hope. Agnes is Shuggie’s whole world. He’s different from the children in his school and community and he is constantly told he is “no’ right”. Yet Shuggie believes if he is good and tries hard, his love alone might just save him and Agnes.
Shuggie Bain Book Review
Shuggie Bain has left a lasting impact on me. It is bleak and my heart broke for the little boy who just wanted to save his mother.
However, amongst the sadness, there are moments of warmth and love. The love Shuggie has for Agnes and his capacity for forgiveness is as moving as it is heart-breaking. His mother was clearly everything to him but, unfortunately, the feeling wasn’t reciprocated.
It was so beautifully written. I could clearly see every one of the characters as well as the poverty and deprivation of 1980s Glasgow. I rooted for Agnes, despite her being a hugely flawed character. I’ve been crying out for a story with characters I really cared about and there are not many characters I’ve cared more about than poor old Shuggie Bain.
I loved how the story was written in Glaswegian dialect. The Scottish speech is spelled out phonetically so it’s easy enough to decipher. This use of dialect adds an extra layer of authenticity to the storytelling and I felt fully immersed in the world of the characters. The dialect really contributes to the novel’s vivid sense of time and place, making the characters and their struggles feel even more real and relatable.
Douglas Stuart writes with such empathy and the story is a raw and unflinching portrayal of Shuggie’s life. Through the author’s evocative prose and vivid storytelling, the novel still manages to find moments of beauty, resilience and love amid the harsh realities of poverty and addiction.
Overall, I loved Shuggie Bain. It’s certainly not an easy read and it made me cry several times. However, the characters will stay with me for such a long time. I would love to read a sequel and find out what life has in store for Shuggie.
It’s a brutal portrayal of poverty and alcoholism but also a tale of love, hope and forgiveness. A beautiful yet heart-breaking book.
What books are like Shuggie Bain?
Both A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver have a similar theme to Shuggie Bain. Both follow troubled young men as they struggle to fight their demons.
I would also recommend The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne as another coming of age epic.
Has Douglas Stuart written any other novels?
Douglas Stuart has also written Young Mungo which was published in 2022.