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Set in Glasgow in the early eighties we meet Angus and Big Shug who have a volatile relationship fulled with anger, deceit and cheap larger.

Shuggie is the youngest of Angus and Big Shug's children.

I wanted to pull Shuggie from every page and remove him entirely from the situation. This character is a kid that could keep me up at night with worry.

Not sure if my brain is ready for June's #bookspin, but we are about to find out!

@TheAromaofBooks

It was unintentional that I read this one right after Demon Copperhead. I feel so fortunate that my only real trauma from growing up was navigating my sexuality. Economic hardship and parental dysfunction are so much worse.

Book scavenger hunt - skin #hauntedshelf @PuddleJumper #flerken

Wow this is a bleak read but totally immersive! About half way through and can‘t put it down. I‘m always in awe of people who can write a first novel that is this good!

5/5 ⭐

In entrambi i libri che ho letto di Douglas Stuart ho apprezzato soprattutto la sua capacità di scrivere personaggi estremamente complessi e comprensibili al tempo stesso.

In both books of Douglas Stuart that I read I appreciated most of all his ability to write characters that are at the same time extremely complex and understandable.

Oof. This is brilliantly written but my God it's bleak.

Next up. Looks like an uplifting feel-good read. #BooksAndBooze #InappropriateHashtagForThisBook

I‘m probably the last person on Litsy to read this! I needed to be in the right head space as I‘d heard it was very sad. And yes it is - but I felt like I was learning such a lot about alcoholism and this hard nosed, hard done by, community that Shuggie lives in - that it was also fascinating and that made it a fast read. Stuart manages to show the depths of alcoholism and poverty with great humanity. A 5 star read for me.

Back on Litsy after 3 years. I had wanted to spend more time offline and doing more reading books than reading about reading books. Hi Litsy peeps!

Poor sweet little Shuggie 💔
He is hopelessly devoted and it‘s heartbreaking.
While I expected this book to be sad, I didn‘t expect to be utterly consumed by it. I couldn‘t put it down.
It will sit heavy on your heart.

A pretty devastating read on alcoholism, poverty, abuse, and what it means to love a broken parent, and more importantly, how one copes despite it all.

This is the best book I've read recently! A story about Shuggie's growing up in Glasgow during the 1980s with his alcoholic mother. Wonderful, sad, touching, well written text on destroyed childhood, povery, abuse, addiction and the last years of working-class Glasgow. Booker prize well deserved!

This is probably a pretty good read, but I‘m an hour and 20 minutes in and I‘m not particularly enjoying it. I dislike all of the characters so far (except maybe Shuggie?), and there have been many instances of sexual harassment and abuse. I don‘t think this book is for me. I‘m sure it has a lot going for it, though! (This is one of my #Roll100 books, and perhaps the first roll I‘ve bailed on)

This is more the story of the mother Agnes than the titular Shuggie, but it is Shuggie that brings hope to the novel. Stuart is a brilliant writer expertly painting time, characters and place.

Totally gripping and with the most powerful imagery. A painful and heart breaking story of a family overwhelmed by inter generational trauma and dysfunctional coping mechanisms. But despite this I cared so much for Shuggie (rhymes with buggy) and his mum Agnes, whose characters are drawn so finely, with their humanity shining through despite their flaws (well despite Agnes‘ flaws). A one of kind story, I will never forget it.

Sadness made for a better houseguest; at least it was quiet, reliable, consistent 🫗

I had high hopes for this one.

Started this one thinking I had to read it before Young Mungo. They're not connected at all (so far as I can tell) but I did love it even through the pain. A fractured, working class family in Scotland just getting through life. Made me remember reading Angela's Ashes/'Tis

Well this has been on my TBR pile since publication, I have Young Mungo awaiting collection at Waterstones and Shuggie Bain has been listed on the Platinum Jubilee Reading List. I am hoping after just finishing The House in the Cerulean Sea that I have enough warm feels to face this.

I was really struggling with reading this, so I switched over to the audio and it is such a better experience. I am definitely going to need something cheerful and fun after though.

Wow! A beautifully written, heart breaker of a book. I both read the book and listened to the #audio and it was good to switch it up-great to hear the accents and tone on audio, but the written text helped avoid confusion at times. Hard to get through at times, but ultimately glad I heard his story. #MountTBR #BookspinBingo #marvellousmarch @TheAromaofBooks @Andrew65

A tumultuous yet rewarding Scottish Yarn that's been soaked in the trauma of alcoholism.

1️⃣ Definitely Goodreads, I've used that the longest and I really like it for tracking my reads and getting recommendations.

Add me⤵️
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/93434926-michael-theneverendingtbr

2️⃣ Yes, my goal is 150 books. It'll be the most I've ever read in a year if I complete it. I've not failed on my reading goals yet! ✊

3️⃣ Tagged! 🧡

Thanks for the tag @DarkMina

I tag @Ast_Arslan @youneverarrived @Cathythoughts

My favourite read for #May. May was a very strong reading month for me; I got 5 books done and was my third strongest reading month and until November, I didn‘t read as much as I did in May. I also had 2 other books that could have qualified for favourite read and were very close to becoming the favourite read. #12booksof2021

#12booksof2021 #4thbookof2021 #April

I had a major reading slump in April and only reported 4 books read for the month. The Booker Prize winner was the best of them, but I didn't like it enough for it to make my #Top21of21 list.

@Andrew65

#12Booksof2021 February favorite. Broke my heart, but oh so good. Did a mix of print and audio for this one. Audio is excellent.

“Why the fuck did you bring me here?” His answer? “I had to see if you would actually come. She had loved him, and he had needed to break her completely to leave her for good. Agnes Bain was too rare a thing to let someone else love. It wouldn‘t do to leave pieces of her for another man to repair later.” Stuart depicts, in a brutal starkness, the breaking down of a person. He also shows a solidness, however, of undeniable character & daring style.

This year started our strong- flagged in the middle and picked up for a fun finish!

I read this one for a book challenge (Booker prize winner). It was not my cup of tea and was very long and drawn out. It was dark and depressing and hard to finish. Book #71 in 2021

Super depressing, but absolutely brilliant. You‘re rooting for Shuggie the whole way through, beautifully written.

From #Sharjahinternationalbookfestival

Intriguing look behind the scenes of how the Booker Prize is judged! I didn‘t know it was televised. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/05/arguments-anticipation-and-careful...

I put this brilliant book down exhausted by this sad story of the effect of alcoholism upon a family. In Agnes, mother of shuggie and his 2 half siblings, we meet a woman who is lively, funny, and beautiful but humiliated by the men in her life who even when she seems to escape from her addiction at one point is drawn back in by a man's stupidity. The impact on shuggie is inevitable with the story book ended by his sorry circs after leaving home.

This is a beauty of book. I loved these characters and enjoyed every painful moment I got to spend with them. It‘s highly worth your time.

I have never read the last page of a book- not even if I abandon a book. Just why? I hate spoilers, too. Book blurbs that give away too much is another of my pet peeves. I‘d love to hear some of yours.

Shuggie's love for his alcoholic mother is so fierce and unwavering it'll break your heart.

There isn't much 'happy' to be found here, but this is a powerful book and worth the read.