Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

A brilliant book and such a worthy winner of the Booker Prize 2020! But also such a dark, depressing and brutal read. It reminded me a lot of A Little Life, and just like that book it left devastated and uneasy after reading it. I know it’s a book that will stay with me and that I will never forget, even though I almost wish for it. Shuggie Bain is a raw storytelling that is both heartbreaking and deeply moving, beautiful and brutal, compassionate and encouraging as well as painful and frustrating at the same time.

The story follows the sweet, lonely, gay boy Shuggie Bain growing up in the economic and social stagnation of 1980s Glasgow, Scotland, together with his alcoholic mother. Abandoned by his father and older siblings, he struggles to take on the responsibility and care for his mother, while also struggling to become the normal boy he desperately longs to be instead of the “no right” boy with a secret that all but him can see. It’s a portrait of a struggling city and post-industrial working-class community, a mother that is shunned by the other women and preyed upon by the men and of a young boy being outcast for who he is and navigating the harsh reality the best he can.
 
I actually think that “Agnes Bain” would have been a better title though, since the main focus and the center for the story and all the other characters is Shuggie’s mother and her struggle with the addiction and misery.
 
I have to admit that there were so many times I got frustrated with Agnes and the poor decisions she kept making and the way she was abusive to Shuggie and her elder children. But mostly I pitied her, and felt deeply sorry for Shuggie. It was impossible to not see how deep his love for his mother was, and to see the sweet, fun and glorious parts of Agnes’s personality through Shuggie’s eyes. So for most of the time, Shuggie made me feel compassion for Agnes too.
 
This book is brilliant, clearly written from the heart and with a wonderful flow. It’s agonizing and heart-wrenching, tragic and so depressing, but -luckily- with a few glimmers of hope. It such a worthy Booker Prize winner, but for me it was a bit on the long side and just too dark and devastating. It made me feel uneasy, frustrated, heartbroken and just too sad to fully appreciate it. Therefore, I can only give it a four star rating, even though I recognize that it is an amazing book and future classics.
 
I do encourage everyone to read it though, just be aware of the trigger warnings and be prepared for your heart and mind to be scrambled.

Rating:
4 stars

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​Author info:
Douglas Stuart