Young Mungo

By: Douglas Stuart

Narrated by: Chris Reilly

The brilliant new novel from the Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain.

Douglas Stuart’s first novel, Shuggie Bain, is one of the most successful literary debuts of the century so far. It was awarded the 2020 Booker Prize, the sixth debut novel and only the second by a Scottish writer to win in the prize’s 50-year history. Shuggie Bain also won the British Book of the Year Award, the Sue Kaufman Prize, was a finalist for the US' National Book Award, and won or was nominated for dozens of other prizes. The book is now published or forthcoming in 40 territories and has already sold more than a million copies worldwide.

Young Mungo is Stuart’s extraordinary second novel. Five years in the writing, it is both a thriller and literary tour de force, a vivid portrayal of working-class life and a deeply moving and highly suspenseful story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James. Born under different stars—Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic—they should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all. Their environment is a hyper-masculine and sectarian one, for gangs of young men and the violence they might dole out dominate the Glaswegian estate where they live. And yet against all odds Mungo and James become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds. As they fall in love, they dream of finding somewhere they belong, while Mungo works hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his big brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. And when several months later Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, together with two strange men whose drunken banter belies murky pasts, he will need to summon all his inner strength and courage to try to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future.

Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism and giving full voice to people rarely acknowledged in the literary world, Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the bounds of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much. It is set to stand alongside Shuggie Bain as a modern classic.

©2022 Douglas Stuart (P)2022 Recorded Books

Heartbreakingly beautiful story

Very well written, to the point that I had to turn it off occasionally for fear of what would happen next. It did not disappoint. When the pain of the story would become unbearable the author would turn his gaze to something absurd, giving a brief respite before plunging back in.
Highly recommend.

Beautiful!

Loved this so much. I found myself re-listening to chapters after I’d finish them just to enjoy the writing again and savor the story a bit longer before moving on. I didn’t want to let the story end.

Brilliant!

A deep dive into the life of a teenager learning about love and survival in a hopeless family, social pressures of homophobia and the brutality of religious intolerance and poverty. Gorgeously written and read.

good story, sad

it started off a little slow but picked up speed. good character development, very emotional

Fabulously written & read.

Loved the book but it is a heartbreaking story of Mungo coming of age in incredibly tough circumstances in Glasgow. At times, I had to listen in short sections as it is distressing but I was compelled to finish it.

Heartbreaking. Groundbreaking.

The prose is beautiful. The characters scream with authenticity. It’s so heartbreaking and impossible to stop listening to. The accent takes a minute to get used to but you fall so in love with Mungo it could be narrated in Pig Latin and you’d want to hear more. God I loved this book.

Even better than Shuggie Bain

Douglas Stewart is immensely talented. His descriptive writing and use of Scottish slang is incredible.
The narration by Chris Reilly makes it exciting to listen to.

I can’t wait for the next book

Good story, the end was anti-climatic

Good story, the end was anti-climatic and bit unbelievable that two hard boiled characters would change in the last parts of the last chapter.

Even better than his first

This is a beautifully written novel that cuts to the heart and presents a young hero that may or may not make it out of his familial circumstances alive or in one piece. Brilliant.

Beautifully written, masterfully told.

I have never reviewed a book on Audible despite listening to hundreds of titles.
This is simply a must read. That is all I can say.