Shuggie Bain
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4.4 • 10 Ratings
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- $30.99
Publisher Description
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
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Douglas Stuart gives us a glimpse of 1980s Scotland in this haunting novel. From the perspective of kindhearted 16-year-old Shuggie Bain, we watch the life of one Scottish family unfold over the course of a decade as alcoholism and dysfunction tear his parents apart. But despite his family’s problems, Shuggie’s love for them—and particularly for his mother—radiates from his every word. We were utterly captivated by this tragic and deeply felt story. Stuart depicts the Bains’ squalid living situation in intense detail and his meticulous descriptions of damp carpeting, musky smells, and beds crowded with children made us feel absolutely transported into this desperate world. Narrator Angus King’s melodic delivery finds the poetry in Stuart’s gritty writing style, and it even nails the characters’ Glaswegian brogue. If you appreciated the cathartic beauty of Angela’s Ashes, grab some hankies and give Shuggie Bain a listen.
