Shuggie Bain: A Novel (Booker Prize Winner)

In similar vein to most recent previous Booker shortlisted novels: the writing deserves 5 stars, the subject matter 2 stars. Very depressing.

The story is of Shuggie Bain, a young boy who becomes the sole caretaker of his alcoholic mother after his dad and siblings leave him. Agnes Bain is all about appearance. After leaving her Catholic husband for an exciting adventure with a philandering taxi driver, and she is faced with the realization that the life she dreamed of will never come to fruition. She is depressed and takes to drinking to drown her sorrows. Agnes and her three kids move to a public housing unit, feeling hopeful for a better future. Life had other plans for Agnes, who will be abandoned, again by her husband. He punishes her for not giving up on her drinking and only visits her to give her more abuse. In all of this, Shuggie is the only one who unconditionally loves his mom and his belief that he will be enough for her to stop the drinking. All along Shuggie is trying hard to be like other boys and struggling with fitting in. He is bullied and abused by his school mates, and the need to be normal holds him back from being free. The novel is an intimate and raw portrayal of the ugliness that resides in the hearts of humanity. The strengths, the weaknesses of the individual characters, and the love that encapsulates all of them bring forward an unforgettable story of a young boy with a heart of gold and naivety that will ultimately threaten to destroy him.Overall, the imagery, the language, the desperation, and the desolation that is at the center of this novel leaves me speechless. The vivid descriptions of Glasgow in the 80s will be staying in my memory forever bringing to life the glamorous and the ever self-destructive Agnes Taylor and her meticulously dressed, posh-speaking Shuggie Bain, who was a breath of fresh air with his innocence. I gave this book 4.5 stars, and highly recommend reading this extremely devastating and raw portrayal of life at its lowest and the hope rising from the ashes.

Até o momento, Shuggie Bain é meu favorito entre os finalistas do Booker, e, se calhar como nos outros anos, meu favorito ganha (ainda faltam 2,5 pra eu terminar a lista, vejamos). De qualquer forma, vai ser uma das melhores coisas que li esse ano. É um romance cheio de potência, força e melancolia. Shuggie é uma criança que cresce num bairro pobre de Glasgow, onde o pai é motorista de táxi, e a mãe dona-de-casa. Eles brigam muito, o pai abandona a família, e a mãe se entrega ao álcool.Shuggie também tem suas próprias questões. Um menino frágil, ele sofre bulling o tempo todo na escola, na rua, em casa. Ele também sente atração por outros meninos, mas não compreende isso, e, obviamente, não sabe lidar com isso. Quando a irmão e o irmão mais velhos saem de casa (são filhos do primeiro casamento da mãe) caberá ao menino cuidar da mãe cada vez mais deprimida.Primeiro romance de Douglas Stuart, poderia facilmente cair na exploração de uma infância no inferno, mas o autor é sóbrio em seu retrato da working class de Glasgow dos anos de 1980. Não há redenção fácil – se é que há –, e Shuggie descobre isso a duras penas. A sobriedade da linguagem e da narrativa não fazem deste um romance duro e frio, pelo contrário. O autor tem um enorme carinho pelo seu protagonista – por todas personagens, na verdade -, e traz nuances a ele, e a quem o cerca. Ninguém é exclusivamente bom ou mal, vítima ou perpetrador.

When I announced this as my next reading everyone told me how heartbreaking and phenomenal this book is. It only increased my expectations.I confess that when I started this book I was afraid that it was going to break my heart.I even thought that finally a book was going to take the crown of “A Fine Balance” (by Rohinton Mistry), my favourite book of all time and the second saddest book that I have ever read - the crown for the saddest went to “Fall on Your Knees”, by Ann-Marie MacDonald (also one of my top ten favourite books) - as for the most depressing, the crown went to “A Little Life”, by Hanya Yanagihara, but I did not like the book.This book started very strong and very promising. I was amazed by the author’s writing style, especially for a debut.The storyline, set between 1981 and 1992, although a bit repetitive, is good and felt very realistic (I even thought that perhaps the author had a personal experience), but I was expecting more dynamic between the characters. I really wanted to know more about the kid, Shuggie Bain, and to hear his point of view. This book is all about his alcoholic mother, so the title is, in my opinion, wrong.Some readers dismissed this book by calling it a “poverty porn”. I did not find it that shocking or even a bit depressing. I grew up in Brazil and lived there until 1992. I have seen poverty. My home town was surrounded by (and it’s even worse now). Back then (in Brazil) there was no such thing as welfare or any kind of financial help paid by the government.Yes, there are heartbreaking moments in this book, but I thought they were easy to take.I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook narrated by Angus King, while simultaneously reading the paperback. It really added another level of enjoyment.The main reason that I’m not giving it five stars is because I did not feel that connected with the characters and I was not emotionally impacted, as I was highly expecting. Also, I thought that the book was too long for what was offering. Regardless, I thought that this was a good read and I’m looking forward to reading his next work.

I really enjoyed this book for myself it was a walk down memory lane that I wasn't expecting I could actually visualize it.The good the bad and the ugly but that was life in that timeThanks to the author

This novel is not for the faint-of-heart, but it is pretty much the best fiction I have read in years - the subject matter. a family struggling with poverty and alcoholism in 80s/90s Glasgow can be tough to read, but the writing is exquisite, the characters alive on the page and I'm only sorry this is a debut novel and I can't wait for his followup which I sincerely hope is in the works. This kind of talent doesn't come along every day. Loved it.

WOW - what can I say!! Excellent writing- but this was a tough story to read about how difficult it it for those who are marginalized and have addiction issues and just can’t get out from under and the impact on children- it happens everywhere but we just don’t see it unless involved in humanitarian efforts - a must read