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Tag: shuggiebain

Posted on March 9, 2021March 9, 2021

Shuggie Bain is a debut novel by Douglas Stuart and it is surely an outstanding


Shuggie Bain is a debut novel by Douglas Stuart and it is surely an outstanding book. Its writing, its characters and its plot are basically perfect. The opening scene of the main character, Shuggie Bain and the supermarket chicken deli he works in captured me straight into the depraved world of the Bain family. Poor ten year old Shuggie has a hard life, he lives in  the city of Glasgow in the1980s during the Thatcher era with his two siblings and mother, Agnes Bain in complete poverty and misfortune. This is what happens when society forgets about people and children.  Agnes Bain has a particularly hard life. Agnes is an alcoholic and this story is hers and Shuggie’s. There are so many touching and caring scenes between the two with Shuggie caring for her all the way that it can be hard to forgive Agnes for her failings as a parent. But, none the less Shuggie Bain is a tragic love story and we all know what happens in a good tragedy. I found this book heartwrenching to the point I was afraid to pick up the book as I wasn’t sure how much more pain and hardship I could take. There are some humorous moments scattered but otherwise this book is not to be described as uplifting. I never shy away from sad books that deal with suffering and the ending does give us a glimmer of hope for poor Shuggie.  I also don’t think books should be happy and fix the reader’s emotions. Reading a book like Shuggie Bain and the experiences of a family that live in utter poverty and depravity give the reader hope and gratefulness for their own lives. Well, it did for me anyway. It might for you too. The writing in this book is so good, so good that if you are a writer, it might just make you want to throw your efforts away and go back to the day job. But don’t, the way Douglas Stuart writes setting and character in every line, every paragraph, every page will make you catch your breath, writer or non-writer. There is so much to learn from Shuggie, whether it is the atmosphere it paints or the strong emotions and connection for the characters.

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My Goodreads

Rozz's books

Tender
3 of 5 stars
Tender
by Belinda McKeon
Davy Byrnes Stories 2014
4 of 5 stars
Davy Byrnes Stories 2014
by Sara Baume
Foster
5 of 5 stars
Foster
by Claire Keegan
Superb, perfect short story telling from the genius of the form.
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned
4 of 5 stars
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned
by Wells Tower
hilarious and dark and funked up!
The Good House
1 of 5 stars
The Good House
by Ann Leary

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My Goodreads

Rozz’s books

Tender
3 of 5 stars
Tender
by Belinda McKeon

Davy Byrnes Stories 2014
4 of 5 stars
Davy Byrnes Stories 2014
by Sara Baume

Foster
5 of 5 stars
Foster
by Claire Keegan
Superb, perfect short story telling from the genius of the form.

Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned
4 of 5 stars
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned
by Wells Tower
hilarious and dark and funked up!

The Good House
1 of 5 stars
The Good House
by Ann Leary




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