Young Mungo
14 April 2022Synopsis
The Number One Sunday Times Bestseller
A Selection of Dua Lipa's Service95 Bookclub
'Beautiful and moving, a gay Romeo and Juliet set in the brutal world of Glasgow’s housing estates' – The Observer
From the Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain. Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is a vivid portrayal of working-class life in 80s Glasgow, and the deeply moving story of the dangerous first love of two young men.
Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates, where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation.
They should be sworn enemies and yet, as they begin to fall in love, they dream of escape, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him . . .
A gripping and revealing story about the meaning of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by so many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much.
Young Mungo was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 10/4/22
Details
14 April 2022
9781529068795Reviews
A touching story of forbidden love pursued in the face of sectarian violence with a plot that unfolds with all the urgency and dread of teenage yearningThe Times/The Sunday Times, ‘Books of the Year’
Stuart follows his Booker-winning Shuggie Bain with another tale of a Glasgow boy whose mother is an alcoholic. This time, however, it’s a love story, with Protestant-Catholic sectarian tensions in the background; Mungo and pigeon-fancier James are star-crossed lovers in a Jets and Sharks world. The tension of their romance is expertly sustained.The Daily Telegraph, ‘Books of the Year’
Again Douglas Stuart proves himself a wonderfully gifted writer . . . Young Mungo is the work of a true novelist.The Guardian
A dazzling modern masterpiece . . . a book of clear, honest, often dazzling intent and integrityEvening Standard
