BookBar BookClub: Young Mungo with Douglas Stuart
Sign up, receive your book in advance of the book club with plenty of time to read it, send in the questions and discussion points you'd like us to talk about, and join a vitual interview with the author, in which we'll discuss the book.
The extraordinary, powerful second novel from the Booker prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain, Young Mungo is both a vivid portrayal of working-class life and the deeply moving story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James. 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 if they're to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable.
When Mungo's mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, with two strange men behind whose drunken banter lie murky pasts, he needs to summon all his inner strength and courage 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, Douglas Stuart's Young Mungo is 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.
Your ticket price includes a copy of the book, as well as attendance at the virtual event. Buy a ticket to a single event for £18 or subscribe to the book club for £15 a month.
Join us to at our virtual event to hear from Douglas Stuart on Tuesday 25th April 2023 at 7pm. The event will be recorded and you will be able to access the event for one month afterwards.
NB: We send out copies of the book at the same time each month, so our usually delivery time frame does not apply to the BookClub. You will receive an email when your copy has been dispatched or is ready for collection.