Young MungoYoung Mungo
What it's about
In Glasgow in the 1990s, Mungo, fifteen and gentle, lives with his alcoholic mother and his violent older brother, a gang leader. He falls in love with James, a Catholic boy who keeps pigeons, which in their divided, violent neighborhood is doubly dangerous. Hoping to make a man of him, his mother sends him on a fishing trip with two strange men.
Why it's worth reading
It was a Goodreads Choice finalist. Douglas Stuart, the Booker-winning author of Shuggie Bain, writes a tender, brutal love story.
You'll love it if you liked
Shuggie Bain
The Line of Beauty
Normal PeopleGood to know
It includes sexual assault and extreme violence, and heavy Glaswegian dialect.
By the numbers
- Readers91 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller23 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
On our reserve shelf: it's well reviewed, but isn't currently a prize winner, a lifetime bestseller or a book everyone's talking about, so we don't rank it. We check again every month, and it can still turn up in your 50 once you've read most of our ranked books.
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Douglas Stuart
If you like this, read next
James
Demon Copperhead
The Women
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Quicksilver
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Young Mungo worth reading?
It was a Goodreads Choice finalist. Its Must-Read Score is 72.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Young Mungo about?
In Glasgow in the 1990s, Mungo, fifteen and gentle, lives with his alcoholic mother and his violent older brother, a gang leader. He falls in love with James, a Catholic boy who keeps pigeons, which in their divided, violent neighborhood is doubly dangerous. Hoping to make a man of him, his mother sends him on a fishing trip with two strange men.
How long does it take to read Young Mungo?
About 10 hours (390 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Young Mungo?
If you liked it, try Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst or Normal People by Sally Rooney.