Shuggie Bain: The Million-Copy Bestseller & Winner of the Booker Prize
Feb 2020 · Pan Macmillan
4.7star
126 reviewsreport
Ebook
448
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
Winner of the Booker Prize
Winner of 'Book of the Year' and 'Debut of the Year' at the British Book Awards
The Million-Copy Bestseller
'An amazingly intimate, compassionate, gripping portrait of addiction, courage and love.' – The judges of the Booker Prize
'Shuggie Bain means so much to me. It is such a powerfully written story . . . I love a heartbreak book but there is so much love within this one, particularly between Shuggie and his mother Agnes.' – Dua Lipa
It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life, dreaming of greater things. But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and as she descends deeper into drink, her children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves.
It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different, he is clearly no’ right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place.
Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. For readers of A Little Life and Angela's Ashes, it is a heartbreaking novel by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.
'Douglas Stuart has written a first novel of rare and lasting beauty.' – The Observer
'A heartbreaking novel' – The Times
'Tender and unsentimental . . . The Billy Elliot-ish character of Shuggie . . . leaps off the page.' – Daily Mail
Winner of 'Book of the Year' and 'Debut of the Year' at the British Book Awards
The Million-Copy Bestseller
'An amazingly intimate, compassionate, gripping portrait of addiction, courage and love.' – The judges of the Booker Prize
'Shuggie Bain means so much to me. It is such a powerfully written story . . . I love a heartbreak book but there is so much love within this one, particularly between Shuggie and his mother Agnes.' – Dua Lipa
It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life, dreaming of greater things. But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and as she descends deeper into drink, her children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves.
It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different, he is clearly no’ right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place.
Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. For readers of A Little Life and Angela's Ashes, it is a heartbreaking novel by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.
'Douglas Stuart has written a first novel of rare and lasting beauty.' – The Observer
'A heartbreaking novel' – The Times
'Tender and unsentimental . . . The Billy Elliot-ish character of Shuggie . . . leaps off the page.' – Daily Mail
Ratings and reviews
4.7
126 reviews
Anton Thomas
- Flag inappropriate
September 10, 2023
Fantastic book & then read young mungo afterwards, it's definitely got everything and realistic as well. Not everyone has a great life and plenty of money but we all do what we do to get through each day & this sums this book up ! Sad funny full of drama & I think when reading this we all think of a family we knew,growing up
Grace J. Reviewerlady
- Flag inappropriate
July 30, 2021
It’s not often that I’m desperate to read the Booker Prize winner, but I’ve had this book since Christmas! However, my book list got in the way so it was definitely one I was going to read during my month’s rest – and it was worth the wait! Shuggie Bain is a book which got under my skin, and then some. It’s a heart-wrenching story of poverty, addiction, love and pride which will left me quite in awe of the story telling of Douglas Stuart. It’s no surprise that this debut novel won a major literary prize. The most heart-breaking thing about it is the reality of it all; it’s raw, it’s honest and it’s not a tale to be forgotten. I recently heard that a second novel is on it’s way and I want to make sure I read it. Gobsmackingly good, highly recommended and most definitely a five star read.
Hazel Munro
- Flag inappropriate
- Show review history
December 11, 2020
Not my usual genre but after reading the reviews I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! Sometimes funny but more often sad I loved reading this book and like Shuggie Bain, I kept on routing for Agnes! I look forward to what comes next from Douglas Stuart.
14 people found this review helpful
About the author
Douglas Stuart was born and raised in Glasgow. After graduating from the Royal College of Art, he moved to New York, where he began a career in fashion design. Shuggie Bain, his first novel, won the Booker Prize and the Sue Kaufman Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction, the Kirkus Prize and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. He is also the author of Young Mungo and his short stories have appeared in the New Yorker and his essay on Gender, Anxiety and Class was published by Lit Hub. He lives in New York.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
