Shuggie Bain

This year, I had vowed to myself not to read any hard or sad books. Real-life was difficult enough; why would I want to add a layer of literary depression to it. Then I went to the library, and my son saw this book with the picture of a little boy and was immediately enchanted by it. He insisted that I read it and tell him about it 😯.

In vain, I tried to explain to him that this was not a story for kids. But he refused to listen. Something about the little boy on the cover attracted him so much that he insisted that I bring the book home. And once home, he kept handing over the book to me, making sure I read it.

Now and then, he would ask me for an update. I gave him a very age-appropriate and light-hearted synopsis of the story skipping over alcoholism and poverty. How was the book? What was Shuggie Bain doing? And so on. Ultimately, all he got was this is a story about Shuggie Bain being bullied in school 😳.

About the Book

Shuggie Bain is the debut novel by Scottish-American writer Douglas Stuart, which won the Man Booker award last year.

It tells the story of Shuggie Bain, growing up with his alcoholic mother, Agnes, in the 1980s, in a post-industrial working-class Glasgow, Scotland.

My Review

I’ll start this review by saying that Shuggie Bain is a bleak book, and you should go into it aware that there are multiple instances of rape and sexual abuse, as well as a running theme of alcoholism.

Shuggie has the crippling weight of responsibility on his shoulders from a very young age, and when most of his peers are playing outside and having fun, Shuggie spends his days caring for his alcoholic mother, Agnes. What makes Shuggie’s story all the more tragic is that despite everything Agnes puts him through, he loves her fiercely, and even when everyone else has given up on her, he still wants to believe that she’ll get better. This unwavering hope is a tragic thing to behold because even during Agnes’ sober days, weeks and months, you know that it’s not going to last and that she’s never truly going to get better.

Despite Agnes’ neglect of Shuggie, I found it difficult to be angry with her. Instead, I found it heartbreaking. She turns to drink as a way of blocking out her pain, and despite her dependence on it, she desperately wants to be a good mother and tries so hard to be just that. Again, as with Shuggie’s hope, Agnes’ efforts to stay sober and be a good parent are tinged with a tragic inevitability. No matter how hard she tries or how long she stays sober, it’s obvious that it’s not going to last.

Despite the sense of inevitability to the story, I kept reading it, gripped, hoping desperately that Shuggie and Agnes would free themselves from the traps of poverty and alcoholism. Unfortunately (and spoilers here), it’s too late for Agnes. Despite all her attempts to break the cycle, it is all a downhill slope.

There was one thing I couldn’t understand about the book. There seems to be a good deal of blame on Thatcher’s economic policies causing poverty and alcoholism. I am not familiar with that era, so I couldn’t really connect the bigger picture of the economy with Agnes’ alcoholism. I’d really love it if anyone could elaborate on this aspect in the comments.

Despite not connecting all the big-picture dots, I still loved this book. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it; it’s too bleak for that. It is a horrible, dreary read, there’s no doubt, but when I saw past the layers of ugliness and allowed this book to rip my heart out, I also found a lot of love and acceptance there. Easily the best book I have read so far this year.

Read this book when you are in a good mental space, and I think you will appreciate it.