Shuggie Bain. Douglas Stuart. 2020. Grove Press. 448 pages. [Source: Public library.]
Shuggie Bain is a sensitive, unwaveringly loyal boy who has the misfortune of being born to an alcoholic mother and abusive father, with older siblings who are nearly tripping over themselves to get away from the family. Set in 1980s Glasgow, Shuggie Bain is a coming of age story about a boy everyone seems to know is “no right” and who ends up in a flopped household where he’s more of a caregiver to his mother Agnes.
Stuart excels in setting the tone and environment for a story that is incredibly bleak, with fleeting moments of happiness. Throughout the book, there is an ever-present climate of despair that is hard to shake, not just for Shuggie but for everyone in his orbit. He is living in a Scotland that’s been ravaged deindustrialization, where rampant unemployment and extreme poverty are the new norm. When his family goes from living with his mother’s parents in a bustling city to living in a remote former mining town among strangers, they struggle to find a sense of belonging. Agnes, with her coiffed hair and meticiously neat outfits, doesn’t quite fit in with the other wives and mothers; Shuggie is very obviously not like the other boys and is constantly looked on with pity for not having a dad to show him what a man is. What they believed would be a fresh start they desperately need instead brings a more acute sense of isolation.
While I rarely read with a keen eye turned to themes, the duality in this book is hard to ignore. The tension between love and abuse, addiction and recovery, loyalty and abandonment, and isolation and belonging are what make Shuggie Bain such a compelling read. For both Agnes and Shuggie, their search for love, acceptance, and support are drivers, but that same drive keeps them from acting in their own interest. The characters each have their own battle(s), and the emotional pull is knowing there’s a real possibility nobody will get the peace they’re desperate for.
This is an exceedingly uncomfortable read. Throughout the book, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse are pervasive. For Shuggie’s part, he is also the victim of bullying, manipulation, homophobia, and everything that comes with being the child of a troubled adult. As a result, trauma is prevalent; to see how it drives each character is the core of the book. The story, however, is compelling, if for no other reason than Shuggie’s dogged resilience. He never stops loving, he never stops trying to believe the best in people, and he never really gives up hope despite circumstances being such that he would’ve been forgiven for letting go.
There’s no question that I recommend this book. While it’s not a lighthearted read, it is filled with reflective points and opportunities to see the humanity in people that are otherwise forgotten. I found the audiobook especially helpful in interpreting the Scottish accent as written in the book. While I alternated between the text and the audiobook, it was easier to understand the text once I had an example of how the words actually sounded and what they meant in American English.
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