Young Mungo

A story of queer love and working-class families, Young Mungo is the brilliant second novel from the Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain.

Acclaimed as one of the best books of the year by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Time, and Amazon, and named a Top 10 Book of the Year by the Washington Post, Young Mungo is a brilliantly constructed and deeply moving story of queer love and working-class families by the Booker Prize–winning author of Shuggie Bain. Growing up in a housing estate in Glasgow, Mungo and James are born under different stars—Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic—and they should be sworn enemies. Yet against all odds, they fall in love as they find sanctuary and dream of escape in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds. But when Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a remote loch with two strange men, he will need all his strength and courage to find his way back to a place where he and James might still have a future.

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416 pages

Average rating: 7.98

108 RATINGS

6 REVIEWS

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Fredo Ramirez

Nov 03, 2024

7/10 stars

A realistic yet painful reality as to how poverty impacts and molds the lives of innocent children and families. Young Mungo challenges its readers to look at people through a complex lens - wrestling with whether people are worthy of redemption or doomed to repeat a cycle of abuse and toxicity.

Clhampto11

Oct 24, 2024

9/10 stars

Beautifully created world and characters, haunted by their own weaknesses

KatieKaz

Sep 20, 2023

10/10 stars

Possibly one of my favorite books ever. I recommend the audio performance to get the full impact of the accents and slang. I had teared up a few times throughout, but by chapter 24 I was sobbing. The book is pure poetry. So many times I had to stop and grasp how beautiful a line was and how vivid the imagery appeared in my mind.

Janet H

May 06, 2023

The poverty, violence, alcoholism and neglect is oppressive. I had nightmares about Mo-Maw.

OG Tom

Mar 25, 2023

8/10 stars

A beautifully written book about a teenager growing up in dire circumstances in Glasgow, Scotland. His mom in an alcoholic who abandons her children for weeks at a time; his brother is a brutal thug and gang leader. His sister is the only stable and caring person in his life. The story alternates between family drama at home in Glasgow and Young Mungo's unfolding relationship with a young man who lives in the same tenement, and a camping trip with two older men of dubious character. It's a moving story, tragic but ultimately hopeful.