Shuggie Bain : Book Review

While I read this in December, it took a while for me to write a review for a book as complex as this one. Shuggie Bain deserves a review that lives up to the expectations of a Booker Prize winner. This may not be the first book to capture poverty, alcoholism or societal horrors but the manner in which its done deserves an applause.   

 

Title: Shuggie Bain

Author: Douglas Stuart

Genre: Fiction

 

Some books are quick reads while others require time to absorb the complex world of the characters. The 2020 Booker Prize belongs to the latter category. 

 

Set around the 1980s in Glasgow, the book takes you to the world Shuggie Bain-a little boy who grows up in a dysfunctional family. He is abandoned by his father, brother and sister and left alone to tend to his alcoholic mother Agnes. At the same time, he is puzzled at why everyone considers him “not right” and is grappling with his sexuality. The book also delves into the world of Agnes Bain who resorts to alcohol to drown her sorrows of being abandoned by the men in her life. 

 

The setting is mainly in Pithead-a public housing scheme that comprises a shoddy neighborhood and depicts poverty which is one of the many themes explored in this book. While the prose may be eloquent as expected out of a Booker prize winner, the number of Scottish dialects in the dialogues can be challenging to grasp in the first instance. Yet this dialect is what contributes to the authenticity of the setting where the story is based on. 

 

The tone contains a raw honesty with no holds barred, depicting the idiosyncrasies and horrors of the society, be it unemployment, rape, abuse, mental health and alcoholism. Hunger is another theme captured in the book as there is a certain longingness for a stable home and love. The character of Agnes is contradictory in her stance alternating between alcoholism and sobriety. Amidst these dreary elements is a silver lining in the form of tenderness exhibited by Shuggie in taking responsibility for the well-being his mother. It’s also a coming of age story, given the turbulent upheaval experienced by Shuggie in a span of ten years. 

 

Shuggie Bain is no easy read. It’s depressing and somber, clearly reflecting on the choice of the grey as color of the book’s cover. With its unflinching portrayal of brokenness, it showcases how much one is willing to endure their loved ones’ misgivings. Touching upon the aspects of normalcy, addiction and motherhood, this is one book that will stay with you for a while.