Read With Us: Young Mungo Wrap-Up

It's my turn to do the Read With Us wrap-up, and I've been considering what I wanted to say about Young Mungo. I did take plenty of notes during our discussion last Tuesday night (although I completely forgot about taking a picture), and while I was scribbling things down I kept thinking about how much I would like to tell author Douglas Stuart about our discussion and what Young Mungo (and Shuggie Bain) have meant to our book group. So here's the wrap-up, in a letter to Mr. Stuart. 

This photo of Douglas Stuart is a bit different than his usual adult black & white photos.
I like to imagine him having at least a few happy moments growing up in Glasgow. 

Dear Douglas Stuart,

We, the Read With Us bloggy book club, would like to say thank you, and at the same time, what were you trying to do to us?! We read Shuggie Bain back in April of 2021, and it was kind of a landmark book for our group. It was a difficult read but at the same time, it was beautifully written. Our book group had a great discussion, it helped to "crystallize" us as a book group, and we anxiously looked forward to your next book.

We just finished Young Mungo and had our online discussion last Tuesday night. There were about ten of us, and we both loved it and hated it. I'm sure this is a reaction you have heard before, and it encapsulates our feelings. Many of us were upset by the violence and emotional intensity. Several participants agreed that because your writing was so detailed we felt everything that Mungo, Jodie, and James experienced. This was a tough read and quite a few of us had to put the book down and take some pauses. The dual timeline did help but at least one of us had to quit reading for almost six months. We all read the book, even though at least one of us simply did not like it  ... at all. She needed more than lovely writing and was dragged down by simply Too Much - too much violence, homophobia, poverty, alcoholism, sadness, dire despair, and lack of hope. But she showed up for our Zoom book discussion, and we are all quite happy that we could have a wonderful exchange of differing opinions in a civil, respectful, and enlightened way. I think your books help make that possible. 

The leader of our book group found this quote from you about your goal for your novels:

“I think good art's only obligation is to move you, to make you feel rearranged. If you're going to give me 16 hours of your time, then I'm going to try and move you as best as I can to make you think. I like to create an immersive world for my readers because I think most readers might never see a working-class community or people living with poverty or travel to Glasgow. … Before I'm a writer, I'm a reader. And for me, the thing I love most in a book is when I close the last page, I want to think, 'Don't go, stay with me, or tell me what you're going to do next.' And that's all I really tried to do with my books.”

I would like to extend my congratulations because I think I can speak for most of the group and say that we did feel moved, rearranged, and immersed in Mungo's Glasgow. The three days he and James spent together was a simply beautifully written love story, and the time that Mungo was with St. Christopher and Gallowgate was as horrific as anything we've ever encountered. Like one of our members said, "We can do hard things." We found that out by reading Young Mungo, but the reading and our rearrangement were worthwhile. You moved us and did make us think. 

We are mainly a group of knitters who enjoy reading, so we also have an interest in fiber. I've read that your third book is set in the Outer Hebrides with textiles and crofting workers. This sounds wonderful, but can we maybe have just a touch less violence? Just enough to feel moved and rearranged, but maybe a little less so. (Just kidding, you write whatever you want to, and we'll read it.) 

Thank you,

The Read With Us Book Club