Young Mungo

By: Douglas Stuart

Narrated by: Chris Reilly

Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of The British Book Awards Fiction Audiobook of the Year
A Dua Lipa's Service95 Bookclub selection

'A touching, tender tale of boy meets boy in the bleak tenements of Glasgow . . . Superb' – The Times

The extraordinary, powerful second novel from the Booker prizewinning author of Shuggie Bain, Young Mungo is both a vivid portrayal of working-class life and the deeply moving story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James.

Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation. They should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold.

But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. When Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, with two strange men behind whose drunken banter lie murky pasts, he needs to summon all his inner strength and courage to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future.

Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism, Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the meaning of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by so many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much.

'Reilly’s narration, especially when he’s voicing the people in Mungo’s life who hurt him, is full of barely repressed violence. But Reilly also captures Mungo’s wonder, love, and irrepressible softness' - Audiofile magazine

©2022 Douglas Stuart (P)2022 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Heartbreaking and compelling

A brilliant heartbreaking story. Left me wanting to know what happens next to young mungo and James.

Amazing. Absolutely Breathtaking

Stop browsing and listen to this book NOW!Wow. What a story!
I heard Young Mungo was good but I had no idea it would be SO good! Douglas Stuart weaves a gritty tale that you are sure to fall in love with. More than once throughout the book I had to remind myself that this was fiction and not non-fiction. The characters are so real and the setting is so well described, it’s like living in 1980s Glasgow. An absolutely superb read, perfect for fans of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and even Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles. Listen to it now, you will not be disappointed!

Disgusting imagery

Of bodily functions, nose picking and mode. There's just too much of it. I don't know if it's just a cultural thing in Scotland, but I did not like it.