Though portrayed by the popular culture as a joyous, carefree time, childhoods are often far from that–particularly for those who are sensitive and different. For these people, childhood isn’t the happiest time of their lives. Precisely the opposite. Because it is the time when they are the most vulnerable. Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain is not the first novel to explore this territory. Henry Roth’s classic novel, Call it Sleep, visited this subject in 1933. More recently, Edouard Louis revisited it in his 2009 novel, End of Eddy. Like Mr. Stuart’s Shuggie Bain, Edouard Louis’s novel portrayed a sensitive queer’s miserable childhood, growing up in a working class neighborhood. But while Mr. Louis’s tale of woe occasionally drifted into monotony, Shuggie Bain never does.
Quite simply Shuggie Bain is beautiful, heartbreaking and unforgettable. It is the story of a queer boy growing up in Glasgow in the nineteen-eighties. The neighborhood he inhabits might be described as working class, but with the closure of the coal mines, there isn’t much work to be had. The depression that Shuggie’s mom experiences–like that of the whole region–is logical. The wave of substance abuse that accompanies it is logical too, seemingly inevitable. But for Shuggie’s mom, Agnes, it is also tragic.
Alcoholism, it is said, is a family disease. And it is clearly evident in this novel. Because it isn’t just Agnes who suffers from this disease. It’s also Shuggie and his hugely talented older half-brother, Leek. Leek can draw amazingly well, but without family support he struggles with his own substance abuse. Shuggie himself struggles to survive. Walking to and from school he constantly is at risk from gangs of cowardly youths who, in an instant, punch, kick, and beat him up. It must be said: Mr Stuart’s depiction of these gay bashings is shockingly realistic.
What gives this novel its poignancy is its depiction of Agnes and specifically her relationship with Shuggie. A character that the entire neighborhood dismisses as a lush is somehow made entirely sympathetic here. Agnes wants more out of life. She dyes her hair and dolls herself up. She doesn’t care if the neighbors see her drinking lager in the hallway before noon. Maybe her alcoholic mind can’t quite see the direction she’s going. Maybe it can. But one thing is for sure: She won’t stop struggling.
Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain is published by Grove Press.
10/24/2020
UPDATE 11/19/20: Today it was announced that Shuggie Bain won the Booker Prize.