Shuggie Bain

Every once in a blue moon, a novel comes along that absolutely blows you away. This is that novel. It tells the story of Shuggie – a young boy growing up with Agnes, his alcoholic mother who is drinking herself ever so slowly to death. Set amongst the council houses, slag heaps and the unemployed miners’ wives of working class Glasgow, the grim landscape presents a stark contrast to Agnes; a gallant woman whose fading glamour is rivalled only by the ‘lager beauties’ decorating her spent cans of lager. Can Shuggie save her as she descends deeper and deeper into her drink-soaked world?

“Agnes, sparkling and fluffy, was lying like a party dress
that had been dropped on the floor.“

Shuggie Bain is a book about family, violence and sexuality. A world of pain made bearable by love. But more than that, it is descriptive prose of astonishing beauty. A gripping portrayal of addiction told with such eloquence, you’ll want to read every page over and over again.

Shuggie Bain is a million-copy best seller, winner of the Booker Prize (2020) and was named the best book of the year by The New York Times, The Guardian, and Vogue.

Author: Douglas Stuart
Category: Fiction
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle
ISBN-10: 152901929X
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1529019292
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Picador (Main Market edition)
Publication date: 15.04.2021
Language: English (with Glaswegian prose)

Available to buy now on Amazon.