Olivia Cram
Professor Frank
Prize Fiction
October 1, 2021
Book Review: Shuggie Bain
The novel Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stewart follows the story of a young boy and the events of his family that shape him into his young teens. Douglas Stewart grew up in Glasgow Scotland, one of the places the novel is set in, with a similar life story to his main character Shuggie. Stewart’s father left his family when he was a young boy and his mother suffered from alcoholism, which eventually took her life (Wikipedia contributors). In his debut novel, Shuggie Bain, Shuggie’s father leaves the family, forcing him to look after his alcoholic mother at a young age. The novel touches upon the hardships of Shuggie’s family and forces the reader to view addiction in the light of the people surrounding the addict, rather than only focusing on the adicts struggles. This is part of what makes this novel so extraordinary: no matter which character’s point of view is being represented – as the novel often switches perspectives – there is almost always something relatable for any reader. The novel and the characters within it often focus on the aspects of the past and what brought them to where they are today, creating an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. Not only do we feel this with the characters, but the way Stewart chooses to write the novel forces the reader into the past. He starts the novel in Shuggie’s present day, age 15, before throwing the reader back into the past, around age 6, and ending the novel in Shuggie’s present. This nostalgia is what makes the novel so emotionally engaging for its readers, ultimately making it deserving of the Booker Prize.
Agnes, one of the main characters, is Shuggie’s mother who battles an alcohol addiction throughout the novel. She constantly dreams of having a perfect life with a beautiful house and a happy, full family. After her husband leaves her, her alcoholism increasingly worsens as she realizes the life she had imagined for herself is no longer attainable. While she is drinking, she consistently has the urge to call people from her past and blame them for where she is in life now. She calls her ex husbands, old friends and occasionally her parents, cursing them for the ways they have made her life the ultimate failure. Her youngest son, Shuggie, is around age six at the beginning of the novel and progresses through age sixteen. Being the youngest, he is constantly taking care of his mother – even making these phone calls at times. This novel forces the reader to feel Agnes’ pain of her failures while also seeing the effects it has on Shuggie and his upbringing.
A crucial turning point in the novel takes place when Agnes, after being sober for a year, falls off the wagon. Shuggie and his older brother Leek had finally adjusted to a life of security and normalcy while Agnes was sober. There was consistent food, schooling and affection during this time, giving the boys a sense of security. After Agnes falls victim to her alcoholism, Shuggie becomes her main crutch, consistently taking care of Agnes at her worst. He justifies most of her actions through the remembrance of what their life was like when she was sober and hoping that she could someday get back to that place. As a reader, this heartbreaking sense of nostalgia brings you on an emotional roller coaster. You feel for Agnes and the hardships of her life, while also wanting to hate her for the way she treats Shuggie. Both of these characters are so hung up on the events of the past, making it so difficult for either of them to carry on with their futures. The novel ends with Shuggie in his present day, dealing with the previous downfalls of his life and making an effort to move forward on his own as he starts to enter adulthood.
Overall, this novel encompasses an overwhelming theme of nostalgia for the reader and the characters within the novel, making it a deserving winner for the Booker Prize. Stewart chooses to showcase this in the structure of the novel, choosing to start in the present day before turning the clock back in time to show the reader exactly how life shaped Shuggie into where he is now. He also forces the readers to recognize the nostalgia each of the characters feel in terms of their past. Agnes, constantly being hung up on the events in her life that brought her down the path she traveled, offers an insight into addiction and the pressures she faces being an attractive, poor woman in that time period. Shuggie, arguably, embodies the theme of nostalgia in the most heartbreaking way. He is constantly longing for his mother to wake up one day and become the woman and mother he knows she could be: hung up on the days when she was sober. The unwinding of these character’s emotional wellbeing is what makes this novel so engaging for its readers.
Works Cited
Wikipedia contributors. “Douglas Stuart (Writer).” Wikipedia, 9 July 2021,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Stuart_(writer).
