Douglas Stuart - Shuggie Bain

1981, Glasgow. The once prosperous mining town suffocates under the iron yoke of Margaret Thatcher's policies, plunging thousands of families into misery. The alcohol and drug epidemic takes advantage to ensnare the most vulnerable.

Agnes Bain expected more from life. She dreams of a house of her own and leafs through installment payment catalogs in a vain attempt to brighten the precarious existence to which she is condemned when her husband, a womanizing taxi driver, abandons her, unemployed and with three children. With silky, wavy black hair, meticulous makeup, and perfect false teeth, she looks like the Elizabeth Taylor of Glasgow, but beneath the proud appearance, the snares of addiction ensnare Agnes, who month after month spends her family allowance on cans of beer and packs of cigarettes. Her children do their best to take care of themselves and their mother, but one by one, they are forced to leave their mother's house, at least to try to save themselves. Shuggie, the youngest, adores his mother and never loses hope of saving her. But at eight years old, the boy has his own personal struggle to face: delicate and sensitive, he behaves like a prince and clashes with the harshness of the school and the streets ravaged by poverty. He longs only to be normal and fit in, but he is the last to realize that he carries a secret and can never be like the others. With echoes of authors like Frank McCourt, D. H. Lawrence, and James Joyce, Shuggie Bain is a magnificent debut novel by an author who has an important story to tell, inspired by his own.

A heartbreaking story of dependence, neediness, and affection, an epic portrait of a city, an intimate picture of a broken family, and above all, an extraordinary love story.