Young Mungo

Young Mungo (2022) is the second novel by Douglas Stuart, a former fashion designer turned lauded author. It shares with his first novel, the critically acclaimed Shuggie Bain, themes of abuse, trauma, and coming of age in working class Glasgow. Stuart’s debut novel won the prestigious Booker Prize.

Young Mungo is written in two parts, with flashbacks and flash forwards to Mungo’s experiences in Glasgow and in the Scottish countryside. It is written in third-person omniscient narrative voice, but focuses on Mungo’s experiences and perspectives.

This guide references the 2022 Grove Press edition.

Content Warning: Young Mungo depicts scenes of sexual abuse, anti-gay bias, addiction, and physical abuse.

Plot Summary

In Part 1, “The May After,” readers are introduced to the titular character, a 15-year-old boy named Mungo. Mungo is from a poorer neighborhood in Glasgow, Scotland. His mother has alcohol addiction, so Mungo misses a lot of school to help look after her. After Mungo is jumped by a group of teenagers, his family becomes concerned that he is too weak and too gullible, so they send him away for the weekend with two men who will ostensibly teach him how to be a man.