DOUGLAS STUART INTERVIEWED BY DAMIAN BARR at Ironworks Studios, Brighton – Fri April 22nd 2022, 7.30pm
BOOKER PRIZE-WINNER DOUGLAS STUART SHARES HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED NEW NOVEL YOUNG MUNGO AT DAMIAN BARR’S LITERARY SALON
Damian Barr’s Literary Salon is delighted to announce that Douglas Stuart will be in conversation this April, celebrating the launch of his extraordinary new novel Young Mungo – the story of two boys from two tribes, living in the violently sectarian world of early 1990s Glasgow.
Protestant Mungo and Catholic James should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become close friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon ‘doocot’ that James has built for his racing birds.
As they fall in love and dream of escaping the grey, fractured city, Mungo works hard to hide his true self from those around him, especially his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable.
When Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to Western Scotland, with two strange men whose drunken banter belies their murky pasts, he must summon all his strength and courage to get to a place of safety – a place where he and James might still have a future.
Will he manage? Will their dream come true?
Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism, Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing novel, both tender and brutal, about the bounds of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by so many queer people, and the dangers of being different.
The story takes place in the Scotland that both Douglas and Damian grew up in, and this Salon is set to be particularly emotive and insightful, as the two writers discuss coming of age in that specific moment, the unintended consequences of ‘love’, divided loyalties, and the lives of boys like James and Mungo – boys like themselves.
The Literary Salon was proud to have premiered Douglas’ Booker prize-winning Shuggie Bain in June 2020, and is thrilled now to continue the conversation with Young Mungo.
I wasn’t sure Young Mungo could live up to
Shuggie Bain, but it surpasses it. Deeply
harrowing but gently infused with hope & love.
And so exquisitely written. It’s a joy to watch,
in real time, as Douglas Stuart takes his place
as one of the greats of Scottish literature.’
Nicola Sturgeon (Instagram/Twitter)
‘Few novels are as gutsy and gut-wrenching as
Young Mungo in its depiction of a teenage boy
who finds love amid family dysfunction,
community conflict and the truly terrible
predations of adults. Vividly realised and
emotionally intense, this scorching novel is an
urgent addition to the new canon of unsung
stories.’
Bernardine Evaristo
‘Prepare your hearts, for Douglas Stuart is
back… Another beautiful and moving book.’
The Observer
Damian Barr’s Literary Salon with Douglas Stuart: Friday April 22nd 2022, 7.30pm. Doors 6.30pm Ironworks Studios, 30, Cheapside, Brighton BN1 4GD www.ironworks-studios.co.uk
Tickets from £10: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/douglas-stuart-in-conversation-with-damian barr-tickets-266808329897
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart is published by Picador on April 14th 2022
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