Young Mungo / Douglas Stuart
[Livre]
Edité par Picador UK
2023
Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow''s housing estates, where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation. They should be sworn enemies if they''re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from 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 a loch in western Scotland with two strange men behind whose drunken banter lie murky pasts, he needs to summon all his inner strength and courage to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future. Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism, Douglas Stuart''s Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the meaning of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by so many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much.
James est catholique, et Mungo est protestant. Dans le Glasgow des années 1990, marqué par les guerres de gangs, les deux garçons devraient se haïr – pourtant, ils sont tombés amoureux. Au cœur de ce monde hyperviolent, Mungo doit travailler dur pour cacher son amour interdit; en particulier à son frère aîné, Hamish, chef de gang brutal, prêt à tout pour défendre l'honneur de sa famille. Lorsque la mère de Mungo découvre la vérité, elle décide de l'envoyer pour une partie de pêche au bord d'un lac, en compagnie de deux hommes au passé trouble, qui ont promis de faire de lui un homme, un vrai. Là, dans la solitude des forêts de l'Écosse profonde, Mungo va devoir apprendre à se battre pour survivre et gagner sa liberté.
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A beautifully written coming-of-age novel about forbidden love in 1980s Glasgow.
This powerful coming-of-age novel is beautifully written and evokes incredible powerful imagery. Set in the working-class housing estates of Glasgow in the 80’s, Mungo (a Protestant) and James (a Catholic) fall in love. Their relationship is fraught with danger, and together they plan their escape, but things do not go as planned. The ending reduced me to tears! Lynne
The Leeds Library - Le 18 avril 2025 à 15:28