I almost typed Shuggie Bain, because the two books will probably commingle and overlap in my memory.

If you’ve read Shuggie Bain then you have an idea of what this is. If you haven’t, this book will make you sad, angry and horrified, but you’ll have a hard time putting it down. 

Stuart is such a good writer that even the darkest parts of this story are impossible to look away from.

The book is an exploration of masculinity in early 1990’s Scotland, but it’s a lot more than that too. It’s about family and love and fear and the damage religion does.

At some points it echoed Shuggie Bain a little too strongly – but it’s still unforgettable.

I see so many comparisons to A Little Life, and while, sure, both books are kind of about young gay men being abused, the similarity starts and ends there. Like saying Rocky and Million Dollar Baby are both boxing movies. Sure, but.

This had a lot more to say than A Little Life, and felt way less exploitative to me. Stuart has a much stronger sense of theme than Yanagihara does, and that made the difficult sections feel less performative and voyeuristic.

Not less difficult to read though.