Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Sometimes, all you can say is just WOAH. But, we’ll try to do better than that for you, Shuggie.

We both struggled with this at the beginning. It is tough, it is bleak, it will pierce your soul. And it gets bleaker and tougher in many ways as you go on. BUT. Something happened here because at a certain point of the way through, we both found we were completely and utterly consumed by this masterpiece. We were up til way past our bedtimes and the crack of dawn because Shuggie, Agnes, Shug, Leek and Catherine were as real as our own. You will live with them through their stories, told in writing that we can’t describe in any other way than exquisite.

Please read this if you haven’t (though we feel we may have been the last on earth to!) — and check out our IGTV coming soon for some more extensive thoughts on this wonder of a book.