Jodie finds her, alive and well, working at a snack stand and dating Jocky, who doesn’t know that she has children. At the beginning of Part 2, Mo-Maw is missing and Mungo fears she may be dead. When Mungo’s mother is drunk, she often goes on benders that frighten her kids. Ultimately, Jodie defies the odds and gets accepted into university.īecause Mungo’s mother had her children as a teenager, she craves the romance and adventure she believes she missed out on and resents being held back by her kids. Jodie gets an abortion so that she won’t become like her mother. When Jodie becomes pregnant, her boyfriend disappears. Jodie dreams of going to university, but feels trapped by her married boyfriend, one of her teachers, and her poverty. She is known as a kind, intelligent girl in the neighborhood. Mungo’s very bright older sister Jodie, who fills a maternal role for Mungo, is still in high school. Hamish gives Mungo a knife to carry around for protection.

Hamish’s life is ruled by violence, criminality, and toughness, but he does have a soft spot for his young brother, whom he tries to get involved in the gang. Mungo’s older brother Hamish is 19 years old, the parent of a daughter with his teenage girlfriend, and a gang leader. In Part 2, “The January Before,” the reader is introduced to Mungo’s family. He is stunned by the beauty and quiet of the rural landscape. Mungo accompanies them to the Scottish countryside, embarrassed by their behavior and by his own insecurities. Christopher and Gallowgate, are also poor and have alcohol addiction. 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.

His mother has alcohol addiction, so Mungo misses a lot of school to help look after her. Mungo is from a poorer neighborhood in Glasgow, Scotland. In Part 1, “The May After,” readers are introduced to the titular character, a 15-year-old boy named Mungo. This guide references the 2022 Grove Press edition.Ĭontent Warning: Young Mungo depicts scenes of sexual abuse, anti-gay bias, addiction, and physical abuse. It is written in third-person omniscient narrative voice, but focuses on Mungo’s experiences and perspectives. Young Mungo is written in two parts, with flashbacks and flash forwards to Mungo’s experiences in Glasgow and in the Scottish countryside.

Young mungo douglas stuart