Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Shuggie Bain is a novel that embodies every superlative that one could imagine. It is the most heart-wrenching, well written, and exemplary of the most well developed characters. I would defy anyone not to become emotionally involved with the titular character. 

Set in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1980s, the novel is a strong and emotional depiction a dysfunctional family, not necessarily completely through their fault, but as also as a result of societal and economic issues. The reader first meets Shuggie as a young man working in a neighborhood market. He has recently moved into a rooming house on his own despite his young age. After a brief introduction, the novel shifts to the young Shuggie and his early family life in the Bain household. Agnes Bain, Shuggie's mother, an alcoholic, trying to raise 3 children, Catherine, Leek, and Shuggie, on her own with little help from her philandering husband, Shug, a taxi driver. It is not a pretty or calm life with fires being set, attempted suicides, and the struggles of the family trying to coexist in the same small dwelling with Agnes' parents.

From the time he is a little boy, Shuggie has struggled with the idea that he is somehow "not right." He plays with dolls, but they are really beer cans with suggestive pictures of women on them. His father thinks he is enjoying their provocativeness, but Agnes knows different. The family moves out Shug setting them up into council housing and then letting the shoe drop that he is not joining them. From there it is a spiral downward and the reader tries to catch a breath or two as Shuggie grows up, ever devoted to his mother as he watches her try to get on the right track, but always falling short. Catherine moves out and it is Leek who tries to keep Shuggie safe. 

Beneath all the emotional pulls of the story is a strong political and religious undertone. It is a condemnation of Thatcherism and the closing of the mines in Glasgow which leaves a great portion of the citizens without work and trying to escape poverty. They know how to circumvent the television and electric meters in which they need to deposit a fee to have a show to watch and heat in their homes. There is also the Catholic vs. Protestantism animosities that plays out in Agnes' family. In the eyes of her parents she should have stayed married to the Catholic (who fathered Catherine and Leek) instead of Shug who was Protestant. 

It was a compelling lecture that Douglas Stuart delivered to the audience of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures subscribers. He disavowed the autobiographical connection to the life that Shuggie Bain lived, but there were some very profound similarities. He was absolutely one of the best lecturers we have heard. Shuggie Bain is not an easy book to read, but a must one for an understanding of the human condition and the struggles of so many.  As Stuart said in his lecture, there is hope for Shuggie and for our society.

 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

When Outlander chosen as our Gables Book Club read for September, I was quite surprised because I thought everyone on the earth had read this except me. I had downloaded it a few years ago when it was on sale for the Kindle. It was also surprising since the length of the book was much longer than our usual reads. 

The entire series has been a major player in the world of fiction literature, with each entry skyrocketing to the top of the Best Seller list. The novel opens in 1945 after WWII when Claire and Frank Randall are enjoying being together after spending the war years apart. Frank has some real interest in genealogy has found that the Vicar in the village has knowledge of some of Frank's ancestors, especially Captain Jack Randall. Claire's passion is flowers and she meets a Mr. Cook who shares her interest and who has knowledge of the greenery of the area. He takes her on an exploratory journey of the Highlands and imparts oodles of information about the local flora. On this excursion, Claire comes upon a small henge to which she take Frank back. There they come upon a group of women who seem much like witches. She returns the next day to try to identify a plant and it is on that journey that she passes through the stones and is transported back to 1743. 

Attacked by Captain Jonathan Randall, an ancestor of Frank's, she is eventually rescued by Jaimie Fraser.  From that point in time the novel evolves around the fact that Jaime is on the run trying to keep from being apprehended for a crime he did not commit. In order to protect herself and Jaimie, Claire reluctantly agrees to marry him. She feels guilty about abandoning Frank, but soon comes to love her life married to Jaimie. 

Numerous incidents ensue where Claire and Jaimie must use cunning and power to escape consume the rest of the novel. Some of these drag on through the novel and by shortening them the novel could have been shortened. Diana Gabaldon does not mince words either when she is describing battles and fights or when detailing the actions in sex scenes. 

For the most part, I enjoyed the book, but feel that in some places it dragged on and on. It seemed that the plot took a back seat to all the different episodic encounters that ended most chapters with cliff hangers. I am not sure when I will continue to the 2nd book in the series. I am not as taken with Outlander as many of my friends are, but will likely give the series another chance.