It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest.
Shuggie is different. Fastidious and fussy, he shares his mother’s sense of snobbish propriety. The miners' children pick on him and adults condemn him as no’ right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place.
Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. A counterpart to the privileged Thatcher-era London of Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty, it also recalls the work of Édouard Louis, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, a blistering debut by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.
A stunning and provocative book from Douglas Stuart, deserving of the Booker Prize. A complete tapestry woven of all colours against the black coal dust of the setting, tragically funny at times, a tear-jerker at others and quite "un-put-down-able"
Payment & Security
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.
Estimate shipping
Refund Policy
Refund Policy
if you are a UK/EU consumer, you have the legal right, under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 to cancel your order within twenty eight (28) working days following your receipt of the goods or the date on which we begin provision of the services. Refunds for orders cancelled under the provisions of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations will be processed in accordance with your legal rights. For further information about your statutory rights, contact your local authority Trading Standards department or consumer advice center (for example the Citizen's Advice Bureau if you are in the UK). If you are a non-EU customer, please see our returns policy. If you are considering cancelling or wish to cancel a product you have ordered from us, please be aware of the following terms that apply:
Applicability of cancellation rights: Legal rights of cancellation under the Distance Selling Regulations available for UK or EU consumers do not apply to certain products and services.
The sale of customised goods or perishable goods, sealed audio or video recordings, or software, which has been opened.
Goods that by reason of their nature, cannot be returned - (Items such as underwear, where the 'hygiene patch' has been removed, or cosmetics where the seal has been broken).
Additional cancellation terms: Where Additional Terms and Conditions of Sale are applicable to any product or service you have ordered from us, these may also govern your cancellation rights and you should review these carefully;
Damaged or incorrectly supplied products: You should check all products you receive against your order. If the products you receive are damaged or incorrectly supplied on delivery then you must note the details of any damage or error in supply on the delivery documentation or if you are unable to view the items on receipt, you must inform us (by post, phone or e-mail only) within the seven day period. You must return the products to us as soon as possible after informing us that the products are damaged or have been incorrectly supplied.
Other cancelled products: If you want to cancel products that are not damaged or incorrectly supplied, then you must inform us of this within seven working days following the date of receipt in accordance with the Distance Selling Regulations or otherwise as soon as possible. You must take reasonable care of the products that you wish to cancel and not use them. Products should be returned in their original packaging or promptly at your cost.
This is not intended to be a full statement of all your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations. Full details of your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations are available in the UK from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or your Local Authority's Trading Standards Office.
Books 4 People - The Peoples Book Store to Buy Discounted Books Online
![["9781529019278", "beautifully composed", "Beautifully covered", "bestselling books", "bestselling single books", "Booker Library", "bookerprizes", "Books of the year", "British Book Awards", "Central Scotland", "contemporary fiction", "desperate", "Douglas Stuart", "Douglas Stuart Book Collection", "Douglas Stuart Book Collection Set", "Douglas Stuart Books", "Douglas Stuart Collection", "Douglas Stuart Shuggie Bain", "Drug & Chemical Abuse Addiction & Recovery", "funny", "Gay Fiction", "Gay Lesbian Literature", "Heart touching", "heartbreaking novel", "incredible real", "LGBTQ", "literary fiction", "Literary Fiction Book", "Literary Fiction Books", "Literature & Fiction Books", "Modern", "Nicola Sturgeon", "revelatory insights", "Shuggie Bain", "Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart", "Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart", "The Booker Library", "the Booker Prize", "the Booker Prize 2020", "thebookerprizes", "Winner of the Booker Prize"]](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0274/6482/6995/products/SB1_{width}x.jpg?v=1612557898)
![["9781529019278", "beautifully composed", "Beautifully covered", "bestselling books", "bestselling single books", "Booker Library", "bookerprizes", "Books of the year", "British Book Awards", "Central Scotland", "contemporary fiction", "desperate", "Douglas Stuart", "Douglas Stuart Book Collection", "Douglas Stuart Book Collection Set", "Douglas Stuart Books", "Douglas Stuart Collection", "Douglas Stuart Shuggie Bain", "Drug & Chemical Abuse Addiction & Recovery", "funny", "Gay Fiction", "Gay Lesbian Literature", "Heart touching", "heartbreaking novel", "incredible real", "LGBTQ", "literary fiction", "Literary Fiction Book", "Literary Fiction Books", "Literature & Fiction Books", "Modern", "Nicola Sturgeon", "revelatory insights", "Shuggie Bain", "Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart", "Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart", "The Booker Library", "the Booker Prize", "the Booker Prize 2020", "thebookerprizes", "Winner of the Booker Prize"]](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0274/6482/6995/products/SB3_{width}x.jpg?v=1612553143)
![["9781529019278", "beautifully composed", "Beautifully covered", "bestselling books", "bestselling single books", "Booker Library", "bookerprizes", "Books of the year", "British Book Awards", "Central Scotland", "contemporary fiction", "desperate", "Douglas Stuart", "Douglas Stuart Book Collection", "Douglas Stuart Book Collection Set", "Douglas Stuart Books", "Douglas Stuart Collection", "Douglas Stuart Shuggie Bain", "Drug & Chemical Abuse Addiction & Recovery", "funny", "Gay Fiction", "Gay Lesbian Literature", "Heart touching", "heartbreaking novel", "incredible real", "LGBTQ", "literary fiction", "Literary Fiction Book", "Literary Fiction Books", "Literature & Fiction Books", "Modern", "Nicola Sturgeon", "revelatory insights", "Shuggie Bain", "Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart", "Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart", "The Booker Library", "the Booker Prize", "the Booker Prize 2020", "thebookerprizes", "Winner of the Booker Prize"]](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0274/6482/6995/products/SB2_{width}x.jpg?v=1612553143)
![["9781529019278", "beautifully composed", "Beautifully covered", "bestselling books", "bestselling single books", "Booker Library", "bookerprizes", "Books of the year", "British Book Awards", "Central Scotland", "contemporary fiction", "desperate", "Douglas Stuart", "Douglas Stuart Book Collection", "Douglas Stuart Book Collection Set", "Douglas Stuart Books", "Douglas Stuart Collection", "Douglas Stuart Shuggie Bain", "Drug & Chemical Abuse Addiction & Recovery", "funny", "Gay Fiction", "Gay Lesbian Literature", "Heart touching", "heartbreaking novel", "incredible real", "LGBTQ", "literary fiction", "Literary Fiction Book", "Literary Fiction Books", "Literature & Fiction Books", "Modern", "Nicola Sturgeon", "revelatory insights", "Shuggie Bain", "Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart", "Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart", "The Booker Library", "the Booker Prize", "the Booker Prize 2020", "thebookerprizes", "Winner of the Booker Prize"]](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0274/6482/6995/products/SB_{width}x.jpg?v=1612553143)
