Oh my goodness how delicious is this. So heartbreaking but tender. Stuart’s portrayal of the characters and events goes beyond just what IS and looks at it with such love and empathy. You can tell you’re seeing the world through Shuggie’s eyes who just loves his mother so much, yet you feel for and understand Agnes’s pain and self-destructive impulse and Leek’s fed-up-ness, and everyone’s perspective is fair and valid and so empathetic. So tragic but not trauma porn — instead just looking at how boringly painful life can be, but also how beautiful and the tender nuggets of goodness. I devoured the end of this book especially. Makes me want to jump straight into Young Mungo again now!