"She had loved him, and he had needed to break her completely to leave her for good. Agnes Bain was too rare a thing to let someone else love. It wouldn't do to leave pieces of her for another man to collect and repair later."-[a:Douglas Stuart|19629033|Douglas Stuart|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1570471773p2/19629033.jpg], Shuggie Bain

This beautifully written heartbreaking story is definitely going to stay with me for a long time. It is a story of hope, of dreams that never got fulfilled, and most importantly a story of love and hopelessness.

This book is set in 1980s Glasgow. When Shuggie's father left his mother, Agnes Bain, he and his siblings found themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. His mother soon became an alcohol addict and even though his siblings tried their best to save her, they just couldn't help her and realized that they must abandon her to save themselves. But Shuggie just couldn't give up on his mother. He still had hope for a better future where his mother would no longer be an addict and they would be living in a much better condition.

From the surface, it was easy to assume that Agnes didn't love her children but as I dug deeper I realized that she loved her children with all her heart but couldn't fulfill her duties because of her addiction. It becomes really hard and heartbreaking to witness the helplessness and hopelessness of this sweet family that got pushed into darkness and despair because of poverty and alcoholism.

But will Shuggie also leave his mother? Will he and his siblings ever get to live the bright future that they had hoped for?

TW: depression, suicide, sexual abuse, homophobia

This amazing Booker Prize winner of 2020 is definitely a masterpiece and deserves all the praise that it is getting. Loved it!