Shuggie Bain

 This is a novel that takes place in Glasgow, Scotland during the 1980's. Shuggie Bain was written by Douglas Stuart who also grew up in Scotland. The story is about Shuggie, the third and youngest child of Agnes Bain. Shuggie's older siblings have left home to avoid living with Agnes who is an alcoholic. They live in poverty. Agnes tries sobriety several times. She goes to AA meetings. One time she was sober for over a year and working nights at a gas station. Her boyfriend wants her to have one glass of wine with dinner and bingo, she is back to being an alcoholic again. Rather than playing with his friends of the neighborhood, Shuggie is making tea for his mother or cleaning her. This is a heart breaking story. Some of the Scottish slang was impossible for me to understand.