Books by Douglas Stuart
“This is Douglas Stuart’s third novel. It follows a young, gay artist as he returns to the Scottish Outer Hebrides, where he grew up as the closeted son of a dour Presbyterian crofter and lay preacher. There, he encounters many people from his past, many of whom are hiding secrets of their own. “ Read more...
Must-Read Novels of Early 2026
Cal Flyn, Five Books Editor
Young Mungo
by Douglas Stuart
Young Mungo is Douglas Stuart's eagerly awaited follow-up to his Booker Prize-winning, internationally bestselling debut Shuggie Bain. It centres on a love affair between two Glaswegian men, from either side of the sectarian divide. Having come of age in a violent, homophobic community, Mungo and James find peace—and each other—in a racing pigeon loft. A Romeo and Juliet story set in 1990s Glasgow, it is a powerful and deeply moving tale of passion, poverty and toxic masculinity.
“Shuggie Bain is a good, big, meaty piece of fiction, and yet there’s not a minute where it feels like he was fattening it out. There was never a moment when I thought, ‘Yes, I’ve got it now.’ We’re with this boy as he grows, we’re with him as he moves house, we’re with his family. He goes off to play outside on these slag heaps, and there’s this constant feeling of, ‘Oh, he’s going to get injured, this vulnerable boy growing up learning how to be tough.’…There’s also a real visceral sense of the weather—the cold and the damp—and also the sharpness of the stones. Douglas Stuart does all of that absolutely beautifully.” Read more...
The Best Historical Novels Set in the 1980s
Eleanor Anstruther, Novelist
Interviews where books by Douglas Stuart were recommended
The Best Historical Novels Set in the 1980s, recommended by Eleanor Anstruther
With its music and fashion and the ever-present threat of nuclear war, the 1980s are ripe for fiction, argues Eleanor Anstruther, author of Fallout, a novel about the decades-long protest against cruise missiles at Greenham Common. She recommends five of her favourites—including two Booker Prize winners—from the excesses of Thatcherite London to a coming of age on the slagheaps of Glasgow.
Booker Prize-Winning Novels
As we know that many of our readers like to work their way through the list of Booker-winners, we’ve compiled an overview the winning titles from the last two decades.
The Best Fiction of 2020: The Booker Prize Shortlist, recommended by Margaret Busby
Every year, the Booker Prize judges whittle a year’s worth of fiction down to a shortlist of six books, each competing for the title of the best novel of the year. Margaret Busby, chair of this year’s judging panel, discusses the six books that made the cut in 2020. See the Booker Prize shortlist 2024.
Notable Novels of Spring 2022, recommended by Cal Flyn
If you’re nervous of what 2022 has in store for us, you’re not alone. But at least there will be plenty of excellent new books to read. Here, Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn offers a round-up of the notable novels of spring 2022, including exciting new work from Sheila Heti, Ali Smith and Marlon James.
The Best Political Novels of 2026: The Orwell Prize for Fiction, recommended by The judges of the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
“Politics, in its widest sense, courses through all these books. The eight finalists…have thought long and hard about abortion, contraception, gay rights, geopolitics, corruption, religious dogma, regulating technology and treating mental illness. Though these books are all quite different, they are united in showing how much a life of political engagement is a life of purpose and connection with humanity,” says Fiammetta Rocca, chair of the judging panel of this year’s Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
Must-Read Novels of Early 2026, recommended by Cal Flyn
What are the unmissable new novels of the season? We have some suggestions. We asked Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn to put together a selection of some of the most exciting new fiction being published in early 2026.
