Douglas Stuart
'Representation of the working-class is essential for diversity in literature'
Scottish author Douglas Stuart has won the Booker Prize 2020 with his début, Shuggie Bain (Picador). He talks to us about the inspiration behind the novel here.
Caroline CarpenterSeptember 15, 2020
Douglas Stuart was born and raised in Glasgow. After graduating, he moved to New York City, where he began his design career. His début novel, Shuggie Bain, was published by Picador in August. Stuart describes it as the story of “the pure, unsinkable love that children can have for their damaged parents”. It is a portrait of a family struggling to get by in 1980s Glasgow, as the city begins to decay around them. Youngest boy Shuggie is a sweet, lonely child who longs to be “normal”. His mother Agnes is his guiding light, but also a burden for him and his siblings, increasingly finding solace in alcohol.