Author of Booker-winning ‘Shuggie Bain’ Zooms I.S. Book Club

Booker Prize winning author, Douglas Stuart, joined Island School’s book club on, Tuesday 23rd February 2021, to talk about his novel ‘Shuggie Bain’.

Joining on Zoom from New York, Douglas read a passage from his book before sharing his insights and experiences of writing his debut novel. He then took questions from students, staff and parents about his celebrated novel.

‘Shuggie Bain’ is a heart-wrenching love story between a son and a mother afflicted with alcoholism, set against the grim backdrop of 1980’s poverty-stricken Glasgow. Stuart’s semi-autobiographical novel has been nominated for dozens of major awards but won last year’s Booker Prize, one of the most significant literary prizes in the world. It is now being adapted into a mini-series.

“I really enjoyed speaking to Mr Stuart! I had no idea what kind of work went into writing a book, so hearing about Mr Stuart’s literary pilgrimages to Rome and South Africa were quite eye-opening. He told us that he spent the last 10 years writing Shuggie Bain, which surprised me a lot because I’d always had a misconception that most authors wrote books in one sitting. I was especially amazed at how engaged Mr Stuart was, despite it being very early in the morning on the other side of the world.” Hannah Wu 10D

“It was a fabulous opportunity to get to speak with such a renowned author and understand the book Shuggie Bain on a much more in-depth level through the eyes of its own narrator. Thank you, Mr Nason and Mr Stuart for making this possible!” Sophie Luk 10N

Douglas’s visit follows on from Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai”s visit in November to discuss her wonderful novel ‘The Mountains Sing’. Next up is the author Phuc Tran to discuss his memoir ‘Sigh, Gone’. If you’d like to get involved in the book club, message Mr Nason for more information.