Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
1980s Glasgow. Shuggie Bain is the youngest son of Agnes, a struggling alcoholic. Living in tenements in a time of extreme poverty and turmoil, this book follows Shuggie as he grows up. From trying to ‘fix’ his mother to coming to terms with his sexuality, Shuggie Bain bares the real side of the desperation of poverty, the limits of love, and the cracking of a family.
“Flames are not just the end, they are also the beginning. For everything that you have destroyed can be rebuilt. From your own ashes you can grow again.”
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Following Mungo Hamilton, a teenager navigating a life of poverty and parental neglect. Set in Glasgow in the 90’s, we see Mungo falling in love, confronting societal prejudice, toxic masculinity, and religious conflict of the time. In a Romeo and Juliet style arrangement, Mungo works hard to conceal his true self from those around him, butwhen he gets sent away on a fishing trip, it throws a wrench in his plans. With events turning for the worst, Mungo must find his way back home, facing the struggle with sectarianism and the hatred it causes.
“It was a funny thing to be a disappointment because you were honest and assumed others might be too. The games people played made his head hurt.”
The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris
Crowned as Waterstones Scottish book of the year in 2024, the Last Witch of Scotland is a story of love, loyalty and sacrifice – taking inspiration from the true story of the last person to be executed for witchcraft in Scotland.
The moving tale which is not only well researched and detailed but easy to get sucked into. With harrowing moments, the underlying love for the story keeps the reader engaged – it makes the reader go back and think about everything they read even after they are finished.
“We’re so busy living our lives, often just trying to survive, that there’s little time to notice the beauty surrounding us.”
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
While not born in Scotland, Maggie O’Farrell settled here later in her life, and it was in Edinburgh that she wrote Hamnet. The story explores a marriage pushed to the brink by grief, the true bond between twins and Agnes Hathaway and William Shakespeare coping with the death of their only son. Hamnet has garnered particular attention recently due to its Oscar nominated film adaptation starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. It is the tender story of a boy who has all but been forgotten, despite giving name to one of the most famous plays to ever been written.
“The leaves crisping at their edges. Here is a season Hamnet has not known or touched. Here is a world moving on without him.”
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
You cannot speak about Scottish books without talking about Welsh. Known for many books such as Trainspotting and Porno, the Leith born author has had a massive cultural impact.
Trainspotting is a gritty, non-linear novel depicting the lives of heroin addicts and their acquaintances in late-1980s Leith. Narrated through multiple perspectives in the Scots dialect, it follows Mark Renton as he struggles with addiction, crime, and the nihilistic, violent, and chaotic world of his friends, ultimately exploring themes of social decay, friendship, and escapism.
“Love does not exist, it’s like religion, the state wants you to believe in that kind of crap so they can control you, and f**k your head up. ”
Porno by Irvine Welsh
You cannot speak about Scottish books without talking about Welsh. Known for many books such as Trainspotting and Skagboys, the Leith-born author has had a massive cultural impact.
Porno is the sequel to Trainspotting, following the characters ten years after the first book took place. Instead of focusing on the heroin space, the background centers around the pornography industry. Porno is more comedic and lighter in its tone, making Welsh’s world more accessible in comparison to his first book. Despite this shift in tone, the book does depict graphic and explicit sexual scenes, using them to comment on the industry and politics surrounding it.
“It’s easy to love, or for that matter hate, somebody in their absence, somebody we don’t really know…”
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Most folk will know this through studying it in school, but the Pride of Miss Jean Brodie explores the relationship between six students and their teacher. Determined to instill the young girls with independence, ambition, and passion, Miss Brodie juggles her unorthodox teaching skills and a love triangle between two other teachers. Set in Edinburgh in the 1930s and early 1940s, it also incorporates contemporary European political and social issues—particularly the rise of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler—as it questions the nature of power and knowledge.
“It is well, when in difficulties, to say never a word, neither black nor white. Speech is silver but silence is golden.”
