2020布克獎得主《親愛的夏吉‧班恩》作者道格拉斯．史都華，再次帶著驚艷眾人的作品回歸
　　男男版的羅密歐與茱麗葉，橫跨宗教和性別隔閡的愛情
 
　　1990年代初期，蘇格蘭的格拉斯哥小鎮住宅區裡，Mungo和姊姊Jodie生活在此。有個長年酗酒，還丟下小孩跑去跟別人另組家庭的母親，以及有著暴力傾向時不時會威脅他的哥哥，Mungo從小就是姊姊一手拉拔長大，不完美的成長經歷使他一直對自己抱持著深深的厭惡感，習慣將所有的問題都歸咎到自己身上。他總是孤獨一人，不快樂地活著，一直到遇見了James。
 
　　Mungo和James兩人在完全不同的環境下成長，一個來自新教徒家庭，一個則是天主教徒，水火不容的兩個派教，照理而言他們應該是兵戎相向，但善良的內在讓兩個人漸漸變成了好朋友，James搭建的賽鴿舍，也成為了彼此溫暖的避風港。友情之中漸漸生出了不一樣的情愫，他們想攜手逃離這個地區。為實現夢想，Mungo更賣力地工作，同時隱藏起最真實的自己，也得守護這個秘密，絕對不能讓流氓出身的哥哥發現。然而不怎麼出現的母親此時卻突然出現，把Mungo送往一艘遠洋漁船，跟一群陌生又危險的男人出海。Mungo必須儘快挖掘出心中的勇氣，努力逃離這裡，並找到能與James安全廝守之所。

　　(文／博客來外文館)

　　The extraordinary, powerful second novel from the Booker prizewinning author of Shuggie Bain, Young Mungo is both a vivid portrayal of working-class life and the deeply moving story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James.

　　Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation. They should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold.

　　But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. When Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, with two strange men behind whose drunken banter lie murky pasts, he needs to summon all his inner strength and courage to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future.