I probably don't need to explain too much about this: Booker winner, writer lives in US but grew up in poverty in Glasgow with an alcoholic mother, and this is the subject matter of the novel.
It's gritty and grim, and it doesn't shy away from the rough side of life. The bulk of the novel covers Shuggie's childhood in a mining village where they moved to try to help Agnes escape her demons.
I suppose it is clever, thoughtful, perceptive characterisation of a woman in crisis. There are definitely set pieces that will stay with me, and the last 100 pages or so were very moving.
B