Douglas Stuart-My Favourite Books

Edinburgh

by Chee, Alexander

eBook - 2016

I am drawn to unapologetic books and this is a masterpiece amongst them. Set in Maine, Aphias Zee, known as “Fee” to his friends, is one of a group of boy...Show more I am drawn to unapologetic books and this is a masterpiece amongst them. Set in Maine, Aphias Zee, known as “Fee” to his friends, is one of a group of boys who are abused by their choir leader. This is a powerful coming of age story. We watch young Fee struggle to come to terms with his abuse and survive losing his friends who cannot escape the trauma of it. It is a careful study of what happens to victims when the abuser goes away and the rest of their lives lie before them. Chee’s writing is simple and captivating, and he achieves a difficult thing – to take something so ugly and despicable and create a compelling story out of it. I was blown away by the final act, when the horrors of the abuse circle back around to revisit the characters many years later. Show less

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Jude the Obscure

by Hardy, Thomas

Downloadable Audiobook - 2014

Hardy was roughly criticized for this, his final novel; who would want to read about a poor man of thwarted potential who was mired in poverty and marital...Show more Hardy was roughly criticized for this, his final novel; who would want to read about a poor man of thwarted potential who was mired in poverty and marital sin? This is the book that turned me onto the joy of reading and re-reading it every so often I love it more. Jude Fawley speaks to any working-class boy frustrated by the low expectations that meet him as he struggles to leave the labour class and join the learned class. Despite his stringent efforts to improve himself, Jude is beset by the grim realities of survival and undone by moral expectations of his time. Arabella Don is one of my favourite characters of all time. Show less

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A Kestrel for A Knave

by Hines, Barry

Downloadable Audiobook - 2011

They teach this classic in British schools. This is the book that made me want to become a writer. It is the story of Billy Casper, a victimized working-c...Show more They teach this classic in British schools. This is the book that made me want to become a writer. It is the story of Billy Casper, a victimized working-class boy who trains a kestrel hawk to lure, and in nurturing the bird he momentarily transcends his own grim homelife. Billy is on the brink of manhood and you can feel the crush of his life; it won’t be long before he is forced down the coal-mines. What I love about this book is the matter-of-fact realism. In one particular scene, Billy’s school master’s is teaching the class about fact versus fiction; he asks the boys to write a tall-tale, some wild fiction, and Billy, feeling inspired, writes the plainest story of small wants. He writes simply, heartbreakingly, about coming home to a warm house, finding a hot dinner on the table, and a mother not destroyed by drink. It gave me the courage to write about small things, it helped me push the shame of my own poverty aside. This book is also the inspiration for the Ken Loach film, Kes. Show less

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Giovanni's Room

by Baldwin, James

eBook - 2013

Enough has been said about this book by better writers than I. This is Baldwin’s heart-breaking tale of love, and the failure of that love, set in 1950’s ...Show more Enough has been said about this book by better writers than I. This is Baldwin’s heart-breaking tale of love, and the failure of that love, set in 1950’s Paris. It is such a timeless classic that it demands to be re-read again and again. Lingering in my mind is the beautiful quote “If you cannot love me, I will die. Before you came I wanted to die, I have told you many times. It is cruel to have made me want to live only to make my death more bloody.” Show less

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The Swimming-pool Library

by Hollinghurst, Alan

eBook - 1989

This book is set during the same period as Shuggie Bain. It focuses - like much of Hollinghurst’s work - on the ‘Oxbridge’ set, of upper-class highly educ...Show more This book is set during the same period as Shuggie Bain. It focuses - like much of Hollinghurst’s work - on the ‘Oxbridge’ set, of upper-class highly educated Londoners and as such offers a really interesting counterpoint to my own work. Despite the 14% unemployment during the Thatcher years (and the 28% in Glasgow,) there were some who prospered greatly under her Premiership. This is the story of a young gay aristocrat who leads a life of privilege and promiscuity. It is a wonderfully well-observed book that lays cold the advantages of born into the ruling class. Show less

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The Story of the Night

by Tóibín, Colm

Book - 2005

I think this is one of Tóibín’s most beautiful books – and set outside Ireland – one of his most unusual. Written in what feels like three parts, it is a ...Show more I think this is one of Tóibín’s most beautiful books – and set outside Ireland – one of his most unusual. Written in what feels like three parts, it is a poignant, evocative love story set in Argentina during the nineteen eighties. It is a time of interference by oil-rich Americans and political struggle between power hungry Generals. We follow Richard Garay, a young English professor who has been living in the shadow of his single mother and hiding his sexual desires. He is reluctantly liberated by her passing, and we watch as both he, and the country around him, are set into a period of personal enlightenment and upheaval. The loss and grief in the third act left me reeling. This is a love story that broke my heart. Show less

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The Lost Language of Cranes

by Leavitt, David

Book - 2014

This is an unassuming book about self-acceptance and the secrets we keep from the ones who should be closest to us. Set in 1980’s New York, Philip is navi...Show more This is an unassuming book about self-acceptance and the secrets we keep from the ones who should be closest to us. Set in 1980’s New York, Philip is navigating the frustrations of his love life and trying to find the courage to come out to his parents. Meanwhile his parents are struggling with the gentrification of the city and loss of their family home. They are facing up to the fact that their marriage is cold, as Philip’s father tries to hide the fact of his own homosexuality, and spends his weekends visiting the gay cinemas of New York. The scenes where Philip’s father comes to sleep on Philip’s sofa are especially moving in their depiction of ham-fisted communication between men. Show less

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