Milkman in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 30, 2019 Steve rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction

I actually enjoyed the first half (and more) of Milkman. Set (sort of) in the 1970s, in a thinly disguised, sectarian savaged Belfast, the book tells the story of "middle sister," a quirky 18 year old woman, who likes to read 19th Century novels while walking, is an avid runner, and who is trying to figure out where she stands with her car mechanic "maybe-boyfriend" (barring one ironic exception, there are no actual names used in the novel). When I say "sort of," it's because sprinkled throughou I actually enjoyed the first half (and more) of Milkman. Set (sort of) in the 1970s, in a thinly disguised, sectarian savaged Belfast, the book tells the story of "middle sister," a quirky 18 year old woman, who likes to read 19th Century novels while walking, is an avid runner, and who is trying to figure out where she stands with her car mechanic "maybe-boyfriend" (barring one ironic exception, there are no actual names used in the novel). When I say "sort of," it's because sprinkled throughout the book are indications that this is a story told by an older someone who is looking back. If this is meant to be some sort of framing device, nothing is really done with it. (And for the last half of book, it seems to have been forgotten.)

As I said above, I really enjoyed the first half of book, and fell in love with middle sister's voice. She can be quite funny in her observations and interactions with others. She is part of a large Irish Catholic family, that has lost a few members due to the political violence of "The Troubles." Middle sister is not a political person, and much of what she does (reading, running, taking a French class) can be viewed as ways to cope and escape the violent landscape. But that doesn't mean she isn't aware of it, just that compartmentalization is necessary in order to retain some sanity in an insane and violent world.

But such compartmentalization doesn't prevent middle sister from being noticed by a feared (and much older) paramilitary killer called "the milkman." Middle sister does her best to avoid milkman's overtures, but adding to the pressure is local gossip (which can be quite poisonous). This is all revealed through stream-of-consciousness digressions, which I never found hard to follow. Anyone who has rocked with Faulkner's "The Bear" or "Sound and Fury," should view middle sister's tale as child's play. And Burns makes this easy enough since she spaces things nicely in the first half of the book. The events are essentially few (maybe-boyfriend, milkman, running, a walk back from French class), and the stream of consciousness clutter minimal. This is middle sister's story -- and dilemma. Various family members and other acquaintances are kept on the periphery. Around mid-book there comes about a 50 page sequence involving middle sister's French class, which she has to walk to in another "mixed" district. For me this was the high point of the book. From her class window middle sister sees the dreaded milkman's white van (she being followed), so she fears an encounter with him on her long walk home. And what a walk! It's not so much the distance, but the emotional and historical terrain that's revealed by the passing of several landmarks along the way. In particular, the "ten minutes" place, a haunted and blasted place once occupied by three churches whose close-together spires formed a "witches hat." But one church has recently been destroyed by an old Nazi bomb. (Apparently, and I didn't know this, Belfast was heavily bombed during WW 2.) Anyway, it's a surreal sequence that could have fit into a good horror novel. A cat's head, the milkman, empty buildings, paranoia, etc. I loved it.

Unfortunately, it's at this point I felt Burns' grip on the novel slipped. What follows are an increasingly repetitive layer cake of digressions. It's a real death march read, since most of the digressions follow a dot the i and cross the t pattern. You are also bombarded with a cast of characters, who are meant to be colorful (Nuclear Boy, Tablet's Girl, Somebody McSomebody various family members) but who are mostly flat in a page-multiplying way. Particularly annoying were middle sister's younger "wee sisters." Three little girls, all under ten, who are presented as improbable prodigies who can read Conrad, Kafka, Hardy, along with some heavy non-fiction lumber. This silly Pynchonian twist (without the charm of zany songs and talking dogs) didn't seem to match the tone of the book's previous half. The book soon became a slog. So much so that I finished the last 90 pages in one day (I'm not a fast reader) out of fear that I might not finish it at all. Well, I did. And it wasn't fun or particularly illuminating. I suppose Burns has some interesting thoughts on gender, terror, running & reading, and the 1970s, etc., but those get lost in a sea of repetitions that drown out the memorable voice of a spunky heroine. ...more

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Feb 03, 2019 Nanosynergy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, man-booker-prize, ireland-emigrant-irish, 2019read

A story of an 18-year-old girl set in Northern Ireland during "The Troubles." Amidst the violence and dangers, social expectations and pressures, she is harassed by an older, married man called the "milkman." Few characters in the book have names, but are identified instead by descriptive names such as "middle sister" - which I think works. Unique narrative told in first person by this 18-year-old protagonist. Bit of a dense read, so read it twice - which was helpful. ...more

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Apr 20, 2021 Annie rated it it was amazing

Milkman, winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize, is one of those books that people feel strongly about: they love it, hate it, or just give up after the first chapter.

I’m in the first camp: I loved it and will be thinking about this novel for a very long time. It’s an amazing exploration of totalitarianism, sexual harassment, and what happens to individuals in a violent “us and them” society.

It’s a challenging book, no doubt. No character has a name. The story takes place in an unnamed part of an Milkman, winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize, is one of those books that people feel strongly about: they love it, hate it, or just give up after the first chapter.

I’m in the first camp: I loved it and will be thinking about this novel for a very long time. It’s an amazing exploration of totalitarianism, sexual harassment, and what happens to individuals in a violent “us and them” society.

It’s a challenging book, no doubt. No character has a name. The story takes place in an unnamed part of an unnamed city in an unnamed country, but we soon realize we’re in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

In Milkman, nothing is specifically said out loud: there’s references to the wrong faith, the wrong bar, the wrong movie, and even the wrong butter. The story is constantly churning with rumors about breaking some unspoken rule, aligning oneself with the wrong people, or drawing unwanted attention to oneself. Doing things wrong means masked men showing up at your door to take you away. Everyone seems to have a dead sibling or a brother-in-law who died in an explosion. The threat of violence is always present; fear and paranoia vibrate through the book.

The plot itself is announced on the first page: there’s a rumor that the young narrator had an affair with an older paramilitary man called Milkman, who is later shot by Somebody McSomebody. Most of the book circles back and around the narrator’s confusion, fear, and annoyance with her stalker. But she not only resists Milkman, she also resists her hypervigilant neighbors and family who are policing her every move.

The narrator’s voice is quite unique: relentless, repetitive, smart, annoyed, tragicomic, exhausted, tender, and eventually hopeful. Listening to the audiobook is a must with this novel. The excellent reader, Bri Brennan, brings this complicated teen to life in a wonderful way. It’s not exactly Derry Girls, but the audio version highlights the humor as well as the sinister events.

All in all, a uniquely challenging but unforgettable novel about timely and important topics. ...more

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Dec 31, 2018 Beverly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, newtome2018, literary, northern-ireland

thoughts coming shortly

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Dec 21, 2019 Sunflower rated it liked it

Shelves: e-books, fiction-read-2019

At various times I could have given this book anything from 1 to 5 stars, so I'm going for the middle. It wasn't an easy read for me, with the lack of names throughout the story, and the not quite oblique enough (and carefully contrived to be so) references in it. Although we do not officially known who and where these events happen, It sounds like Northern Ireland. In this place it is important to blend with your surroundings and not draw attention to yourself, and reading -while- walking even ...more

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Jul 29, 2019 Georgia Carvalho rated it it was ok

This was a tough read for me. No character names, no place names, 90% of the dialogue is internal.
It took a lot of will to power through.

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Feb 24, 2020 Lisa of Hopewell rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-books, national-book-critics-circle, read-in-2020, dublin-literary-award, booker-prize, orwell-prize

Reading notes--not a review

"homophobe" during the troubles? Was it even in use then??? One tiny flaw. ...more

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Oct 28, 2019 Grace rated it it was ok

When I first started it, my mind visualised some civil-war-torn non-Western nation: violent and sexist.
Imagine my surprise on reading around the book (from places like goodreads) that it was set during Ireland during The Troubles. I read around the history and found it very relevant to today's politics (Brexit etc). I wish I could give it more stars because it introduced me to so much learning.
But this was just too difficult a book to read. There was a lot of slang that I didn't understand and ...more

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