Book Review: Milkman

Book Review

February: Contemporary/Modern Fiction

Title: Milkman

Author: Anna Burns 

Blurb: In this unnamed city, to be interesting is dangerous. Middle sister is busy attempting to keep her mother from discovering her maybe-boyfriend and to keep everyone in the dark about her encounter with Milkman. But when first brother-in-law sniffs out her trouble and rumours start to swell, middle sister becomes 'interesting'. The last thing she ever wanted to be. To be interesting is to be noticed and to be noticed is to be dangerous...

There were two main things that drew me to reading this book, well actually there were three. The first was the fact that it won The Man Booker Prize 2018 and I always say I'm going to read at least one of the winning or shortlisted titles of the Man Booker Prize each year just purely out of interest. The second was the cover. I think pink is a very rare colour used on book covers, I'm not sure why (if anyone does know, please feel free to let me know in the comments below!) but it really caught my eye and had me quite mesmerised. And the third was the blurb. It seemingly does exactly what a blurb should do, it gives you a short overview of what to expect from the book you're about to read. So what this blurb told me was that I was about to read a book set in an unnamed city, with characters whose names I probably wouldn't know and there was some sort of mysterious encounter with a Milkman....how could I not read on?

My overall review of this book is slightly conflicted. On the one hand, I found there was a lack of a structured plot which made it really hard for me to connect to the story. The best way for me to describe it was is like when someone is telling you a story but they keep wandering off onto different topics and every now and again jumping back onto the story they were supposed to be telling you but not for long enough for you to really get an understanding for whats going on. Also, the fact that there were no actual names for the characters made it hard for me to visualise them as real people. I wouldn't say this type of writing is bad at all but I think it showed me that I am definitely a very plot-driven reader. The first sentence of the book actually does have to be one of my favourite opening lines I have ever read: "The day Somebody McSomebody put a gun to my breast and called me a cat and threatened to shoot me was the same day the milkman died." Honestly, I had to read this sentence at least three times before carrying on but just like the plot it definitely had me intrigued and wanted to read on. But from there it all just got a bit, confusing. Like I say, I think the lack of names for the characters just made it very hard for me to follow the story which centers around a character called middle-sister. 

However, and this is a big however, in my stubborn determination to push through and read this book in full, I actually did learn a lot about what life was like in Ireland during the time of the Troubles and it was these parts of the book that made it really hard for me to stop reading (you see my confliction now?) I can't say this is the reason why Burns decided to leave out the names of the characters and the city in this book but it is my understanding that she did this to emphasise how if you were living in Ireland during this time, you really didn't want to draw any attention to who you were or where you were from which is exactly the message middle-sister keeps insisting throughout the book. Some of the images Burns' describes in this book are grotesque shocking and unimaginable but ultimately based on real-life events that cannot be ignored no matter much you enjoy this book or not and for that reason, I would say that despite my earlier thoughts on the writing style of this book, I would recommend anyone who has the patience and open mind to give it a go, to definitely do so. It's definitely left a lasting impression on me and I'm pleased I stuck with it until the end 😊

Have you read Milkman? If so, what were your thoughts? Please comment below and let me know! 

Next Review:

March: Historical Fiction

Book: The Winter King, by Bernard Cornwell