Milkman

[HolyHeck]

I did a search and couldn't find anything detailed about this book.

Milkman isn't new - it won the Booker in 2018. I heard it was good, but I also heard it was 'difficult', and so procrastinated reading it til this summer.

I have finally read it and I think it's one of the best contemporary novels I've read in a long time. It is profoundly feminist, in centring the female perspective in what I always think of as a very male era/issue. There's so much I loved about it, but I won't go on until I know there are people on here willing to discuss it!

However, when I saw this review I was so gratified by the writer's exploration of the 'difficult' epithet the book was given.
https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-anna-burns-milkman-review-20190104-story.html

It is a deeply feminist work, a compelling and significant look at how the regular life of a young woman is intimately used for personal and political gain. And it is told originally. The voice isn’t so much eccentric and odd as strong and unique and honest — yes, the narration is like none you’ve read. That alone is its triumph. Readers, perhaps, should be willing to do a little work to discover an important book; the gift of reading never came with the promise of it being always “easy.” And you can’t help but wonder if this is gendered criticism. Would it receive this criticism of being too hard if it were written by a man? “Milkman’s” critical reception is a little too much like subliminally delivered advice women receive throughout life to dumb themselves down to be better liked by the masses. Men and “difficult” books by men don’t receive this criticism.

I listened to the audiobook and whilst it took me a while to get over the style of writing it has stayed with me and made more of an impression than most books I read. Haunting.

Hi, OP, I loved this book - definitely one of the best I have read in recent years. I didn't find it diffiuclt to read - once i got ito the style I enjoyed it and thought it gave an interesting and original way to get inside the head of the principal character. Lots of passages were 'difficult' becasue of the subject matter and i thought the book demonstrated how hard it is to try to carve out a 'normal' life in a situation where your 'side' is picked for you and you can't escape. We all have quite a lot we can't escape but most of us have a certain ampount of wiggle room or can move to a big city to find some like minded people if we don't fit the small town mould - not so much in the Northern Ireland portrayed here.

Thanks for responding!

I agree about how the narrative style reflects the difficulties of carving out a sense of self when everything is so controlled. I think the narrative showed someone operating under extreme stress, possibly PTSD, and the oppressive sense of constant surveillance. I found the insights into depression (her dad) really powerful, as well as the way people didn't dare choose romantic partners they actually wanted for fear of losing them.

One of my favourite books of all time. So profoundly female and Northern Irish.