Author Anna Burns won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for this book.
Milkman is narrated in a stream-of-consciousness style by an unnamed 18-year-old Irish girl who refers to herself as 'middle sister.' Middle sister lives in an unnamed city (probably Belfast) during the time of the Northern Ireland Conflict, also known as The Troubles.
(According to Google, the hostilities in Northern Ireland, from 1968 to 1998, resulted from a dispute between the Protestant unionists - who wanted the region to remain part of the UK, and the Roman Catholic nationalists - who wanted the region to become part of the Republic of Ireland.)
Middle sister is part of a large Catholic family that's seen much tragedy. Her deceased father was clinically depressed and she's lost several siblings to The Troubles.
To block out her surroundings, middle sister has the odd habit of reading novels while walking.
This conduct makes the girl conspicuous in the community, and has drawn the attention of a 41-year-old married renouncer (IRA-type paramilitary leader) who seems determined to draw middle sister into his life.
The renouncer, called the milkman (though this isn't his job), materializes when middle sister is walking, or running around the reservoir, or leaving her evening French class.
Middle sister doesn't want the milkman's attentions, and changes her routine to avoid him, but the renouncer just keeps showing up. This makes middle sister anxious, and she's always looking over her shoulder, fearing the milkman will appear.
When the milkman does turns up, he walks or runs alongside middle sister, and talks and talks. The milkman's entire conversation is ABOUT middle sister - her family, where she works, what buses she takes, what clubs she goes to, the people she hangs out with, etc. It's clear the milkman knows everything about middle sister, which isn't especially surprising. In the toxic atmosphere of Northern Ireland, people are constantly being spied on, followed, photographed, etc.
Still, the fact that the milkman has been surveilling her makes middle sister VERY uncomfortable.
Middle sister is unsure of the milkman's motives at first, but when he threatens to car-bomb the boy she's seeing, whom she calls 'maybe boyfriend', middle sister realizes the milkman probably wants to make her his mistress (or one of his mistresses).
Though middle sister has NEVER been alone with the milkman, the rumor mill puts it around that she's the renouncer's girlfriend.
This chatter has multiple consequences: some people condemn middle sister for consorting with an older married man; some people show middle sister deference because they fear the milkman; and some people embrace middle sister as part of the renouncer community.
Middle sister's pious mother is especially anxious about the girl's 'relationship' with the milkman, because ma is desperate for middle sister to get married and have babies. Any single man of the right religion will do for ma, and her pushiness about marriage is a lighter aspect of the book.
People in middle sister's Catholic community live in an environment of paranoia and fear. Everyone observes and judges each other, and it's important to show complete antipathy to everything associated with Great Britain. This includes what you name your children, cars you drive, groceries you buy, newspapers you read, movies you watch, and so on. A wrong step can lead to insults, beatings, and even death.
In this climate, middle sister divulges very little about herself to anyone, not even her ma or 'maybe boyfriend.' This allows people to make up stories about middle sister, which she finds infuriating but unavoidable.
As the story unfolds, we meet additional people in middle sister's orbit, including her oldest friend; a real milkman (who delivers milk); a girl who randomly poisons people; a chef with an imaginary apprentice; middle sister's siblings; a nasty intrusive brother-in-law; a pleasant friendly brother-in-law; a French teacher; ma's friends (the pious women); Somebody McSomebody - who has a crush on middle sister; and more.
To me, one of the most entertaining parts of the book occurs when the real milkman, a middle-aged man who never married, is laid up in the hospital. The real milkman is very handsome, and the available ladies descend on the hospital en masse, each of them plotting to snag him.
Middle sister has the habit of saying the same thing over and over using different words (which can get annoying), but her observations are sharp, observant, and even a bit of fun. For me, the book provided a better understanding of Northern Ireland during the conflict.
Rating: 4 stars
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