Milkman by Anna Burns

 

Milkman

by Anna Burns

Milkman is about control, lack of control, and trying to gain control of the self amidst a constant barrage of constrictions.

The story takes place in late 1970s Northern Ireland during The Troubles and follows the main character, and eighteen year old young woman who calls herself middle sister. She is the type of girl who reads while walking, a behavior that draws attention to her even though she does it to escape what is going on around her in her various attempts to ignore what is happening and those involved.

One day while doing this she is stopped by the title character who appears out of nowhere and begins a stalking type relationship with middle sister, who seems unsure whether or not Milkman means to to bodily harm to her since he never touches her and almost never looks at her directly. Rumors spread that she and this Milkman, who is a leader in the paramilitary resistance to the "other religion," are in a relationship, which vexes her mother, her family, and draws attention to her in the community. It turns out this man has plans for her and means to control her.

But he is not the only one who wants to have control of her. Her mother, who believes every rumor she hears, disapproves of this relationship that isn't even a relationship and wants middle sister to settle down with a nice boy of the "right religion" and have babies. Middle sister, who is seeing a boy from across town she calls maybe-boyfriend, doesn't want to commit to a relationship. Both maybe-boyfriend and ma want her to give in, but in different ways. Likewise, the people in the neighborhood, including her friends, want her to behave as a normal person, to stop doing things that go against the grain, and to act like she cares about what is happening around her. Everyone wants to control her. To top it off, middle sister is a young woman, still learning about herself. She is uncertain and has questions. When she tells the truth she is deemed a liar. How can she possibly feel safe and at ease in an environment already at war. She is attacked from without and within.

Because of this she acquiesces to The Milkman. She just decides to stop fighting.

This was an interesting book. I can't say it was my favorite by any means, but it was a different play on the prose form. The style was convoluted but easy to follow at the same time. The language the characters used was obviously above how they would naturally speak, and the story was meandering, switching back several times to cover the same ground from a different angle. I liked these things about it. I will have to digest the story some more, but I am giving it 4 stars.