#14 Milkman

Now we have a slight problem this week.

I didn't finish the book and have no intention of doing so any time soon... so sorry.

I just want to clarify, this does not mean that I dislike it or am going to slaughter it on this weeks post. It just means that I won't be shouting its praises.

I chose this book for the obvious reason that it was the Booker Prize winner of 2018. I didn't know much about it except that it was a prize winner and I had heard it was a little bit different.

To start off...this book baffled me a bit for three reasons. One, I don't know when it is set...I know that it is set in Northern Ireland and that there are some political issues that controls everyone's minds. It is set during a time when women were expected to be married and with a child aged 16.

The second is because of the way it is written. Anna Burns writes it in the mind of the main character. It is written through the mind of the girl and Burns has managed to include the thought process within her point of view, making this book quite a challenge to read. Third and finally, none of the characters have actual names. I don't even know the name of the protagonist. Everyone in the book has their titles, eg: Brother-in-Law, Maybe-Boyfriend, Somebody McSomebody and Milkman.

The story line is that rumours start up that the main girl (aged 18) begins having an affair with the married Milkman (aged 41). This causes lots of gossip and speculation and which ultimately leads to some dangerous situations.

I didn't get far enough to see those "dangerous situations" but I can tell that this is a good book but is different to read and requires a fair bit of concentration. I personally found that I couldn't just pick it up and read a chapter before bed, particularly as Chapter 2 is over 40 pages long.

Some people may have had no trouble with this book and read it in a heartbeat, but I'm afraid I can't join that league. I'm not abandoning this book forever...just until I have a holiday to go on or when I haven't got a clock set for a blog post.

So in better spirits, in the run up to Christmas I am going to be reading a festive one where the main character is called Harriet! (hehe)

Bye for now,

H x