Thank you to and for providing Macclesfield Library Reading Group with copies of Milkman by Anna Burns here are our reviews 'The dialogue is so very different to a usual book, with a stream of consciousness that puts you into 18yr old Middle Sister's head, allowing you to become her experiencing the 1970's living within the Troubles and how, claustrophobic day life life could be, how hearsay & gossip & mishearing could destroy lives and how suffocating it could be to be yourself living - not even books or walking could allow you to escape! The glimpse of Middle Sister's life along with that of her family and how 'pride and prejudice' skew their lives is both fascinating and tragic. The narrative however was often confusing and hard to read, particularly during the first section of the book. ' I enjoyed being pulled into someone else's thought process, being immersed into Middle Sister's world which was at times gripping and relatable. ' I loved her insight into the unspoken rules of social interactions, particularly within that cultural/political context, although the writing style is challenging. She is very good at irony, is creative and clever. She makes this strong and powerful by not giving names to the city, country or people. 'The story is about rumour but we can read cultural, religious and nationalistic prejudice between the lines. To get the most out of this book you need to time, commitment and devotion. I got a sense of life amidst the Troubles at their height. In a post #MeToo era she conveys how a woman can be sexually abused by a man through words and powertrip alone. I like how this book so accurately depicts how we can skirt around things, imply so much by saying so little and in turn cause confusion. She is very funny, slips in timely yet powerful observations and also beautiful descriptions of sunsets.

'Anna Burns use of language to convey stream of consciousness and paranoia is undeniably brilliant, although exhausting and taxing to read. 'The books raised some interesting points around #MeToo and gender. This one review contains 6 reviews that ranged from 2/5 to 5/5 stars - (Average book group score 4):

Book milkman