by Anna Burns
narrated by Bríd Brennan
Find out more about this book and author:
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BookExcerpt
Published: 2018
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Genre: Literary, Coming of Age, Ireland
Paperback: 360
Rating: 5
First sentence(s):
The day Somebody McSomebody put a gun to my breast and called me a cat and threaded to shoot me was the same day the milkman died.
In this unnamed city, to be interesting is dangerous. Middle sister, our protagonist, is busy attempting to keep her mother from discovering her maybe-boyfriend and to keep everyone in the dark about her encounter with Milkman. But when first brother-in-law sniffs out her struggle, and rumours start to swell, middle sister becomes 'interesting'. The last thing she ever wanted to be. To be interesting is to be noticed and to be noticed is dangerous.
Milkman is a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. It is the story of inaction with enormous consequences.
My two-bits:
I liked how this went into unexpected directions. Lots of mini stories embedded to create the scene and its people.
* Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2018
* Listened to audiobook version.
* part of the Tournament of Books 2019 (here)
