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A review by nuii
Milkman by Anna Burns
challenging
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is tough... I quite enjoyed the story, not the way it was written...The whole thing almost felt like a fever dream.
The narrator was going through a torturous trauma and I feel it just by reading how it was sucking the life out of her.
However:
Her stream of consciousness, her jumping back and forth through time and events and thoughts are so tedious, confusing sometimes and a lot to take in. It went on and on and on, by the time it makes one point, it has also gone through 10 others, like sitting in someone else's head with non-stop yammering. Despite being quite funny from time to time, it was mentally taxing to read and put me in a slump for a whole month.
The story and the characters are frustrating, though I guess it is the point, due to the time and place it took place in (a very suffocating environment!). I felt like giving up a lot but was curious enough to pull through...and now I'm mostly glad it is over.
P/S: after a while I realized I still occasionally think of this book, so it did have more impact on me than I first thought. Bumping it from 2.75 to 3☆
The narrator was going through a torturous trauma and I feel it just by reading how it was sucking the life out of her.
However:
Her stream of consciousness, her jumping back and forth through time and events and thoughts are so tedious, confusing sometimes and a lot to take in. It went on and on and on, by the time it makes one point, it has also gone through 10 others, like sitting in someone else's head with non-stop yammering. Despite being quite funny from time to time, it was mentally taxing to read and put me in a slump for a whole month.
The story and the characters are frustrating, though I guess it is the point, due to the time and place it took place in (a very suffocating environment!). I felt like giving up a lot but was curious enough to pull through...and now I'm mostly glad it is over.
P/S: after a while I realized I still occasionally think of this book, so it did have more impact on me than I first thought. Bumping it from 2.75 to 3☆
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, and Stalking
Moderate: Sexual harassment