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Milkman: #1 IRISH TIMES BEST IRISH BOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY Paperback – 20 Sept. 2018
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WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD
'Utterly compelling' Irish Times
'Original, funny, disarmingly oblique' CLAIRE KILROY
'A triumph.' Guardian
In an unnamed city, where to be interesting is dangerous, an eighteen-year-old woman has attracted the unwanted and unavoidable attention of a powerful and frightening older man, 'Milkman'. In this community, where suggestions quickly become fact, where gossip and hearsay can lead to terrible consequences, what can she do to stop a rumour once it has started? Milkman is persistent, the word is spreading, and she is no longer in control . . .
SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION
Anna Burns' book 'Milkman' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2018-12-31, 2018-01-07
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherFaber & Faber
- Publication date20 Sept. 2018
- Dimensions12.9 x 2.2 x 19.8 cm
- ISBN-100571338755
- ISBN-13978-0571338757
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From the Publisher

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Product description
Review
The narrator of Milkman disrupts the status quo not through being political, heroic or violently opposed, but because she is original, funny, disarmingly oblique and unique: different. The same can be said of this book. (Claire Kilroy Guardian)
Anna Burns is part of a movement of new and established female Belfast writers... along with Lucy Caldwell, Roisín O'Donnell, Jan Carson and others.
Kenneth Tynan pointed out that a good critic perceived what was happening but a great critic also saw what was not happening. In Belfast for many years there was a lot of not happening. The men of violence who launched the city's 30-year-long suicide attempt tried to silence the women who mocked them for their macho stupidity and faux intellectual posturing. The women were never silent but now thank goodness they are being published in increasing numbers.
Milkman is both a story of Belfast and its particular sins but it is also a story of anywhere. It reminded me of China Mieville's The City and the Citywhere identity, names and seeing the Other are contentious acts. Milkman shares this level of ambition; it is an impressive, wordy, often funny book and confirms Anna Burns as one of our rising literary stars.
A darkly funny novel about Seventies Belfast that leaves words ominously unspoken. (Cal Revely-Calder Daily Telegraph)
From the outset, Milkman is delivered in a breathless, hectic, glorious torrent. The pace doesn't let up for a single moment.... Milkman can sometimes feel like a nerve-jangling reading experience; exhausting, even. Yet those who stick with Ann Burns' hectic, stream-of-consciousness writing, not dissimilar to that of Eimear McBride or Flann O'Brien, are more than rewarded.
Her writing has been described as "point-blank poetry", and rightly so. Her grasp on Middle sister's voice is so confident, and the textures of the environment, with its politics both big and small, are a thing to behold. It's an astute, exquisite account of Northern Ireland's social landscape, but Milkman is much more than that, too. It's also a coming-of-age story with flecks of dark humour, yet at other points it's a damning portrait of rape culture, and how women are often regarded in communities like this one. Because of this, Milkman is a potent and urgent book, with more than a hint of barely contained fury.
Profound, punchy, powerful prose... A tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness, it's thought-provoking stuff. (Sunday Telegraph, STELLA, Stella Loves)
Mercurial. Profound. Hilarious. Brilliant. I've been waiting for a book like this for thirty years. (Eoin McNamee)
'Original and thought-provoking. There have been many novels written about scarred post-Troubles Northern Ireland; I applaud Belfast-born Anna Burns for finding an insightful approach which frees it from the usual cliches and narratives. She avoids the weight-bearing vocabulary of her subject by setting Milkman in an unnamed city, divided by two tribes both bearing the brunt of an oppressive patriarchal regime.
Burns ingeniously draws comparisons between the hypocrisies and injustices of a sectarian society and the troubled and misunderstood experience of female adolescence. That she successfully tackles her serious mission with razor sharp wit, warm humour and great compassion is even more impressive. This one's a keeper.'
--(Big Issue)Milkman is remarkable. A tale told by a voice that's utterly compelling and which you read with the feeling that you're being led down the darkest of rabbit holes. Irresistible and disturbing. --(Jess Kidd)
I thought this was an incredible book and I'm still reeling from it. Anna Burns brilliantly mines the interstices of language to give articulation to the slippery machinations of prejudice and intimidation. She describes those things which are never normally described - those marginalised experiences created by insidious, corrosive and unnameable hurts... Her writing is uncompromising, powerful, essential. --(Michele Forbes, author of Ghost Moth)
Review
The narrator of Milkman disrupts the status quo not through being political, heroic or violently opposed, but because she is original, funny, disarmingly oblique and unique: different. The same can be said of this book. -- Claire Kilroy ― Guardian
Anna Burns is part of a movement of new and established female Belfast writers... along with Lucy Caldwell, Roisín O'Donnell, Jan Carson and others.
Kenneth Tynan pointed out that a good critic perceived what was happening but a great critic also saw what was not happening. In Belfast for many years there was a lot of not happening. The men of violence who launched the city's 30-year-long suicide attempt tried to silence the women who mocked them for their macho stupidity and faux intellectual posturing. The women were never silent but now thank goodness they are being published in increasing numbers.
Milkman is both a story of Belfast and its particular sins but it is also a story of anywhere. It reminded me of China Mieville's The City and the Citywhere identity, names and seeing the Other are contentious acts. Milkman shares this level of ambition; it is an impressive, wordy, often funny book and confirms Anna Burns as one of our rising literary stars.
A darkly funny novel about Seventies Belfast that leaves words ominously unspoken. -- Cal Revely-Calder ― Daily Telegraph
From the outset, Milkman is delivered in a breathless, hectic, glorious torrent. The pace doesn't let up for a single moment.... Milkman can sometimes feel like a nerve-jangling reading experience; exhausting, even. Yet those who stick with Ann Burns' hectic, stream-of-consciousness writing, not dissimilar to that of Eimear McBride or Flann O'Brien, are more than rewarded.
Her writing has been described as "point-blank poetry", and rightly so. Her grasp on Middle sister's voice is so confident, and the textures of the environment, with its politics both big and small, are a thing to behold. It's an astute, exquisite account of Northern Ireland's social landscape, but Milkman is much more than that, too. It's also a coming-of-age story with flecks of dark humour, yet at other points it's a damning portrait of rape culture, and how women are often regarded in communities like this one. Because of this, Milkman is a potent and urgent book, with more than a hint of barely contained fury.
Profound, punchy, powerful prose... A tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness, it's thought-provoking stuff. ― Sunday Telegraph, STELLA, Stella Loves
Mercurial. Profound. Hilarious. Brilliant. I've been waiting for a book like this for thirty years. -- Eoin McNamee
'Original and thought-provoking. There have been many novels written about scarred post-Troubles Northern Ireland; I applaud Belfast-born Anna Burns for finding an insightful approach which frees it from the usual cliches and narratives. She avoids the weight-bearing vocabulary of her subject by setting Milkman in an unnamed city, divided by two tribes both bearing the brunt of an oppressive patriarchal regime.
Burns ingeniously draws comparisons between the hypocrisies and injustices of a sectarian society and the troubled and misunderstood experience of female adolescence. That she successfully tackles her serious mission with razor sharp wit, warm humour and great compassion is even more impressive. This one's a keeper.'
Milkman is remarkable. A tale told by a voice that's utterly compelling and which you read with the feeling that you're being led down the darkest of rabbit holes. Irresistible and disturbing. ― Jess Kidd
I thought this was an incredible book and I'm still reeling from it. Anna Burns brilliantly mines the interstices of language to give articulation to the slippery machinations of prejudice and intimidation. She describes those things which are never normally described - those marginalised experiences created by insidious, corrosive and unnameable hurts... Her writing is uncompromising, powerful, essential.Utterly brilliant - a once-in-a-generation novel. -- Glenn Patterson.I can't remember the last time I read prose so profound and so punchy, at once scattergun and forensic. It's like the ink's been made from gunpowder. And every line leaves a darkly sparkling residue you won't be able to wash off. A masterclass in technique, Burns' powerful, disturbing book is not for anyone who prefers their reading cosy or comforting.― Michele Forbes, author of Ghost Moth
Book Description
SHORLTISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2018
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.
From the Back Cover
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Faber & Faber; Main edition (20 Sept. 2018)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0571338755
- ISBN-13 : 978-0571338757
- Dimensions : 12.9 x 2.2 x 19.8 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 20,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,845 in Contemporary Fiction (Books)
- 1,961 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer reviews:
About the author

Anna Burns was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is the author of two novels, No Bones and Little Constructions, and of the novella, Mostly Hero. No Bones won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize and was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She lives in East Sussex, England.
Author photo credit Eleni Stefanou
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this book fascinating and thought-provoking, praising its insights into societal life and brilliant use of language. The writing style receives mixed reactions - while some find it cleverly written, others describe it as difficult to follow with long sentences and paragraphs. The narrative is intense and gripping, though customers find it difficult to follow, and while the characters are unforgettable, some note the lack of personal names. The book's humor is appreciated, with occasional flashes of black comedy, and customers consider it innovative and unusual.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a genuinely brilliant novel and masterpiece.
"...to be honest, it is a bit James Joyce but it is still an interesting if challenging read and an insight into a bit of local history that we still..." Read more
"...I was enjoying the first 80 pages or so but before long I felt like I was treading water with this writing style...." Read more
"...to be read in its hypernymic sense and encapsulates amazing, astounding, dead on, beezer, cracker. Also, grand...." Read more
"...But it got tedious and was far too overdone, even in general life, I would never think of a sibling as 'middle sibling' or 'first sibling and first..." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking, providing insights into the human psyche and society, with one customer noting its brilliant portrayal of life during the troubles.
"...n't choose, and the mental health effects on civilians, that was very profound. It's more that the negatives completely outweighed this insight...." Read more
"Some parts of this novel are thought-provoking and beautifully descriptive, offering a rare insight into living and surviving through the “troubles..." Read more
"...Fundamentally, this is an eloquent depiction of oppression that could happen anywhere...." Read more
"...not lived in an environment as described in the book, it's easy to feel the emotions and the undercurrents described in the book...." Read more
Customers find the book intensely funny, with occasional flashes of black humor throughout the narrative.
"...Thirdly, the book is really funny in a black sort of way...." Read more
"...A comedic, sinister genius...." Read more
"...In the end, it becomes quite amusing, alongside the gossip and conclusions folk arrive at as they try to decipher the coming and goings of everyone...." Read more
"...20 or 30 words where half a dozen would have done, but it is hilarious in a quirky kind of a way...." Read more
Customers find the book intriguing and clever, describing it as unusual and innovative, with one customer noting its great mischief.
"...A comedic, sinister genius...." Read more
"...However, it is worth pursuing to the end when the quirkiness and intelligence of this work shines through." Read more
"...Yet the story is put together with an eloquently precise mix of slang, unusual but self-validating sentence construction, and a subtext of violence..." Read more
"...This is a clever novel, with a unique voice, about coming of age in a time of fear and judgement." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book, with some finding it cleverly and beautifully descriptive, while others find it difficult to follow due to long sentences and paragraphs and a lack of proper structure.
"...Secondly, the narrator is convincing in her confusion about events, her uncertainty about herself, her relationships and life...." Read more
"Starting with the language, this book is not written like any other. There is no first names or surnames, but there is no need...." Read more
"...In fact, the writing style is not too dissimilar but I perservered with the story to the end but it was very tough going...." Read more
"...it becomes clear, albeit through deduction because nothing is clear in this book, that it's set in Northern Ireland during the 1980s conflicts, it..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some finding them unforgettable while others note the lack of names for characters.
"...There is no first names or surnames, but there is no need. You know exactly who is who and what they are up to...." Read more
"...then did perk up, becoming much more readable with some tension, some characters and some stuff happening...." Read more
"...this could be a very empathetic tool, it isn't, the character's thoughts barely make any sense or hold any significance...." Read more
"...None of the characters are named except by way of who they are to the leading character..." Read more
Customers have mixed reactions to the pacing of the book, with some finding it intense and gripping, while others describe it as oppressive and agonizing.
"...be read in its hypernymic sense and encapsulates amazing, astounding, dead on, beezer, cracker. Also, grand...." Read more
"...of what must have been an absurd but also terrifying and stressful life for ordinary people during the Troubles...." Read more
"...Milkman is a mature work that does say something new (or at least say it in a new way) in a field that has been ploughed often before." Read more
"...Lots of gossip, hearsay, paranoia and innuendos and as a taster I liked this extract:-..." Read more
Customers find the narrative difficult to follow, describing the book as tedious and frustrating to read.
"...There were some good elements to the book but too many frustrations for me...." Read more
"...But it got tedious and was far too overdone, even in general life, I would never think of a sibling as 'middle sibling' or 'first sibling and first..." Read more
"...The narrative is at times difficult, not because of the vocabulary but the use of longs sentences, paragraphs and chapters...." Read more
"...and sentences reminiscent of crossword puzzles where clues are so entangled that they seem to run off the page ... one has to have faith that the..." Read more
Reviews with images

very funny
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 December 2018Starting with the language, this book is not written like any other. There is no first names or surnames, but there is no need. You know exactly who is who and what they are up to. The style transports you to the corner sofa of a pub in Belfast, you can almost smell the ale spilled on the table. It is like a whisper from a friend. A friend in trouble sharing her secrets with you, knowing she cannot say too much but needing to get them out of her system nevertheless.
Being from the basque country myself I felt identified with this novel. How in some corners, politics intoxicate everything. Leave no room for love, respect, own merits or character. Everyone is the son or the cousin or the mother of someone. They are defined by the politics of the people around them. Are you from this side of the border or from over the border? Do you use language that can be considered not basque enough? Do you say Spain instead of the State? Which school did you go to? What is your surname? Are you marrying someone that is from the right side of the border? It was (sometimes still is) like psychological civil war. It describes perfectly how politics can condition how others dictate who you are, what you think, how welcome you are. This novel is universal and i am sure those living in communities heavily politicised (maybe Palestine) will feel identified with the frustration of the main character.
The love scene of third brother is the most beautifully written love scene I have ever read. It is purposely written in a corny way and achieves the exact opposite.
English is not my mother tongue yet the long sentences are so easy to follow. I dont know how she does it. Art of course.
I can see a Nobel prize in the horizon.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 November 2018I think there are some spoilers here so maybe come back after you have got into the book. I would recommend having a go though!
This is a very strange book. The narrator is the eldest sister in an extended Northern Ireland family living in the midst of the Troubles. She’s only ever referred to as Eldest Sister which distinguishes her from the other members of the family who are also all referred to in the same way. So, there are Wee Sisters, Middle Sisters and a multiplicity of numbered brothers-in-law. It is all more complicated because the family has been decimated by the ‘war’ so, sometimes, it is hard to keep track.
The central event of the book which, bizarrely, never seems to take place is the narrator’s assumed relationship with a paramilitary known as the Milkman. He seems to be interested in her, knows where she goes and what she does but she is not really interested in him and, ultimately, he gets murdered – apparently by the security services and the state. She has a sort of boyfriend, Maybe Boyfriend, with whom she has an on off relationship but her main interest is reading while walking. It is this odd trait which attracts attention to her.
To make things even more complicated her mother is in love with the real milkman as is half the street and he gets shot as well – probably accidentally. Also, I shouldn’t forget that someone called Tablet Girl poisons the narrator and it is widely assumed that she is killed by the paramilitaries in revenge although this probably isn’t the case and the narrator is beaten up by a man called Somebody McSomebody who is then himself punished by a mob of women.
What exactly happens is all a bit unclear because the book is essentially a monologue with multiple diversions. Elder sister has more than a touch of Molly Bloom about her and the same kind of rambling Irish style. Sometimes, she struggles to make sense of what’s going on and sometimes you tend to think she’s got it completely wrong.
Because of all of this, the book is a hard read so what is there to like? First of all, it sort of works. It creates a picture of what must have been an absurd but also terrifying and stressful life for ordinary people during the Troubles. Everyone is suspicious of everyone else, anyone can take offence about anything and life is lived on the edge. Maybe Boyfriend, for example, is in trouble for having a car part – a Bentley supercharger – which is evidently English! And, of course, there are kangaroo courts, constant observation, bombs and shootings.
Secondly, the narrator is convincing in her confusion about events, her uncertainty about herself, her relationships and life. It is worth mentioning that this kind of unreliable narration has weaknesses as well as strengths.
Thirdly, the book is really funny in a black sort of way. The narrator’s attempts to cope with the level of gossip about her non-existent relationship with the milkman, the oddities of the connection with Maybe Boyfriend and her insights into various brothers-in-law would be laugh out loud if they weren’t quite so troubling.
I’m not sure it should have won the Booker prize. Last year’s winner, Lincoln in the Bardo, was equally odd stylistically but it developed and grew to draw in the reader. I’m not sure this narrative does that and, to be honest, it is a bit James Joyce but it is still an interesting if challenging read and an insight into a bit of local history that we still have a problem in understanding or empathising with.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2018This was the third novel from the Man Booker longlist that I have read and I don't believe that I have read the winner yet.
In horse racing analogy you have to be a 'stayer' to make the gruelling trip to the winning post reading this.
I was enjoying the first 80 pages or so but before long I felt like I was treading water with this writing style. I have read a lot of books this year and only one have I not finished and that was 'The Lesser Bohemians' by Eimear McBride. In fact, the writing style is not too dissimilar but I perservered with the story to the end but it was very tough going.
Without local knowledge I would not know of the areas within North Belfast that are referred to. This is made even more difficult as there are so many euphemisms in this book. There are endlessly long sentences and very few chances to draw breath which for me, makes the reading experience a struggle.Be prepared for much repetition especially due to the euphemisms being employed.
I hope to read the entire longlist but this one will be fortunate to scrape into my shortlist. There were some good elements to the book but too many frustrations for me.
Lots of gossip, hearsay, paranoia and innuendos and as a taster I liked this extract:-
'If someone in a renouncer-run area didn' t have a file on them, that would be a surety there was something dubious about that individual going on. They even photograph shadows, she said. People here can be deciphered and likenesses discerned from silhouettes and shadows'
Food for thought.....
Top reviews from other countries
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noèle bellierReviewed in Spain on 6 September 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Literatura de cualidad
Un libro impactante, muy bien escrito con un estilo singular.
- KinnagoeReviewed in the United States on 14 April 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Middle Sister is my hero.
I loved this book. It took some time to read as I wanted to savor every word, sentence and page. I frequently turned down page corners to revisit passages or sentences that took my breath away. Or when tears made it impossible to continue.
Anna Burns captures a time and a place with the absolute essence of what it was like to grow up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
She gets all of the details, all of the nuances, the injustices, the atrocities of everyday life.
Her cast of characters are all very very real, as crazy as that may seem. I grew up in the North, a child when the troubles began with the killings and bombings, internment, checkpoints, harassment an the fear. Trusting no one, ‘say nothing’ mentality, not knowing nor fully understanding what exactly was going on, all the while going about day to day living, accepting that ‘this’ is/was normal.
I so enjoyed being in Middle sister’s head, so wise and observant, way beyond her 18 years of age as she negotiates the landmines of daily living; the attention she unwittingly gets from The Milkman, the nagging from her mother, her Busybody First Brother-in-law, and Tablets girl to name a few. The locals who fear she’s not like them because she reads 19th Century novels as she walks – they are quick to judge and further isolate her. Middle sister knows much loss and has witnessed atrocities in her peripheral view. I feel like I know Middle sister and my heart breaks for the anguish she endures. I hear her voice in the meandering dialogue, the fear along with humour, and all that wit and intelligence sprinkled with glee throughout. I was sad when the book ended and sadder to say goodbye to Middle sister, wee sisters, and Ma. Ach aye. Indeed.
-
fernando azevedo de arruda sampaioReviewed in Brazil on 24 August 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilhante
Um rigor e uma originalidade de estilo incomuns. Um lugar e uma pessoa, muitas pessoas, tentando sobreviver a tragédias impressionantes. Provincianismo, machismo, fanatismo, opressão política. E, incrivelmente, humor.
Não é preciso ser literato (não sou) para se deliciar com este livro.
- Cliente AmazonReviewed in Italy on 29 July 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars A rollercoaster in style and content
Probably the true and only innovative voice in the new Irish writer panorama.
- Client d'AmazonReviewed in France on 21 April 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and disquieting
Very unusual literary style. Dense writing and with 4 or 5 page long paragraphs, sometimes tiring. But it's very enlightening to read about such a dark time in the history of Northern Island. And although the subject matter is very serious, Anna Burns manages to slip in humorous descriptions.