Milkman

A dense, but rewarding read. The narrator is an unnamed young woman living in an unnamed city in - we assume - Northern Ireland at the height of its political strife. She escapes in literature, burying her nose (literally, as she indulges in “reading while walking”) in lit classics. Her determined attempt to live life as quietly as possible, however, fails when “Milkman”, the nickname given to a feared, influential, middle-aged (and married) “renouncer”, sets his sights on her. The narrator is (linguistically) very clever, and often amusing, though in emotional pain. The hidden rules that govern her society, one of renouncers and informers, with very little allowed for political neutrality, defines what is normal. Conformity, even when it results in personal anguish and misery, is demanded (and “reading while walking” is frowned upon). Women face additional restrictions, with women's rights decried (a band of “feminists” are regarded as strange and dangerous, though allowed to continue their meetings in the end). Such precarious living, especially for those who choose to be (at least in action) politically neutral. If the premise intrigues you (as it did me, though the synopsis at the back of the book does not do the story full justice), and you're looking for a different kind of read, I highly recommend this book. “...you do that reading-while-walking and you look nearly-blank and you give nothing which is too little and so they won't let go and move on to the next person....”Dense ==> Both in content and form. The paragraphs are very long, often more than a page, and chapter breaks are few and far in between. This is not a book to read when the mind is tired, which is why I took much longer than expected to complete this book.