Milkman
by Anna Burns
Immersive and humorous (9/27/2023)
The Milkman is an immersion into a society which demands taking sides, loyalty to one’s “ tribe” and especially for “ middle sisters” staying below the radar. Dreaming of a future free of these ties, reading while walking are all as noticeably so odd as to cause comment and negativity. Even a Middle Sister can be caught up in false rumors and facing the unwanted attentions of a local, powerful thug. The author, using dialogue, interior monologue and simple actions, creates the pervasive and claustrophobic sense of everything being political and potentially violent. There can be no bystanders , no escaping, even if you walk with your eyes literally down, stuck in a book. There is also humor — engine repair parts as a political stance . The reader experiences the reality of living in the midst of domestic terrorism. And isn’t that an astonishing achievement?!
I think, based upon other negative reviews about the confusions some found reading, that perhaps this text works better as an audiobook. I did not find it confusing or difficult with the audio narration. Don’t expect the traditional, but don’t dismiss this book so quickly.
Loot: A Novel
by Tania James
Takes on too much (9/14/2023)
The long scope of time and the wide sweep of place in this novel seemed to result in a skim over the surface of many of the themes/ ideas it attempts to take on. ( and I had hoped to be more delved into in the story. ) I wonder if a narrative nonfiction book about the Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, his resistance to the British, and his commission of the automaton would have served as a better vehicle for investigating the impact of colonization and empire.