The narrator is an unnamed 18 year old girl living in an unnamed city sympathetic to the republican cause. Milkman, a high-ranking paramilitary officer, takes an interest in the girl, beginning to stalk her and offer her unwanted car rides.
Is Milkman stream of consciousness?
Milkman has been called “experimental fiction” because it's written in stream-of-consciousness narration conveyed through long sentences and paragraphs, because the narrative goes on long tangents, and because the characters and places go unnamed. The first-person narrator is an eighteen-year-old girl.19 Feb 2019
What are Renouncers?
The renouncer is a brilliant name for republican militants. “Over the sea” means British and “over the border” the Irish Republic. While families with loads of kids are assumed to be Catholic, in other communities they could be, for example, Orthodox Jews.17 Oct 2018
What does beyond the pale mean in Milkman?
The Pale was the English territory in Ireland—deriving from the word “pale” for a pointed stick as a boundary-marker—and going beyond it meant to step outside the rule of law. The phrase's use in Milkman chimes with the rest of its politics, which are done obliquely, out of the corner of Burns's mouth.29 Nov 2018
What is the theme of Milkman?
And so Milkman is about sexual violence—or more specifically, it's about the kind of sexual violence that the narrator's community fails to recognize as violence.7 Dec 2018
What is the setting of the Milkman?
None of the characters in “Milkman” is named. And the story takes place in an unnamed town in an unnamed country, though it appears to be the author's native Belfast during the 1970s when the Troubles twisted Northern Ireland into a Gordian knot of sectarian murder.4 Dec 2018
Is Milkman worth reading?
It is definitely worth it because the view is terrific when you get to the top.” That's at least a useful starting point.10 Nov 2018
Is milkman an easy read?
Milkman is not an easy read and, to be honest, the narrative seems, at times, to be awfully slow; yet it pays off. Even the slowness pays off, gradually laying down layers and layers of feeling as incidents accumulate, as the narrator's circumstances mutate, and as the plot veers off in unexpected directions.
Why is milkman called milkman?
He lacks compassion, wallows in self-pity, and alienates himself from the African-American community. As his nickname suggests, Milkman literally feeds off of what others produce.
What was a Renouncer in Northern Ireland?
The renouncer is a brilliant name for republican militants. “Over the sea” means British and “over the border” the Irish Republic. While families with loads of kids are assumed to be Catholic, in other communities they could be, for example, Orthodox Jews. About names …17 Oct 2018
Is the Milkman based on a true story?
Milkman was based on Burns's own experiences growing up in Belfast during The Troubles, and she has identified the novel's unnamed setting as "a distorted version of Belfast", though it could also stand in for "any sort of totalitarian, closed society existing in similarly oppressive conditions".