Excuse us all, we’ve been a bit slack, as a consequence of School holidays. Yes indeed, for those of us not benefitting directly from the single greatest policy initiative EVER in the life of Australian Parliament (TAX CUTS)!, there is solace in reading once again a fascinating book review from our luminary of the near north Joe (Quentin) Blake.

More important than literature, poverty, humanity, everything according to the mandate given to the Coalition in the last election for TAX CUTS!

Joe gives it to us, boots and all.  And for those in thongs who will not benefit from the single biggest policy initiative in Australian political history, they can grow envious, or just shut up and DIE!

Take it away Joe….

Milkman, by Anna Burns, Faber and Faber, $29.99

Reviewed by Joe Blake

TAX CUTS will assist Christopher Pyne in his Post parliamentary lobbying!!

Before I start, I should give you a bit of a warning: a lot of people call this book “That bloody Milkman.” In other words, there’s nothing easy in it. For a start, there is really only one proper noun in the book; words that normally get a capital letter, like names of people, places or countries, just don’t make an appearance. People are known by their job, position in family, characteristic behaviour or something else that identifies them, like “oldest sister” or “maybe-boyfriend”. Places are known by their location, like “over the water”. 

All of this means that the writer has to be very skilled to (a) make her meaning clear; and (b) not bore the pants off the reader. Who better than an Irish person for such a task?

Christopher and Julie Discuss the benefit of TAX CUTS to ensure that we get the governance the lobbyists PAY FOR!

Without being told explicitly, we gather that the story is situated in Belfast in the 1970s, in the time of The Troubles. Knowing this, we could expect to earn about paramilitaries, renouncers, oppression by the state, and of course we do, but that’s only the start. What we really learn is how these things affect the hearts and minds of every living being; how the fear engendered permeates every interaction, even between members of the same family.

Our heroine in this story (of course she has no name, and known only as “middle sister”) is 18 and not married. Now in this society, that’s a disgrace, and a great source of worry to her Ma. She should have been wed at least two years ago, so she has to hide her relationship with the man she likes but is not committed to, her maybe-boyfriend. They spend a lot of time together, but neither knows what the next step will be. Perhaps they’ll go and live together without tying the knot, like a few others are doing?

DONALD made America GRATE through TAX CUTS!!

Maybe-boyfriend is a mechanic who loves cars, and this obsession leads him into political trouble, unlikely as that sounds. He brings home some car parts and, as is his wont, proceeds to work on them in his lounge room. His mates, gathered as usual for such an occasion, are totally impressed by the vehicle; it’s a prestige car, and pretty rare around here. All goes swimmingly until one of the mates gets a bit narky. “Hang on,” he says, “But that car comes from over the water. There’s going to be hell to pay if someone finds out.” As we discover later, he’s right.

Middle sister, meanwhile, has problems of her own. She has a habit, annoying to others, of reading while she walks, so she walks a lot. One day, while indulging her favourite habit, she’s offered a lift by the eponymous character, Milkman. He’s one scary dude; for one thing, he’s more than double her age. For another, he’s a leader in the resistance, so he doesn’t take no for an answer. Despite knowing all this, she refuses his offer, but he still manages to talk to her. He knows all about her, particularly her maybe-relationship. Despite being married, he wants her for his girl. After he accosts her a few times, everybody believes she is involved with him, so she’s alternately shunned and feared.

BORIS will make the UK Greater still through TAX CUTS!

In this environment, everybody is watching and judging everybody else, and those judgements have severe ramifications.

Despite the difficulties this book offers, you should seriously have a go at it; the rewards are worth the effort. It provides so many insights into a community under pressure, and how those pressures result in unexpected consequences. It’s not easy but it’s brilliant. I’m not the only one to hold that opinion; this book did win last year’s Man Booker for the world’s best novel in English.