Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Milkman by Anna Burns

4 reviews

duarshe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Do you know that friend that is going to tell you an anecdote that happened to them a while ago, and just seems not to be able to get straight to the point and gets distracted over a million other details before actually telling you what they were going to say from the beginning, and you actually forget what the story was even about? That's middle-sister. Our narrator. So just by saying that, you can kind of imagine how this book is narrated. That is, essentially, the reason why I thought myself uncapable of finishing this, so I'm pretty sure past Sheila must be very proud of me for reading every single page here. It is true that I read this for class, but still it is an achievement. 

The main problem that I find here is that there are many plots, stories and thoughts directed at us by the narrator, that if you chose a fragment from this book and asked me to situate in the plot, there is a small probability that I will actually be able to do it. Many things get repeated over and over, like that damn supercharger. And many others you just cannot know how the narrator even got to that point.

When I updated I was in page 69 I wrote this: "This book is the worst nightmare for people who dislike unconventional narrative style, long paragraphs that go on for pages, little to none dialogue, and long ahh chapters that make up one half of the book. That's me btw. This book is my worst nightmare!!!! 😀" 
And it is true, those aspects do make up for my worst nightmare case scenario (especially this book being the epitome of long chapters), but I was able to manage (barely) anyway. I would say the last two chapters more or less I enjoyed the best, but the rest... God only knows it was not easy...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death and Homophobia

alishaabrahamsreads's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Homophobia and Death of parent

lorenag5's review

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

ollie_again's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 

So that was that. That was me told. And no longer was I a vile old spinster refusing to get married, but now most definitely an unconnected, unbonded loose woman, but her words, insulting and disdaining, came not from her daughter's ill-working of creative raw material, but from her own ill-working of creative raw material; relaying to me too, the latest rumour of me and the milkman whilst managing to perpetuate it on at the same time. As with the milkman -as with all of them - here again was someone who knew the answers so wasn't asking questions, wasn't interested either, in how I might respond.

This was exhausting to read, to finish but despite the stream of consciousness that is not my cup of tea usually, I was sucked in. Infuriated. Angry. Confused. But also more and more paranoid. The tale of gossip, lies and, constant gaslighting from every corner; the disinterest and unlogical acts of the main character. Her trying to get out of the web of spun yarn, fake yarn, yarn that pulled her deeper and deeper into all of the wrongdoings she has supposedly done and does them still. At some point, you doubt everyone and try to see if they are also telling untruths; if they are the danger on the page. Milkman gets into your head and won't leave until the very last page. And maybe he'll stay with you even longer.

Exhausting to get through, but brilliant at the same time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Vomit, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, and Suicide