An audio book set in 70s Belfast. There's coded talk. When people come into money, claiming it's a lottery prize, people assume they're an informant. Anything "over the water" is suspicious. Soldiers (and by extension anyone in uniform) are suspect.
The narrator's 18. Her mother wants her to meet single men of an appropriate age and political orientation - preferably non-paramilitary. Any man who likes cookery and doesn't like football is a fruit. She's suspicious of her "maybe-boyfriend" in that regard. His parents left to become international ballroom stars. He suggests they live together on so called red light street, where non-standard couples (mixed religion, etc) tend to live. She's being watched. Cameras flash. That she reads a book while walking is suspicious.
"The milkman" tries to talk to her. He suggests that he should get rid of her boyfriend. Her brothers-in-law (the ones who haven't been car-bombed) keep an eye on her. She's told the rules of being a paramilitary groupie.
The real milkman is shot (only wounded) by soldiers. His first love became a nun (maybe she was a lesbian). The narrator's mother visits him and has an affair with him, though there's competition.
The Milkman is killed. A minor gangster threatens her with a gun in the toilets. He's over-powered by women, who tell their boyfriends.
The narrator discovers that the cook and her boyfriend are lovers.
The narrative voice is flexible - using "concommitant" and words from literary theory sometimes. There's a lot of repetition, as if length isn't a constraint.
Other reviews
- Claire Kilroy
- A.N. Devers (It is a deeply feminist work, a compelling and significant look at how the regular life of a young woman is intimately used for personal and political gain. And it is told originally. The voice isn’t so much eccentric and odd as strong and unique and honest — yes, the narration is like none you’ve read)
- Mark O'Connell
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