Irish Author Anna Burns' THE MILKMAN Wins the 2018 Man Booker for Fiction

The brilliant, witty but mostly off-putting THE MILKMAN is shrouded in obtuse ambiguity.  None of the characters are named other than dubbed with vague identities.  The location for the story is set somewhere "over the waters."  I praise the author Anna Burns (b. Belfast 1962) unique and immutable style which taunts the reader into making suppositions as to when/where the story take place.  A good bet would be during the 1970s bloody Belfast years when distrust, prejudice, fanaticism and rampant violence destroyed countless lives and divided a country into warring factions.  "There's tribalism and there's bigotry" and Burns' enigmatic prose makes it clear that there are political, religious and social proprieties that are judged and judged harshly.  The demands on one's loyalties cannot be abridged in the set "psycho-political atmosphere, with its rules of allegiance of tribal identification, of what was allowed and not allowed."  The novel is haunting and poetic; harsh and comical.  "The tea of allegiance.  The tea of betrayal.  There were 'our shops' and 'their shops."  "To come from this side of the road-our side - and to bring that flag in then, was divisive, indicative too, of a traitorous kowtowing and a betrayal most monstrous."  The first sentence sets the cantameter for this chilling, complex and oftentimes confusing work of fiction that bears comparison to Faulkner and Joyce.  Burns ambiguities imbue the novel with relevance in today's xenophobic and bigoted world.  Intolerance for those deemed heretics or outsiders is far too perilous in today's volatile climate.  THE MILKMAN may not appeal to the masses as this novel demands much of its reader.  Anna Burn may burn bridges appealing to the mass majority of readers but for those who venture to take on this odyssey, there is more to be redeemed than a Golden Fleece.  

The Editor - Struggling Writer with Mom Issues Winds up with Jackie Onassis as His Editor

Steven Rowley received the Goodreads Choice Award (Lily and the Octopus) but this sniveling novel has nothing to recommend except for excerpts that include the illusive and iconic Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (JKO).  James Smale is a struggling writer in the 1990's who somehow manages to grab the attention of JKO when she was an editor at Doubleday during the '90s.  While this miraculous feat is hard to accept, James too is stupefied by his incredulous advocate for his book.  James has never been published.  His manuscript remains uncovered to the reader.  It's known the novel is about family dynamics with an enigmatic & heroic mother at its core.  Still, Mrs. Onassis (JKO) wants more from James' novel, specifically a cogent ending for the book regarding the mother/son relationship.  James and his mother are not quite on speaking terms and the reasons for the strain are laborious to decipher.  At JKO's urging to which James is obsequious, he attempts to reconnect and understand his mother.  Mainly this is done to supplicate JKO's favor.  The intrigue that is interspersed parsimoniously all pertain to JKO's and James' time together in her office, NYC apartment and home on Martha's Vineyard.  The fascination with the former First Lady perpetuates.  Irritating, whiney and self-involved describes James as he sloughs through his writing, deceives his partner and does soul searching.  In James' defense, writing is a solitary isolating endeavor.  In one of James' more intimate encounters with JKO he bemoans how arduous he finds writing.  Her reply "Hard truths can drive people apart. But great art can bring them back together."  THE EDITOR is far from earning accolades as art.  In short there's simply not any congenial plot but for a few glimpse at Camelot.

THIS IS the WAY it ALWAYS IS by Laurie Frankel

Laurie Frankel's novel put simply is about a couple with 5 sons and the youngest son is transgender.  However, there's nothing simple about this novel that is a caldron of unconditional love, the mysterious eternal evolution of life, wisdom and betwixt; magic.  Rosie and Penn meet while Rosie is doing her medical residency and Penn working on his MFA in writing on the campus of Madison, WI.  Their endearing relationship leads to marriage and the birth of 5 sons.  Two of the boys are twins and the youngest, Claude, is transgender.  Claude makes it clear prior to starting kindergarden to his parents and siblings that he - identifies as a she; Poppy.  Poppy is at the heart of this story but the goodwill & fortitude emanates plentifold from parenting, sibling hood, relationships, friendships and the acknowledgement life is forever about change.  Every child, every person is unique and non-conforming in their own way.  Even the unconditional love parents have for their children is constantly evolving and building in surprising ways.  Rosie, Penn and their 4 oldest boys all provide unconditional love & support.  However, the foundation on which familial love is based is also constantly shifting and morphing.  Support & compassion for loved one is based on thoughtful ways to be supportive.  There are hard decisions to be made by Poppy and her parents.  Happy is harder than it sounds but sad is okay.   What Frankel's sensitive & contemplative novel exudes is empathy,  humanity and acceptance.  Twins are partnered at birth but perceived unique individuals.  Penn's storytelling to his sons is a perpetuating fairytale saga of princesses, witches, knights and dueling opposites.  Penn's spontaneous tale is a vehicle for inclusiveness and understanding.  The family dynamics continue to change with time but the love for one another remains steadfast.   The story's virtuous fables deliver love & support for one another, acceptance of ourselves and others.  Another lesson gleaned is secrets kept alone breed fear while secrets shared sprout magic.

Where the Crawdads Sing - Not Much to Crow About

Delia Owens' "Where the Crawdads Sing" won the Edgar Award for Best Debut Novel by an American author but I found this coming-of-age love story that spawns a murder mystery predictable, melodramatic dribble.  Owens is the author of 3 international best selling non-fiction works that describe her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa.  "Where the Crawdads Sing" is set in the marshlands of NC.  The natural inhabitants of the marshlands become central & to the story of a young girl, Kya, abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself outside the fringes of civilization in the late 60s.   The narrative beauty of living among the marshes is compelling as Owens herself is an established naturalist writer.  However, the credibility of a 7 yr. fending for herself like Mowgli in the "Jungle Book" is rickety.  It romanticizes Kya's neglect, isolation and self-reliance like a B-movie script.  Kya  fends off the land which nutures, mentors and protects her when almost no one else would. Kya does receives the loving care of a black couple Jumpin & Mabel also forced to live apart from the town's white community and Tate who shares her fascination of the indigenous splendors of the marsh lands.  Kya is disregarded by the towns people and known as "the marsh girl." Kya's loneliness was a feeling so vast it echoed.  She watched from the shadows her peers imagining a joy that was almost tangible.  Tate became her first friend, first love & first heartbreak.  Even when love fails it connects you to others and connections are all that matter in life.  Kya's urge towards more in life make her vulnerable to the cunning charms of Chase.  When Chase's corpse is discovered a mystery unravels and the novel becomes a mawkish mocking of "To Kill a Mockingbird."  Kya remembers her mother telling her to venture where the crawdads sing meaning where critters are wild and still behaving like critters.  Owens' overly ambitious attempt at amalgamating biological tendencies, poetry and a murder mystery fritters away and instinctive storytelling doesn't survive.