Lăptarul

A young woman seeks a normal life in Northern Ireland. Conflict between faith groups surrounds her. Fear grips her closed community, which demands that people fit in. An older man known as the milkman starts to pursue her. He leads an armed group that seeks to end British rule there. Rumours about them spread. She tries to fend off gossip and his unwanted attention.

Anna Burns’s novel links her fears to the wider conflict. Catholic groups seek to break from British rule. They face Protestant groups loyal to that rule. The British authorities back those Protestant groups. Violence and faith shape daily life, as do ties to nations. The story shows how politics and gender limit freedom. The rules of the community curb it too. The narrator uses dark wit and anger. These lay bare the absurd rules of the adult world. Joy and kindness stand out against the fear.

Burns was born in Northern Ireland in 1962. She went to St. Gemma’s school and moved to London in 1987. She has lived in East Sussex since 2014. The novel won the Man Booker Prize in 2018. Burns became the first Northern Irish writer to win it. The book also won the National Book Critics Circle Award. It won the Orwell Prize too.

Mihaela Ghiță translated Milkman into Romanian for this edition. She also wrote the notes. The book forms part of the Actual series.