Reading All the Bookers!

  Booker Prize :   WINNER 2018 Plot Time and Place :  Northern Ireland, the 1970's Opening sentence : "The day Somebody McSomebody put a gun to my breast and called me a cat and threatened to shoot me was the same day the milkman died." Plot summary :  The story follows an 18-year-old girl who is harassed by an older married man, known as "Milkman". Review :  Negative aspects: the stream-of-consciousness narration gets tiring, and at points it just feels like the narrator is rambling on and on about nothing, and that nothing happens. Positive aspects: the humour; the feminist aspect; learning about life in a small town; learning about life during the Troubles. Rating :  3/5

  Booker Prize :  Shortlisted 2023 Plot Time and Place : Jamaica, Miami; the 1970's, Present time Opening sentence :  "It begins with "What are you?" hollered from the perimeter of your front yard when you're nine - younger, probably." Plot summary :  The story of Trelawney, the son of Jamaican immigrants to America, trying to find his place in the world, and his identity, while trying to overcome his rivalry with his brother, and issues with his father. Review :  I wasn't much into it in the beginning. The Jamaican accent in writing proved pretty hard to read, and the main character wasn't all that likable. But then it grew on me. It's funny, and sad at the same time. I liked the elements of sibling rivalry, and trying to get by in the U.S. I also found it interesting that people seem to be so obsessed about race (and putting people into boxes) in America. Rating :   3/5