Little Constructions (Anna Burns)

Anna Burns
Little Constructions

A very dark novel about violence and child rape although nothing is explicitly described. Set in a small town in Northern Ireland (I assume) which is effectively run by one man and his gang of murderous brothers. Much is about how those who have been damaged by the gang, including themselves, try to make sense of their lives often retreating into an unreal world of fantasy. The legacy of parent to child violence, neglect and rape are the main thrust of the novel and how one woman tries to achieve some sort of normality, whatever that means in such a close knit and affected community all equally affected by violence. I've not been able to find out why Burns wrote about such themes or whether she has been affected by them or seen first hand. Or whether she simply decided that there are stories out there that need to be told. And this story is told in a very touching and sensitive way in my opinion. Despite the dark themes of the novel there is a lot of humour too making it a challenging read as you find yourself laughing at the detail which is a part of a wider sub-plot that is not a laughing matter at all. That seems to be Burns' way to find humour in the wider tragedy, similarly in Milkman. The story line(s) can get very confusing not least as everyone's names begin wit a J (and some variations on that for the same person) and there are two Toms. Again, I think Burns' way of messing with our heads or maybe forcing us to really concentrate on the characters' stories. The narration is confusing too as it's written as if it's someone telling a story and then saying, ah, well, I'm not sure whether that happened; that didn't happen as I told it; did I mention this important fact that I should do now; not to go into too much detail about a minor character but this is their story. So you never quite know whether the story line you are reading will turn out to be significant or even true and whether the narrator is making it up as they go along. Towards the end the narrator becomes part of the story and is no longer above but within. This oddness in the story telling reminded me of the brilliant At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien. Strangely I re-read that back in February just before reading Milkman and didn't see a connection in the story telling style but on reflection Milkman has a similar narration style to Little Constructions although that stories facts don't chop and change with the narration. If this review is confusing then I've successfully summed up the book. I recommend giving yourself time for this book... it's not too long but once you've started you won't want to put it down. Except to take a breather from the darkness.