Do you think it would still be accessible to someone familiar with the situation / history of Northern Ireland, even if not so intimately familiar that every last nuance instinctively makes sense? I confess for once I'm actually willing to give a Booker winner an instant shot (instead of waiting 2-3 years to see how well it's going to stand the test of time once the hype has died down), but now your comment about the nuances behind the prose has me worried ...

Well lets quote an example....."How you pronounced you haitch or aitch" On the surface that seems a rather odd comment but as resident of N Ireland it made perfect sense...Catholics included the "h" when they said the word whereas protestants dropped the "h" and that's probably a perfect example of what lies hidden between the lines of Milkman. The writing is almost claustrophobic and you can almost get lost in the flowing prose...but again this is what if felt like to live in this country in the 70's/80s where life revolved around gossip and symbolism. I would be very interested to know your views when you read....this book and it's content form many of the reasons I left Northern Ireland its unbending politics and parochial attitude.