Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Mystery in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe4/30/2022 Rating: 92% | A- | ★★★★★ Warnings: + Violence Synopsis (from Goodreads): In December 1972, Jean McConville, a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten, was dragged from her Belfast home by masked intruders, her children clinging to her legs. They never saw her again. Her abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes. Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders. Non-Spoiler Review: I always find it difficult to read nonfiction books; there invariably comes a time in the midst of the story where my energy begins to flag and my eyes begin to wander elsewhere. Nonfiction books tend to read like textbooks rather than stories, but that can't be helped—unlike fiction, where the writer can remove plot lines and characters at will, the nonfiction writer is faced with a tangled network of real lives, of real people who lived and died to create the foundation for their work. Keefe, however, in using the abduction of Jean McConville as a window into a larger conflict, manages to circumvent this issue. The story spirals out from McConville's story to encompass both the ordinary people who were caught in the crossfire of The Troubles and the powerful figures that emerged unscathed from the conflict, including Gerry Adams. Keefe holds the reins of the story in a taut grasp, loosening and drawing them at will; this is not the kind of drama that has the reader on the edge of their seat. This is the kind of drama that ferments dread in the reader's stomach, the kind where each new page emerges with startling information. But most of all, this is a book about a war solely defined by its human cost, both on the perpetrators' and the victims' sides—if such designations as "perpetrator" and "victim" even apply here. (Click "Read More" for spoilers.)
Characters (30/30) Development (15/15) and Allure (15/15) While the subjects of Say Nothing are deeply human, Keefe keeps a respectful distance from them. No overly sentimental, arbitrary details are included; even something as minor as the nappy pin attached to Jean McConville's clothing has a purpose. But perhaps what is most impactful is the characterization of those involved in the IRA after the various agreements of the 1990s. Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes's desperation and listlessness is palpable and deeply tragic, and Keefe devotes a considerable amount of energy into highlighting those who worked behind the scenes rather than reducing events down to their final, swept-under conclusions.
Closure/Set-Up (20/20)
Logic (10/10) and Closure/Set-up (10/10) To determine an end to an ongoing historical conflict is a power beyond humans. But, in a way, that is the work of an author—to lay complete architectural claim to hundreds of pages. Keefe inserts his personal experience with the Troubles at the end of his novel and, in doing so, gives voice to the collective of Irish Americans who lived on the periphery of the conflict. He supplements the book's greatest strength: its commitment to the human experience. There are no villains in Say Nothing—only people who made hard decisions for a greater cause.
2 Comments
Mystery
5/2/2022 09:58:49 pm
Meow! Love.
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Kathryn
5/2/2022 11:34:45 pm
thank you mystery :)
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