Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe

Say Nothing

By Patrick Radden Keefe

  • Release Date: 2019-02-26
  • Genre: True Crime
4.5 Score: 4.5 (From 1,007 Ratings)

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Soon to be an FX limited series streaming on HULU From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions.

"Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book—as finely paced as a novel—Keefe uses McConville's murder as a prism to tell the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Interviewing people on both sides of the conflict, he transforms the tragic damage and waste of the era into a searing, utterly gripping saga." —New York Times Book Review

Jean McConville's 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.

From radical and impetuous I.R.A. terrorists such as Dolours Price, who, when she was barely out of her teens, was already planting bombs in London and targeting informers for execution, to the ferocious I.R.A. mastermind known as The Dark, to the spy games and dirty schemes of the British Army, to Gerry Adams, who negotiated the peace but betrayed his hardcore comrades by denying his I.R.A. past--Say Nothing conjures a world of passion, betrayal, vengeance, and anguish.

Reviews

  • Excellent & Moving Read

    5
    By gregory_poser
    I had thoroughly enjoyed Empire of Pain and decided to pick this up as a result. Keefe is a superb storyteller, and does a fantastic job capturing the tenor of the Troubles, interweaving stories from the time into the long running mystery of murder.
  • Great

    5
    By Billy in Vermont
    A must-read!
  • Gaps and too many characters

    1
    By ineedareed
    If this had been told from the perspective of just a few people then I could stay engaged. Sadly, each little chapter in book one introduces more people that crowd my brain and creates confusion. I think this book’s story could be told more directly and possibly might be better in a documentary rather than a book. I didn’t finish this book due to frustration.
  • Very interesting

    5
    By Kenternet
    Very hard to put this book down. The way everything comes together with the characters is great. This would be a good fictional story, the FACT that it all really happened makes it even more surreal and draws you in even more.
  • Fantastic

    5
    By nt31415
    Gripping writing and storytelling. Deeply researched , enlightening to someone who was only minimally aware of the Troubles Page turner I couldn’t put down.
  • This book bored me

    1
    By Jackie fitzs
    Everything in this book is old news, nothing but facts strung together. What was the point?
  • Irish Troubles

    3
    By carocross
    I expected this to be more of a mystery from cold case files. Although somewhat interesting, it wasn’t as expected. If you have particular interest in subject matter, do read
  • Great read

    4
    By md5152
    This non fiction reads like a novel. It makes sense of a time I understood only from the evening news of my childhood. I highly recommend
  • Absorbing

    5
    By philistene
    I most read fiction and memoirs, but this book took me in. Equally fascinating and horrifying. I learned a lot. Highly recommend.
  • Say Nothing

    5
    By RN grammy
    Excellent but painful history of the “troubles” in N. Ireland. If we could only talk to each other, listen and have compassion!

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