Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

As one Amazon reviewer notes, this is NOT the book to read if you want to learn about the history of The Troubles by examining the Loyalist experience and Loyalist crimes as well as the challenging history of the IRA and Gerry Adams. This book is not focused on providing the stories of 'both sides.' But in terms of examining the impact of violence perpetrated by the IRA — not just on victims but on those who committed murders, hid them away, denied them, and suffered PTSD for many years thereafter — this is narrative non-fiction of the highest order. This is a book that makes me want to read more. For those who only wanted the story of the single murder that is a focus in the title and early and later chapters, the book may seem long and digressive. But I loved all of it, particularly the way it was structured. The story about Jean McConville, a widow and mother of ten who was "disappeared" by neighbors, is powerful and unforgettable, but it's the kind of story that needs the full context Keefe provides to make perfect sense. He provides that context by telling many other stories about the people who joined the IRA, the orphaned children, and about what happened, over time, to all these people who were psychologically scarred by the requirement to 'say nothing.' This is a story about a culture at war with itself that built a fragile peace on denial. The book makes sense structurally because it moves forward chronologically — and then leans back into time as necessary.Although I don't tend to read that much history — but focus largely on fiction, memoir, poetry, and some biography — this is the kind of book that is leading me to want to read more narrative non-fiction of this caliber — as well as connecting to other works I've read, seen, or listened to recently: Seamus Heany's poems, Anna Burns' "Milkman," and Jez Butterworth's marvelous 'The Ferryman,' which I saw on Broadway a week ago.Finally, I read this book in whispersync. The X-Ray feature in Kindle is helpful in placing and revisiting the many characters and includes many terrific photographs. And the Audible version, narrated by Matthew Blaney who sounds Irish, is a fine listen — though it does seem slightly odd that the American author doesn't have an American narrator. Perhaps that was a wise choice, though, as listening to Blaney's voice was an absolute treat that made me feel as if I, too, were visiting Ireland, hearing the stories as they ought to be heard.

I'm an eclectic reader, favoring non-fiction 99% of the time, primarily history and biographies, including WW II and Cold War spy stories. I select books largely based on critics' and readers' reviews, with a strong bias on good writing.Having seen "Say Nothing" on a number of "Best Books of 2019" lists, including that of the Times of London, I didn't hesitate to add it to my Covid-19 reading pile. I just finished it and I can say it's fantastic. Lots of suspense, with chilling descriptions of Belfast in the 70's and 80's, and vivid portraits of the key players in the Provisional IRA. It is not, and doesn't claim to be, a thorough telling of "The Troubles," but rather a recounting of some very important events, including the famous "disappearance" and murder of a widowed Belfast mother of ten. My interest sagged just a wee bit about 2/3rd's through the book, but picked up quickly enough. Great writing, great research, it will stay with me for some time.

This is an excellent, brutally honest book on the happenings in Ireland back then. Keefe does a really great job at capturing your attention in the beginning with McConville’s capture and subsequent disappearance. He then pivots to the I.R.A. and the unrest in Ireland, and seems to forget the buildup that he started with at the beginning after a while. Or maybe I got lost in all the details. It felt to me that I got lost in all the details towards the end, I was ‘historied out’, if you will, and wanted to get on with solving the murder. He eventually did and I was very satisfied.Overall, this was a thoroughly researched, well-written book, and I clearly did not know enough about Ireland’s violent history prior to reading this. I am blown away by how long the violence went on, by how many people suffered, and by the craziness of the I.R.A’s tactics to get what they wanted. They used hunger strikes to some success (but some also died). A hunger strike was successful in electing a member of the I.R.A. to Parliament (he was in jail, whaat?!), and last but certainly not least, we have Dolours and Marian Price. There is a lot to unpack with these two. They are sisters that caused so much havoc in Ireland, using their beauty to appear innocent, as in, “Who us? We couldn’t possibly be this dangerous, we are just two pretty sisters, move along…” And yet, they were quite possibly the masterminds behind much of the destruction during this time in Ireland.I will neither confirm nor deny whether this is a fact, you must read for yourself.

Good condition and arrived as stated.

Just an incredibly well researched and well written book! The list of figures from the Troubles that the author spoke with is truly impressive!While the narrative revolves around the killing of Jean McConville and the involvement that Dolores Price had in it, the author has immersed himself into this world so well that the reader gains a much better understanding about The Troubles.I would give this 10 Stars 🌟, not 5 if I could!I only wish Keefe would write more on this topic, as it would definitely be worth reading!

In-depth, well researched, well written - one of the definitive books on the Troubles.

Una lectura divertida con mucha buena información sobre la guerra en Irlanda. Aprendí mucho y no fue una lectura difícil. Una buena introducción.

The IRA was nothing more than a topic of conversation at dinner in my family. It was over there, on the island where my ancestors left in the potato famine. Keefe brings the IRA home, through the eyes of those who killed and saw others killed.

Sorting out an unsolved murder during the Troubles in Northern Ireland is the pretext for depicting the context and evolution of the civil sectarian conflict. But the author does it almost exclusively from the IRA point of view, including extense and sometimes boring biographies of Gerry Adams and other prominent IRA members. That includes inevitably some idealizing or justifying terrorist bombings or executions. Although the book also includes some questionings of these terrorist acts, they are isolated or scarce, as are other visions of the conflict other than Sin Feinn or IRA as well.The extense description of the Boston Univ. research project is boring and unnecessary.If you have ever lived under terrorist bombings as a civilian, some pages may be difficult to read because of the light treatment of its human impact.The book may be of some interest to understand how radical nationalists lived and interpreted the conflict, with the caveats mentioned above