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

Locations
Call Number: 364.152 Ke, Adult Book / Nonfiction / True Crime / Keefe, Patrick Radden
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	364.152 Ke	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	364.152 Ke	4-week checkout	Due 05-14-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	364.152 Ke	4-week checkout	Due 05-03-2024
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / True Crime / Keefe, Patrick Radden	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / True Crime / Keefe, Patrick Radden	4-week checkout	Reshelving
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / True Crime / Keefe, Patrick Radden	4-week checkout	Due 04-25-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / True Crime / Keefe, Patrick Radden	4-week checkout	Due 04-18-2024

Prologue: The treasure room -- Book one: The clear, clean, sheer thing. An abduction ; Albert's daughters ; Evacuation ; An underground army ; St. Jude's walk ; The dirty dozen ; The little brigadier ; The cracked cup ; Orphans ; The Freds -- Book two: Human sacrifice. Close England! ; The Belfast Ten ; The toy salesman ; The ultimate weapon ; Captives ; A clockwork doll ; Field day ; The bloody envelope ; Blue ribbons -- Book three: A reckoning. A secret archive ; On the ledge ; Touts ; Bog queen ; An entanglement of lies ; The last gun ; The mystery radio ; The Boston tapes ; Death by misadventure ; This is the past ; The unknown.
"A stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. 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."-- Provided by publisher.
"From award-winning New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe, a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. 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 IRA 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 garments--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 IRA 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 IRA 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 IRA 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 IRA past--[this book] conjures a world of passion, betrayal, vengeance, and anguish."--Dust jacket.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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Excerpt
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Table of Contents

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

"That's just the kind of thing Jerry Adams would do" submitted by EJZ on June 13, 2021, 6:02pm The real-life character dramas are engrossing, the political and revolutionary action is gripping, and it's a history I frankly knew very little of prior to reading. Highly recommend picking this up if you have any interest in Northern Ireland and the Troubles.

Captivating Narrative History submitted by sloneal on August 2, 2021, 10:30am I found this to be an engrossing tale of humanity, oppression, violence, memory, guilt, and shared trauma in Northern Ireland (themes that echo in other conflicts). This book is not and does not pretend to be a comprehensive history of the Troubles. But in zooming in on several players and events, the author creates a vivid multi dimensional portrait of the selected players and victims. The pacing and sequencing are journalistic in style and make the book read more like a well sourced thriller than a plodding history text. The book is well researched, and my interest in the subject is piqued enough to explore some of the listed sources.
As a note, I have no personal connection to or memory of (due to age) the Troubles; someone with a different perspective may naturally feel differently about this accounting.

Wow submitted by bcartm01 on June 21, 2022, 8:13pm The research that went into compiling this book alone is remarkable. I really enjoyed learning the history of what went on in northern Ireland and feel that this is a complete story of the conflict, but also the personal stories of the key players.

A thinking-person’s thriller submitted by courtneyhooper on August 10, 2022, 9:38pm This book manages to be about The Troubles broadly speaking and also one murder in particular, making the general and the specific equally compelling and captivating. I knew so little about The Troubles and found myself as engaged with the historical account as with the “who dunnit” at its center. A fantastic book.

Interesting but Narrow Focus submitted by Maria Maguire on August 23, 2023, 1:03pm I had high hopes for this after reading Empire of Pain, but this just didn't draw me in as much. I'd been expecting a more broad history on the Troubles, but this was more focused.

Despite being a narrower view on the topic, it still managed to feel a little scattered. I had felt this way when reading Empire of Pain (I remember thinking, "Why do we care that their grandfather worked in pharmaceutical advertising??"), but by the end saw how it all came together and connected. I never really felt that resolution in this book.

There were definitely still some interesting sections, especially the parts about how Boston College handled the Belfast Project. Overall it was okay, but wouldn't necessarily recommend unless you have a particular interest and some base knowledge of the subject.