Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Say Nothing: A True Story Of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

27 reviews

bigheadcam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

An absolutely incredible, fascinating, and perfectly paced narrative nonfiction on the Troubles. Radden Keefe is very careful to specify that this book is not "historical" nonfiction because a lot of the information in this book is derived from oral accounts. He did his best to reconcile these accounts by corroborating them with more official records and reports, but the Troubles are not well documented and were a truly chaotic time.

Radden Keefe's writing is objective and informative while also remaining gripping and maintaining an excellent storytelling tone. I was consistently impressed with how well he kept every subject covered interesting, and how he manages to switch contexts without losing the reader or making it jarring.

Thanks to John Oliver for recommending this on Hot Ones. I'd happily do the same for anyone with an interest in history, radical ideologies, revolution, and modern struggles for independence as well as the cost of said struggles.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kefink's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

spess's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Excrement

sonygaystation's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, and Medical content

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Dementia, and Suicide attempt

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.5

Going into this my knowledge of the troubles was limited to Derry Girls and that small plot point in Criminal Minds, so to start I was a little confused (and I’m still not 100% confident) but overall was explained in an interesting and clear way. 

The audiobook gets a bonus 0.5 star (not included) because it is narrated by an Irish man and every time he said “poor” it added a week to my life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

222abbi's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

This book is incredible, it’s a non fiction history book but reads like fiction. It is amazing how it is weaved together key characters from the troubles into a story. It sympathetically told a complicated history in a understanding, entertaining and enlightening way. It is genuinely such an interesting and engaging look at history and present. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

travisppe's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Very interesting narrative, almost reads like a novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

rcsreads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Say Nothing is advertised as though it's a true crime but the case of Jean McConville's disappearance is just a loose binding to what is essentially a history of The Troubles. From other reviews I've read a lot of people go into this expecting a true crime novel and are disappointed. But if you go into it as a narrative nonfiction history then it's incredibly readable and well written. Patrick Radden Keefe has clearly done his research and, mainly, stays impartial. You will kind of hate Gerry Adams by the end though!
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 I think this would be a good introduction to The Troubles for people who weren't around for this particular part of history, or just as a more detailed look if most of your knowledge came from Newsround in the 90's.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

laura_keoski's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Excrement

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious slow-paced

5.0

Say Nothing is a chilling chronicle of The Troubles of Northern Ireland and its aftermath, with special focus on the orchestrated disappearance of civilian mother of ten Jean McConville.  Per the author, Patrick Radden Keefe, the book is not a comprehensive history, but as someone who knew virtually nothing about The Troubles going in, I found Say Nothing to be a great place to start.  I found the account of the Price sisters to be particularly fascinating.  This is a compelling story about people standing up for what they believe in, filled with betrayal and deadly consequences.  Matthew Blaney’s narration is exquisite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, and Dementia