Reviews tagging 'War'

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

41 reviews

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

ecb_15's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, and Violence

plumpatio's review against another edition

informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

 A compelling narrative about historical events which I know very little about, I was grateful for the audiobook (read by an Irish narrator, which drew me in). I would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys narrative nonfiction with multi-faceted storytelling, but caution that the book is long. I'm not sure I would have finished it so quickly without the audiobook, the only downside of which is the lack of footnotes and images 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Torture, Kidnapping, and War

Moderate: Alcohol, Stalking, Eating disorder, Addiction, Suicide, Police brutality, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Murder, Death, and Alcoholism

A significant portion of the book centers around what are now considered war crimes including

Spoiler

force feeding and "disappearing" people (i.e., murdering people and hiding their bodies)

. There are also discriptions of counterintelligence methods utilized during the conflict.

tracey1981's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

A meticulously-researched well-written book about the disappearance and murder of a mother of ten that brings to light many aspects of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and key players in same. I was impressed by the empathy, nuance, and broad-mindedness of the author. In a story where it would be easy to paint a picture of pure heroes and evil villains, the author frames a much more complex narrative about what moves people to political violence. Quite an accomplishment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence and Child abuse

arianasophia's review against another edition

dark informative fast-paced

4.5

4.5 stars. i really really enjoyed this book! i’ve been on a bit of a nonfiction kick as of recently and this was fantastic. interesting, moving prose, i felt incredibly familiar with everyone from dolours to brendan hughes to gerry adams. it was able to cover lots of ground without ever feeling too slow or bogged down in history. the story of jean mcconcoville really grounded the books narrative of the troubles, and the ending, although unsatisfying, is representative of what actually happened. people disappeared, and no one notices until they do, and there is no justice. fantastic book and great way to start the year!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Alcoholism, Death, and War

emmanem's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, War, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder and Kidnapping

cassimiranda's review against another edition

dark informative tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Rape, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Trafficking, War, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

laura_keoski's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

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

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

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

mc235's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

The way this book is crafted is masterful--using Jean McConville's disappearance as a way to discuss the Troubles made this feel both like a history text and true crime. I listened to the audio book and although I thought it was fantastic, I do think that I missed out on some footnotes etc., and as is the problem with all audio-nonfiction, you can't look at the references. I felt like it took a fairly balanced view on the whole, and made me want to read more about the period and the conflict. Some really fascinating stuff in this, completely enthralling and tragic. Dolours Price in particular was such an interesting figure who I had never heard of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Eating disorder, War, and Murder