Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

71 reviews

curlywiggles's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

5.0

This is a brilliant piece of narrative non fiction. It's well researched and well written. It uses the 'disappearance' of Jean McConville as a framing device to tell a wider picture of the Provos involvement during The Troubles. It you are looking for more on the loyalists or on Britain's involvement, then you'd need to do some wider reading. 

The book also delves into the Belfast Project, or the Boston Tapes which is fascinating.

In the beginning it takes a while to get your head around the different 'chatacters' and the book moves back and forth in time, but you get to grips with it so bear with it. 

This was a real eye opener, and really interesting. But very dark. I needed to take breaks from it and I'd recommend checking the content warnings. Having said that, I still read it in a week as it does read like a thriller. 

I appreciated that the narrator was Northern Irish, and for the most part he's very good. But in the later part of the book he starts taking weird pauses. Not for effect, but in the middle of sentences. It's a bit random and distracting. 

I know this is a 5 start read for me as I keep thinking about it and wanting to talk about it with people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Torture, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse and Mental illness

tiff__dawg's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

katrinaburch's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

This book is one that should be on anyone's list who has an interest in the Troubles. It is well researched and well written. I was a teenager when the Good Friday Agreement was signed and while I knew a little at the point that was going on, I have since learned more through books like Edward Rutherfurd's Dublin and Morgan Llywellen's The Irish Century series. But those are both fiction, this is narrative non-fiction. Yes, the author does state that it doesn't begin to cover all that is needed to know about one of the most complex conflicts in the world, but it's a start. 

I did have to knock it down a star for the author not using footnotes and ONLY using endnotes. As a historian, this drives me nuts. Endnotes are for your sources, footnotes are for extra information!

Overall, it's a very good book and should be read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.5

I remember vaguely talking about the Troubles during my GCSE’s, but it wasn’t until recently that I got into this book and this topic (thank you to the friend who recommended it) 😳

A shorter than expected dive into the Troubles and the IRA (Irish Republican Army, Catholic) and the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force, Protestant). I personally wish there was a way to access the notes and references throughout the book (e.g. as footnotes) but it was still a necessary read for anyone interested in understanding something that still affects the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland to this day 🥲

3.5 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨ One to come back to!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

sporadic_user's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

4.0

A powerful book about awful acts of violence, in a seemingly unending cycle of retribution. Keefe masterfully conveys the inner worlds and fierce beliefs of a suprisingly small cast actors in the troubles, illustrating the many changes throughout it's beginnings, height and end.

For those normally turned off by acciuntings of history, Keefes writing style will be a welcome, gripping narrative rendition of events.

In particular, the inner motivations of the depicted are so well articulated that it can become hard hold on to an objective view oneself. Much like these real people, you can get caught up in their personal views and their cycles of violence. You can get insight into how the peace process could be reviled by the very people who wanted to stop fighting themselves. You might even find yourself condemning the very people who ended the conflict, only to realize that this exact thinking is what kept the conflict alive.

This book can be hard to read because of its subject matter, but it thoroughly demystifies the origins, staying power and legacy of the troubles.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt

akswhy's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

3.5

A wildly comprehensive book on a notoriously difficult to tackle subject. I learned TONS, but I think the book was too long. It could have been trimmed down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Eating disorder and Misogyny

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Dementia, and Alcohol

k1ras_magic's review

challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Dua Lipa's book club for the win. I knew next to nothing of "The Troubles" and had very basic knowledge of the IRA and the whole thing. This book was so interesting, compelling & hooks you right from the beginning, it's a beautiful and horrific portrayal of what it means to be human. It really paints the picture of what it was to be a citizen in the island and how interconnected everything seems to be, and how the repercussions can still be felt today. Seriously gripping, entertainment and knowledgeable.  I don't give it five stars, mostly because it takes a long time to get through it. The names, places and  dates are very well laid out but I had to stop multiple times to  go back and check some of the notes and resources and so it took me a long time to read and process and sometimes even then I would get confused a bit, which totally makes sense because it's a complex story and also I get the stylistic choice of using an Irish accent for the audiobook but that def did not help me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and War

brittwins's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Book was extremely well written. He did an amazing job of retelling the events as well as bringing to life those involved. This book is centered around the IRA and actions taken from this group as well as stating that it hasn’t covered loyalist terrorism. My only suggestion is if you are interested in the troubles this isn’t the first book you should read. The troubles themselves are very nuanced and this book focuses on a small aspect of a large problem that spanned well before this time period. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism

hellavaral's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Excrement

akgrantmatz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Suicide