Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Cokolwiek powiesz, nic nie mów. Zbrodnia i pamięć w Irlandii Północnej by Patrick Radden Keefe

14 reviews

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

mimi_t22's review against another edition

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

ketsy95's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual violence

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

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War

atalea's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Torture, and Death of parent

meredith_peruzzi's review against another edition

challenging dark informative fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism and Gaslighting

Minor: Terminal illness and Fire/Fire injury

imds's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

cassimiranda's review against another edition

dark informative tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

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