Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

27 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

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

mondovertigo's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Excrement, Vomit, and Grief

Minor: Rape

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

mysterymom40's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Police brutality

_nb123's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

Well written and well researched. Rendered a difficult and confusing saga manageable and interesting to a reader with minimal previous knowledge

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Colonisation

erinmg's review against another edition

challenging informative sad

4.0

Fascinating book! I haven’t seen the genre of “narrative nonfiction” much, but it felt much more accessible to me than a typical history book. If anything, it felt more anthropological in nature in the ways it ties historical events together through the stories relayed from the interviewees to the author. I listened to this as an audiobook and found at one point that I was confused on the timeline, so unsure if the recording was out of chapter order or if that was my own error, but otherwise I thought this was very educational and intriguing throughout.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Child death, Eating disorder, and Excrement

jmyers1's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed this book! So much history I had never learned about in school, would highly reccomend - the narration is 10/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, and War

jadepfaefflin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail