its_kievan 's review for:

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

4.0

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

---

Since I know next-to-nothing about the Troubles, or Irish history in general, Say Nothing was absolutely fascinating and bizarre. Keefe doesn't focus too much of the political details of the Troubles, or even the origins of the IRA, instead following a group of key figures who were all connected, in one way or another, to the 1972 disappearance of Jean McConville. Say Nothing traces these people from the start of the Troubles to the present, looking at what they did and where they ended up. It would be nice to get more of an investigation into why they did it, since Keefe only barely touches on the history and morality of Irish republicanism as an ideology, but it's still an incredibly compelling look into the real people behind such a vicious period of conflict (especially Marian Price, who was involved with armed terror groups into her fifties, and beloved Irish politician and ex-commander of the IRA Gerry Adams). 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia