Welcome to Litsy!

“We have the strength and peace of mind of those who never compromise.” But the nature of a cease-fire and a peace process is precisely negotiation, soul searching, and compromise. Much blood has been spilled over a quarter of a century in the name of a stark and absolute ambition: Brits out. Yet that ambition has not been realized.

Keefe is talented at switching between the big and small pictures. He chose to look at the disappearance of a mother of 10 in the midst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but he wove it into the story of the larger IRA movement in the 1970s-90s. A professor at Boston University started an oral history archive of the Troubles, and he was inspired to write by the controversies around that.

Great choice for #NYWD22 @vivastory ! ⬇️

christmas came early 🎄
self care in the form of a book haul 📚

I knew I‘d get around to this book sometime after seeing Litsy reviews. I definitely don‘t know enough about Ireland‘s history & have always been confused about the IRA. Watching Derry Girls & listening to Empire of Pain made me finally check it out. If I‘d known the narrator had a lovely Irish accent, I would have listened a long time ago. Really interesting, well-researched. I now understand references in Derry Girls much better.

I‘ve long been aware of the Troubles because people from my hometown were highly suspected of gun running for the provisional IRA in the 1970s. Somehow I‘ve never read a nonfictional account of those 30 years of terror, and this sent me down the google and Netflix rabbit hole. So much I didn‘t know and I‘m intrigued to keep learning.

I‘ve already read- but if you haven‘t it‘s definitely worth the 99p if it‘s on offer where you are.

If you have any interest in Northern Ireland‘s tumultuous and complicated history, this is a good read.

#2
Working on two reading challenges at once. Listening to my audiobook for book club while cooking my second recipe from the Gourmet cookbook. A plain cheese omelette is for breakfast.

A deeply researched and wonderfully written account of the Northern Ireland “Troubles” and the role of the Irish Republican Army. It provides a framework to help understand the significance of the “Good Friday” Agreement, which all but ended the Troubles, and why BREXIT‘s implementation between the European Union (including Ireland) and Great Britain (including Northern Ireland) threatens peace and precipitate a new push for Ireland‘s unification.

#2021Book62
All of my knowledge of the Troubles in Ireland comes from the show Derry Girls, so it was interesting to learn more details about the war between Protestants and Catholics that has caused so much death in that part of the country. Most of the book gets right to the point and explores the motivations of various people involved in the struggle. Some sections, however, seemed to just drag on and repeat information we'd already learned.

Finally got around to reading this book and loved it. It has stayed on my mind. Terribly sad, but a fascinating account of a period of which I had only surface knowledge.

#midyearfaves Day 10 of 10 This has been a very difficult year in many respects, but books (& bookish communities) have helped me retain my sanity. As I've noted, nonfiction has played a surprising role this year & Keefe's “Say Nothing“ has been a shining example of a compelling & informative book about a period of history which I knew little. Keefe uses a cold case murder investigation as the backdrop to relating the story of The Troubles in👇

Donated more stuff (not just books) to the thrift shop, and brought these home!

I really enjoyed this. It was a detailed narrative history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland that was so gripping it felt like watching a TV drama, without ever seeming exploitative or garish. Excellent and I learned a lot.

Say Nothing opens with two detectives from Belfast visiting the John J. Burns Library at Boston College to collect files for a cold case, Keefe uses this individual case as the starting point, & backdrop, to the larger story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This book is wild. At several points, I literally exclaimed, “Holy shit.“ More so it is informative, compelling, thoroughly researched & the lives of the individuals involved 👇

I've read half of this book today. Riveting, informative & absolutely wild...

Anything to do with the IRA and the Troubles, I‘m intensely interested in. It was a horrific time period, and I cannot imagine being caught up, on either side, of it. Telling the story around one of the more troubling and shocking of the disappeared, was an interesting and new POV. Highly recommended.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This nonfiction read was super captivating and educational about The Troubles and the IRA in Ireland. It read like a thriller. Will definitely recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sadly, tensions are flaring in Northern Ireland again.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/world/europe/northern-ireland-violence-brexit...

this book has an incredibly high ratio of how much I enjoyed it versus how little it fits into my usual reading habits. Captivating storytelling within the context of a part of history that I was pretty ignorant of, and gave me lots to reflect on in matters of history, violence, and what we mean when we say revolution.

I highly recommend this. It‘s nonfiction that reads like fiction. Solid writing and storytelling and of course a fascinating and tragic subject. If you haven‘t yet, read this book!!

Quite the interesting story. I‘ve always heard a little of the IRA and conflict in Northern Ireland but never knew the why or details. So frightening, because it strikes closer to home more now than ever due to the vitriol and animosity that‘s existed in America over the last year. I see the beginning of a path that can lead to deep hatred and outward violence. A riveting, yet horrifying story of decades of unresolved issues.

“Physical force is the sign of the desperation of the poor.” #saynothing #patrickraddenkeefe #northernireland #irishrepublicanarmy #civilunrest #thetroubles #history #civilwar #ireland #england #britain

My grandfather was born in Belfast, though he came to the US well before the timeframe of this book. This is FASCINATING. (Also harrowing, but I can‘t look away.) #saynothing #patrickraddenkeefe #northernireland #truecrime #irishrepublicanarmy #ira #civilunrest

My favorite in Non-Fiction or Memoir was Say Nothing. The others in my top ten list include Bad Blood
Hidden Valley Road
Priestdaddy
Book of Eels
Good Talk
Born A Crime
Death in the Air
Know My Name
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt

A great NF read, especially after novel “Milkman,” and of personal interest as I did peace work there in the early 90s. Keefe explores Catholic politics in Northern Ireland from the late 60s to the present through four varied people: politician Gerry Adams, two differing IRA members, and a disappeared mother, keeping the complex info and analysis flowing and engaging. (Bonus: audio is read by a Belfast actor.)
#Nonfiction2020 #SomethingaboutGuns

#newyearwhodis

Incase you‘re feeling impatient Scott - here‘s my list. Happy to guide you through and put the list in some sort of order for you... I‘m also going to take a bet with myself on the two or three that might appeal to you!

True crime/history of the Troubles. A well researched book and fascinating to listen to.

A riveting story about the decades of political strife and violence in Northern Ireland. Meticulously researched, it manages to read more like a thriller than non-fiction. Heartbreakingly candid, the author doesn‘t shy away from the complicated personal histories of the IRA‘s leaders and the violent elements on both sides during “the Troubles”. I listened on audio and loved the Irish accent of the narrator. Highly recommend! #nonfictionnovember

This book starts as a mystery. A mother of 10 is taken from her home by possible IRA members and is never seen again. What happened to her? But there is more behind this disappearance. Keefe goes into a thorough background of IRA members, conflicts and leadership from the 60s to current times. This book was overwhelming at times with the number of people involved, but always interesting and kept me reading.

#currentlisten #nonfictionnovember

I don‘t want to say I bailed because it‘s not good, it‘s just not the genre I‘m looking for right now. I got this on audiobook so I will likely revisit at another time.

I didn‘t realize how heavy on the IRA this story was. It‘s the type of thing I know I‘ll be very interested in when I‘m in the right mindset, but for now I‘m moving on.

For the sake of #bookspinbingo I‘m reviewing now

I probably loved the narrator more than I loved the book, but that‘s what happens to me now with audiobooks. 🤷🏻‍♀️ As for the book, I was equal parts fascinated and horrified by the details of The Troubles and the IRA, since as an American, I only remember passing references to them on our news. I appreciated the details offered on the research project run out of Boston College and everything that went wrong there.

Starting this audiobook to accompany me through a busy week of new projects at work.

I still had some pumpkin coffee! Today‘s off to an okay day 🥰🎃☘️

We had to do a Nature Park #audiowalk today. It's gorgeous outside.

Details from Say Nothing (2018) from my previous post ✨

Mini book haul from this last week ✨ Will post details from Say Nothing in a next post because I have a feeling it might be of interest to a lot of you!

Sunset #audiowalk.

It was too beautiful of a day not to do a nature park walk after work. Also it will soon be too dark after work to do walks here. ☹️ Better get them in before that happens.

#audiowalk

Started a new audiobook on our evening walk. I decided on this true crime/Irish history of The Troubles. Very interesting beginning. I'm hooked.

20-29 September 2020 (audiobook)
An interesting story of The Troubles and the IRA in the late 20th century. Figures such as Dolours Price, the McConvill children and Brandon Hughes are compelling but this is not an unbiased history (are they ever?) and the author clearly intended to malign Gerry Adams. Adams is intriguing — denying being a member of the IRA in spite of considerable evidence to the contrary. Nevertheless I learned a great deal.

This one was just ok. I love true crime books but I‘m also not a history buff so this one wasn‘t my favorite. It had some real interesting parts but fell short as a whole for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Meticulously researched and wonderfully written, this book reads more like the most nail-biting of whodunnits than what I think of when I think “history book.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Full-length review on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorettalucia/

Great book but not always a easy read, I would recommend it to anyone that is interested in the history of Ireland, the mindset of key IRA figures & the account of the “Troubles”conflict in Northern Ireland. I have a better understanding now of the conflict between Britain and Ireland & how complicated it was & probably still is. Definitely will read some of the authors other books.

This is a very well-written and organized non-fiction book describing the murder of Jean McConville in 1972, who was a mother of 10 and other murders suspected from the IRA. The story goes in depth into The Troubles in Ireland in the late 1900's.

It's a great story but I found myself confused with the amout of details and side stories presented via audiobook. But the ending was all tied-together absolutely perfectly I thought.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

I love narrative nonfiction so I decided to have a theme for my choices of three books I love. These are all really easy to read and I learned a lot.

#3Books
#ThreeBooksILove

Just starting this for book club in a couple weeks! #CatsofLitsy #StacyCatIsBestCat

We listened to the audio version on our drive from Florida to Maine and back. My husband never listens and we were very riveted by this true story of the troubles and all its players. I learned a lot. What complicated issues and terrible behavior by all. Someday Ireland will be united but it seems the troubles are still quite fresh for many. Highly recommend!

Very well done. This book tells the story of the Troubles using the story of Jean McConnville as an entry point. This is a good book if you‘ve heard bits and pieces about the Troubles over the years and want a book that will join it all up. Also some interesting thoughts about moral questions.