This is the third work of nonfiction by Patrick Radden Keefe that I have read (the other two being Empire of Pain and Rogues)...and each has been spectacular. While I think this was an earlier published investigative book, and I was recommended it by a number of people, it apparently grabbed me less than the others, as I waited until now to pick it up. I won't lie, the recently released Hulu series based on it didn't not have something to do with the timing on that. Anyways, here we are, and it was worth the wait. 

 

In this book, Keefe breaks down  - as much as one can, in a single volume - The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The telling is centered around the disappearance, and unsolved murder, of Jean McConville (a widowed mother of ten) in Belfast in 1972. Although everyone knew that the I.R.A. was responsible, the rampant fear and paranoia of the time, and the culture of shame for anyone who broke silence about their plans/actions, no one would talk about it. While disappearances like this weren't as common, the environment of guerrilla warfare in the streets, many deaths, and complex political and social lines that were violently enforced, absolutely was. And the aftermath of this conflict and brutality, in which many consequences have not been truly reckoned with, and many secrets still exist, is not that much better. The peace accords were, and still are in many ways, uneasy, and fell very short of the goal of a united Ireland that the I.R.A. was fighting for...leaving [previous] members bitter and unsure about the justification of their violence. Then, of course, there is the question of the legacy of that violence on the community - perpetrators and victims - left behind.     

 

Well, Keefe is truly a master of his craft. This is absolutely spellbinding nonfiction. I listened to the audiobook, which was very well narrated, and I literally could not stop listening. This was clearly so deeply and thoroughly researched. And there were so many perspectives, each layered and corroborated narratives, that brought together a greater picture of living during The Troubles. I also appreciated the clear note afterwards, in which Keefe addresses the missing perspectives and voices, along with the many challenges in accessing not just those, but even the limitation with the POVs he did get. 

 

Other than the re-creation of the time and place and lives of those that lived it (to the best that he was able), the thing I appreciated most about this book was the nuance with which Keefe explores questions of morality and blame and the complications of a conflict like this happening within such a small community. It is all incredibly presented, thought-provoking, and reflective on such a complex reality.  

 

I’ll be thinking about this for a long time - both in its own right, and in the ways it can be extrapolated to many other regions and situations. Thinking about the impacts of this conflict, that even on a scale this geographically small it’s still so intense and long/far-reaching...imagining how many similar - and larger - conflicts are happening around the world (and affecting their communities in ways this intense) is a lot to conceptualize. 

 

“….but sometimes it’s the myths we believe most fervently of all.” 

 

“Who should be held accountable for a shared history of violence?”