I’m not usually one to tackle nonfiction books. Something about reading nonfiction brings me back to my school days (man, that sentence makes me sound ancient), and I can’t help but feel as if I need to take notes in order to regurgitate things back in the form of a paper. And, let’s face it, far too often, nonfiction books can end up dry, without a driving narrative to push the facts and figures forward in a clean path. So, I was wary to pick up “Say Nothing: A True Story About Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe, despite the recommendation of a friend whose taste in books I trust implicitly. But I did, and reader, all I can say is run, don’t walk, to your closest bookstore (or online book retailer) and get yourself a copy. “Say Nothing” turned out to be one of the most engaging books I’ve ever read.
I’ll confess that I was primed to like this book as, like many Americans of Irish lineage, I have a number of folks further back in my family tree who were, let’s say, less than thrilled at the annexation of Northern Ireland and took steps to attempt to bring it back into the Irish fold. But “Say Nothing” is much more than simply an exploration of The Troubles – the era of sectarian violence between the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and Ulster Loyalists from the late 1960s until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Rather, it’s a human story told through historical record and interviews with those who participated in the events of that era. Told through the mystery surrounding the fate of a single disappeared woman – that would be Jean McConville, mother of ten, who disappeared one evening and was presumed dead at the hands of the IRA – the book takes readers through that entire 30-year period, exploring the ebbs and flows in the fighting, the hunger strikes, the bombings, and the reasons behind the various actions taken by both the Unionists and Loyalists in those tragic and tumultuous times.
Now, you might ask, how did Keefe manage to get interviews with the necessary players? Well, that’s where things get interesting. You see, a professor at Boston College had a brilliant idea for a way to record an oral history of these times – promise participants legal immunity, hide their identities, and not release the recordings of the interviews until the interviewee’s death. Which sounds great on paper, but it turned out the professor didn’t bother to pop his head into the Boston College Law School to check and see if that promise would hold up in court. So, while no one would claim to know what happened to Jean McConville for decades – was it possible that the truth surrounding her death might have made it into those tapes? And if it did, could British authorities use that information as a means to arrest those responsible? And would that revelation lead to the downfall of former IRA members who had since disavowed their participation in the IRA and gone onto robust public careers in politics? And, since they had already provided an oral record of their actions, could they be coaxed to answer a few more questions for a journalist?
“Say Nothing” weaves a tale that is both emotionally devastating, empathetic to all sides at various points in the retelling, and incredibly suspenseful. You may know that The Troubles are, for the most part, a thing of the past (although tensions between the two sides do flare up occasionally – see the Brexit issues that Northern Ireland posed to the United Kingdom for a recent hot spot) – but you might not understand just how complex the political issues were. Or how devastating this period was for those who lived in Northern Ireland.
Keefe’s writing is clear, concise, and incredibly rich. You will find yourself completely drawn into the world he creates on the page, compelled to learn more about the very real individuals that populate this world. You’ll find yourself rooting for them, disgusted with them, and worried for them. There are no easy answers here – there’s no hero and many of the people are morally gray at best – but the reader is not asked to judge the actions they read about. Rather, we’re asked to look at all sides and try to understand the deep-seeded desire for freedom, connection, brotherhood, and family that surges under the pain and violence that is interspersed throughout the book. This tragic period in Northern Ireland’s history impacted all within the small country. This look into that past is well worth a read.
Say Nothing: True Story About Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland is currently available wherever you find books. A television adaptation, titled Say Nothing, premieres on November 14 on Hulu. Pop Culture Maniacs will be reviewing the series.
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