Say Nothing
A True Story Of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland
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Say Nothing
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Narrated by:
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Matt Blaney
About this listen
Winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2019, shortlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction 2019, a Time’s number one Best Nonfiction Book of 2019 and New York Times best-seller.
One night in December 1972, Jean McConville, a mother of 10, was abducted from her home in Belfast and never seen alive again. Her disappearance would haunt her orphaned children, the perpetrators of this terrible crime and a whole society in Northern Ireland for decades.
In this powerful, scrupulously reported book, Patrick Radden Keefe offers not just a forensic account of a brutal crime but a vivid portrait of the world in which it happened. The tragedy of an entire country is captured in the spellbinding narrative of a handful of characters, presented in lyrical and unforgettable detail.
A poem by Seamus Heaney inspires the title: 'Whatever You Say, Say Nothing'. By defying the culture of silence, Keefe illuminates how a close-knit Irish society fractured; how people chose sides in a conflict and turned to violence; and how, when the shooting stopped, some ex-combatants came to look back in horror at the atrocities they had committed, while others continue to advocate violence even today.
Say Nothing deftly weaves the stories of Jean McConville and her family with those of Dolours Price, the first woman to join the IRA as a front line soldier, who bombed the Old Bailey when she was barely out of her teens; Gerry Adams, who helped bring an end to the fighting but denied his own IRA past; Brendan Hughes, a fearsome IRA commander who turned on Adams after the peace process and broke the IRA's code of silence; and other indelible figures. By capturing the intrigue, the drama, and the profound human cost of the Troubles, the book presents a searing chronicle of the lengths that people are willing to go to in pursuit of a political ideal and the ways in which societies mend - or don't - in the aftermath of a long and bloody conflict.
©2018 Patrick Radden Keefe (P)2018 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Smart, searching, and utterly absorbing, Say Nothing sweeps us into the heart of one of the modern world's bitterest conflicts and, with unusual compassion, walks us back out again along the road to reconciliation. This is more than a powerful, superbly reported work of journalism. It is contemporary history at its finest." (Maya Jasanoff)
"Keefe uses the old Irish phrase, 'Whatever you say, say nothing,' to suggest and to say just about everything. His great accomplishment is to capture the tragedy of the Troubles on a human scale. By tracing the intersecting lives of a handful of unforgettable characters, he has created a deeply honest and intimate portrait of a society still haunted by its own violent past. A bracing, empathetic, heartrending work of storytelling." (Colum McCann)
"A shattering, intimate study of how young men and women consumed by radical political violence are transformed by the history they make, and struggle to come to terms with the blood they have shed, Say Nothing is a powerful reckoning. Keefe has written an essential book." (Philip Gourevitch)
What listeners say about Say Nothing
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. G. Surgenor
- 22-06-21
Brilliant telling of the modern Troubles history
A well delivered telling of some personal stories and pivotal moments in Northern Ireland's recent history. With much well-researched detail, but delivered with pace and variety - just excellent
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Matt and Amy
- 11-02-21
Very informative
I thought this book was great. Other reviews seem to suggest it’s very pro republican. I don’t think some of these people finished the book. Yes it did portray a romantic view of the republicans at first urban as you delve deeper into the story both sides come across as equally at fault and no one comes through the other side with clean hands. I had a very limited understanding of the troubles But this book paintable such a clear picture. Based around the murder of a mother of ten the book has so many offshoots that tie together. One of the best books I’ve read this year
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pete Page
- 06-12-21
The flip side of paramilitary Republicanism.
A broad yet informative account of the troubles in Northern Ireland. It was about time some truth behind the IRAs own actions have come to light. A must for NI vets.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- kristiane
- 23-07-20
Very griping
The story was told very well. Couldn't stop listening. A good look into a part of the troubles in Northern Ireland.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- billyliar
- 30-04-20
Deeply immersive listen
Fantastic account, weaving together many strands of the so-called Troubles - with a particular focus on the IRA's practice of 'disappearing' suspected informers. Framing the book is a sympathetic and humane story of the lives of Delores Price and Jean McConville. The author uses the fate of these two individuals to meditate on profound questions for those active in the Republican Movement. Namely, whether its operations against civilians were war crimes, questions of guilt and atonement, and whether the Good Friday Agreement represented defeat for the IRA. On the latter point, the book conveys the hostility to Gerry Adams felt by those Republicans, previously led by Adams, who are opposed to the peace process. For many figures, such as Price herself, their past sacrifices - and crimes - have been rendered utterly pointless by what they see as the former Sinn Fein leader's capitulation on partition. This sense of futility is made all the worse by Adams' repeated denials of his IRA membership and his own role in ordering killing operations. The narrator is superb and his arresting and sensitive voice makes for an immersive listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chris N.
- 12-04-20
Spellbinding account of the heartbreaking story.
Ferocious! Holds a mirror up to Yeats famous phrase 'A Terrible Beauty is Born.'
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Fatty
- 04-10-19
view from other side
really good version of troubles.sometimes hard to follow. makes you think about the political game in NI
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Tara Ward
- 15-04-21
Fascinating book, so much food for thought
So insightful and detailed. An exploration of the complexities of radicalism, humanity, and war. Fascinating
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anne McParland
- 17-05-20
Strange narration!
Great book, well researched and gripping .
However the narrator almost seems to struggle with some pronunciation.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Vickie
- 04-01-22
Great listen
This was a really interesting listen....sometimes a bit too detailed for my level of interest but it was good to delve into a topic I was fairly ignorant of. Echoing the opinions of others, the hesitation and mispronunciations of the narrator were really distracting and from the middle of the book were very annoying.
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