genre: history, non-fiction
Have you heard of The Troubles? In my mind, I knew it was a Northern Ireland conflict. I knew there was both a Catholic/Protestant piece as well as a republican/loyalist piece. The brilliant movie Belfast gave me a more personal look at what life might have been like in Belfast during this time - but THIS book, oh my goodness. I feel like I knew nothing before. I had this idea of the IRA as this sort of freedom fighter group that I guess I mostly supposed since the idea of a unified Ireland made sense to me? And now I've read this book I understand how DEEPLY COMPLICATED this entire conflict was. How there was so much murder and spycraft and distrust. How a GOVERNMENT treated its citizens and how a paramilitary group of citizens had its own reign of terror. Caught in the middle of that? Ordinary people. Trying to live their lives. Trying to survive. And for one widowed mom of ten children, living in a tenement flat - the conflict took away everything.
The mysterious disappearance of Jean McConville is the catalyst for this book about the history and context of The Troubles. Incredibly impartial, the book shows how both sides behaved, how leaders on both sides made their choices and throughout, the stories kept the narrative flowing in a very readable and interesting way. There are several major players, especially in the IRA, whose lives are fleshed out and a incredible attempt is made to try and distill truth from both gossip and outright lies. The writing is so good, I really came away understanding not just more details but also the depth of the nuance and the pain that has resulted. The connection and consequences of the Boston College Tapes was fascinating and again, I just had no idea. I love that the subtitle calls it a story of "murder and memory" - what an apt description. It is incredible how not only can we be motivated by memory but also how memory can be distorted - AND how it can distort US.
If you have any interest in modern Irish history but don't want to read a dense history book, I highly recommend this book.
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